Episode 511: Should I take a temporary management position and performance-based bonuses

About this episode

Dave and Jamison discuss the challenges and considerations of taking a temporary management position and navigating performance-based bonuses.

In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: I’m approaching 15 years of experience with the last 7 years at fang. About a year ago I was promoted to staff engineer (thanks to the podcast) and switched to an adjacent team under the same director. I have never actively pursued a management role but I’ve been starting to think about it more. A colleague of mine just announced they need to take extended medical leave (1-2 months) and I was asked to fill in as a temporary manager while they are out. How do I go about managing a team if everyone knows it’s short lived? Should I just try to keep the team alive or aim higher? Is 1-2 months enough for me to get a sense of whether I’d enjoy management? I feel like I’ve dived into the deep end and it’s scary but also exciting. I love the podcast, I’ve listened to every episode! I’ll take whatever comedy or advice you have to offer. Bobby Drop Tables asks, Recently came out of a salary negotiation where HR blocked a payrise because they said I was already the highest paid non-management position dev. While I’m getting paid well for the market, I wouldn’t say it’s a ridiculous amount. HR said they wanted a fairly flat salary…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jamison Dance, Dave Smith

Topics covered

• management
• temporary position
• performance-based bonuses
• career advice
• salary negotiation

Keywords

• management role
• temporary manager
• salary negotiation
• performance metrics
• career development

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: fang

More episodes of Soft Skills Engineering

• Episode 516: Not a baby and my product manager doesn't know the product · June 8, 2026 · 37 min
• Episode 515: My junior team member won't listen to me and will I be the dumbest employee at a quantum computer company? · June 1, 2026 · 35 min
• Episode 514: Trust issues and underperformers and my coworker resents me for being faster · May 25, 2026 · 38 min
• Episode 513: Forgotten employee and what skills actually matter in the AI world · May 18, 2026 · 37 min
• Episode 512: Can non-engineers really contribute code with AI and not sharing · May 11, 2026 · 43 min
• Episode 510: Old and behind and how do I hang on for the last few years until retirement? · April 27, 2026 · 34 min