When I was promoted to a manager role, I was initially frustrated. I felt like my impact had actually gone DOWN after the promotion.

I used to ship features every day. Now I spend all day in meetings, not delivering anything tangible.

I was lost and confused as hell.

As an IC, impact feels straightforward. You write code, ship features, fix bugs. Direct line from your work to results.

But as a manager? Your impact is indirect. And it's initially hard to grasp.