I had the option to move into a full time management role recently. on paper, it made sense. more scope, bigger teams, broader influence. but I chose to stay a hands on IC.

this wasn’t a rejection of management. it was a choice about where I feel most valuable right now.

we’re in a moment where design, especially in the ai era, has expanded in ways I couldn’t have imagined a few years ago. the surface area of what a single person can do has grown massively. from rapid prototyping to shipping intelligent experiences, the leverage is real. I didn’t want to step away from that just yet.

at the same time, I fully recognize that in a management role, you can often do more through others. you get the chance to uplift an entire team, shape direction at scale, and multiply impact in a very different way. that’s meaningful, and something I deeply respect.

I still do a fair bit of managerial work, roughly 25 to 30 percent of my time. things like capacity planning, setting AI/UX guidelines for team, defining north stars, hiring, okr alignment, performance conversations, and working with leadership on goals . that part matters and I enjoy it. but I didn’t want it to become 100 percent of my role.

I like being close to the work. I like solving problems myself. I like feeling the friction firsthand and iterating quickly. right now, that’s where I learn the most and where I think I contribute the most.

this might not be a permanent decision. I can see myself leaning more into management over the next few years. careers evolve, and so do the ways we create impact. for now, this is the path that feels right.

if you’re at a similar crossroads, here are a few things worth thinking about

• where do you get energy from, building things or enabling others to build
• how fast is your domain evolving and does staying hands on give you an edge
• are you optimizing for scope or for craft
• can you design a hybrid role instead of treating it as a binary choice
• what skills will compound more over the next 3 to 5 years in your context
• are you choosing management because you want it or because it feels like the default next step

there isn’t a right answer. both paths are valuable. this is just the one that feels right for me right now