First Line Manager

Noun · Hacker Culture

Definitions

  1. A manager who directly manages individual contributors rather than managing other managers. In organizations, first line managers have disproportionate influence over daily team experience, even when strategy is set elsewhere.

    In plain English: A manager who directly manages individual contributors.

    Example: "The company's best retention lever turned out to be better support for first line managers, because they shaped nearly every day-to-day experience of the engineering teams."

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