People leader, individual contributor or both? The choice is yours…

The Software Engineer leading a team of four

Name: Hamish

Role: Software Engineer 

Education: Software Engineering at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand

Joined IMC: 2018

“I became a people leader about 18 months ago. Among other things, our team was growing quickly, and this was a way for me to repay the amazing support and mentoring that I’d received at the start of my own career.

I now have four graduate software engineers reporting directly to me. My role is to oversee their workflow and support their development. Meanwhile, I work closely with IMC’s traders to decide how, as developers, we can support them and help shape the direction of our trading activities. I like to think of myself as an application programming interface (API) between my team and the rest of the company!

The fun part of being a PL is the constant back and forth within the team. We have regular catch-ups, and we’re always bouncing ideas off each other or with the rest of the team – there’s always plenty of banter!

Naturally, there are trade-offs versus continuing as an individual contributor. There’s a temptation to treat your leadership responsibilities as an ‘extra’ on top of your core role but, in practice, managing people requires your full attention, and over time I’ve become less involved in the day-to-day business of software engineering. However, there are many upsides: the change of perspective has helped me to learn new skills and find new ways to approach my work – I’ve found a balance between managing and engineering that works for me. I’ve also found it incredibly rewarding watching my direct reports grow and develop in their careers. Recently, I helped facilitate an opportunity for one of my reports to do a placement in Chicago. In a few weeks, another will be making the move to Mumbai. One thing's for sure: taking on this role has helped me appreciate all the support that I’ve received – and still receive – from my colleagues over the years.

To someone considering pursuing a similar route to mine, I’d advise talking to your manager to get a sense of what being a PL entails. You need to understand why the role exists and what your reports should be getting from the process. I’d also recommend speaking to managers from other IMC teams to get a feel for different leadership styles – what works and what doesn’t. Leading others is tricky, but once you get it right, it’s a great experience for everyone!”

The individual contributor hardwired to succeed

Name: Emma

Role: Hardware Engineer

Education: Engineering at the University of Queensland

Joined IMC: 2021

“The hands-on nature of being an engineer really appealed to me. On the internship and global traineeship, the onus is on gaining real-world experience from the get-go. In my case, that meant working with FPGAs and other critical IMC hardware.

As an IC, you remain closely involved at a technical level. Over time, you get to know the inner workings of IMC’s systems – you can specialise in a specific area and become a source of knowledge. This feels like the right thing for me at this stage in my career. I love learning and developing new skills. There’s so much happening at IMC from a technology perspective, and I want to keep my finger on the pulse of emerging technology projects.

At the same time, I’m interested in exploring leadership opportunities – in fact, I’m already dipping my toe in the water as a mentor in the internship program. I was recently an intern myself, so I know the value of having a good mentor. I have a female mentee, which adds another dimension to the role. Technology, and particularly hardware engineering, tend to be quite male-dominated, so being able to help shape someone’s career in a positive way is hugely rewarding. Juggling my mentoring responsibilities with my day-to-day role is a good testing ground as each day is different. The best part is when you step back and reflect on how far your intern has come since the start of the program – I love knowing that I’ve played a role in getting them there.

I can see my role evolving to include a more defined PL element at some point, but for now I’m very happy with the balance I’ve found between developing my own skills and knowledge and helping someone else enhance theirs.”

The Trader with a foot in both worlds

Name: Zac

Role: Trader on options desk, Amsterdam 

Education: Mathematics at the University of Sydney 

Joined IMC: 2019

“I worked my way through high school and university as a private tutor, so mentoring others was always on my radar. Since joining IMC, my priority has been learning and developing my own skills, but I’ve always been clear that I wanted to explore people leadership at some stage.

IMC offers early management training to those with an interest in becoming a PL – this gave me a sneak peek at what’s involved. About two years in, I was offered the chance to move to the Amsterdam office on an 18-month placement. The icing on the cake was that I’d be overseeing a direct report, who’d be making the move with me from Sydney.

My time in Europe has been great. I’ve enjoyed building my networks and gaining exposure to new trading strategies, but the biggest change has been making the jump to a people leader, as my focus shifted from my own trading performance to trying to get the best out of someone else. All of a sudden, there’s a lot more pressure, but it’s very exciting!

The challenging part for me is juggling the day-to-day requirements of the desk and helping my direct report work towards their longer-term goals. Luckily, we have a great working relationship which allows for a lot of flexibility. We’re able to pass trading and administrative tasks back and forth, and this creates space to dedicate to their professional development. I ensure to invest time in my personal growth – after all, I’m still developing my skills as an IMC trader.

Now that I have experience as a PL, I’m looking forward to the next step. A few weeks from now, I’ll be back in the Sydney office, where I’ll be heading up a team of seven or eight traders.

My advice for aspiring PLs? I’d encourage a ‘try before you buy’ approach, whether that means getting involved in training graduates, mentoring interns or taking on one or two direct reports. You’ll soon learn if people management is for you. If not, there are always plenty of other ways you can add value.”

Could you see yourself as a People Leader or Individual Contributor? Find out where your IMC journey could take you.