1. I have had a string of bad managers at both good and bad companies.
2. I want to set direction and work with people but I do not want to be a line manager.
Now I need to figure out how to find somewhere with good leadership that will invest in me growing the way I am interested in growing building teams instead of tech or I need to build my own company the way I want it to be where people are first and the tech is second. No smart jerks, etc etc.
It would be someone experienced, who is still responsible for technical contribution (writing code, planing architecture, etc.)
And if you think building your own company somehow lets you get around being a line manager... Unless you have a trust fund, I don't think that'll work. Pretty much no startup can afford to outsource people leadership until you've grown a good bit.
If you go the "tech lead" route in FAANG, you have some input into the building of the team, but you should be aware that's limited. Ultimately, the person doing the day-to-day leadership (the line manager) is the person who has the strongest voice in how the team is shaped.
1. What is their philosophy on team development? (Ask for examples)
2. What is the career ladder look like? When was the last person promoted to a Sr role?
In addition, you should lay out growth areas you'd like to focus on. A good manager should be able to work with you and chart a path forward.
On a side note: There are other online communities to help you level up while you are in your current role. DM me for recs.
I'm like 15 years into my career, and I've grown, but none of it was necessarily intentional on my part. I've mostly grown when I was faced with an insurmountable challenge and my team/org/company would be screwed if I didn't surmount it, so I figured it out. I think it's safe to say that it was "the hard way" though