Why I decided to go from self-manager to manager Personal experiences in self-management — Part I Take a purpose, add a bunch of software developers, tell them they are self-governed and anybody can make any decision, stir and see what happens. That was the courageous and bold experiment that I was part of for two years as one of the software developers. It was fun and engaging, provocative and developmental, chaotic and frustrating — in more or less equal parts.