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Become an Effective Software Engineering Manager

The Trichotomy of Control

Explore the trichotomy of control concept rooted in Stoicism to help you as a manager focus on internal goals and delegation. Understand how distinguishing what you fully control, partially control, or cannot control aids in reducing stress and improving team outcomes, allowing you to maintain personal tranquility while leading effectively.

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We opened this chapter with our protagonist worrying about the status of important tasks, whether they could have done better in the previous week, and whether or not their team was going to have everything done by Monday.

Focus on things that we can affect

Epictetus, a famous Stoic, stated that: “Some things are up to us and some are not up to us.” With reference to our protagonist, the dilemma that is disrupting their tranquility is the fact that they are worrying about things that are not up to them. They cannot change the past, nor can they change the outcome of the work that their staff are doing since it’s the weekend.

In A Guide to the Good Life; The Ancient Art of Stoic JoyWilliam B Irvine. A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy. OUP USA, New York, USA, 2009., William B. Irvine explains the Stoic approach to control. They reason that we should only focus on things that we can affect. Stoics would argue that our protagonist’s problems are fundamentally out of their control, so they shouldn’t worry about them. Period.

Hang on a second. I’m sure that you, the reader, have some objections:

  • Surely, this is an oversimplification! Everything that I’m going through in my managerial role is ...