10 Tips for becoming a Better people Manager
During my tenure in Silicon Valley, I worked in a managerial role, from a lead to a senior director, managing small and large teams of engineers both locally and globally. Over the years, I came to have an in-depth understanding of the management job and attended many managerial trainings. I got better at the parts that didn’t come easily and managed to build a few strong teams. I’m still in touch with some of my direct reports and colleagues today.
Of course, it wasn’t all fun establishing new teams and managing people. There were many challenges, unexpected organizational changes, lay-offs, shifting priorities, the loss of key employees, nerve-wracking presentations, endless meetings and performance reviews, and the list goes on. In spite of all of these, I enjoyed my role as a manager. Even when I didn’t like my job, I looked forward to going to work each day and collaborating with my team members.
One question that always came up among many of my reports was how they, too, could become people managers. They wanted to know what path I had taken to get there. Part of it was good luck—I had a natural knack for leading people and helping the team reach our goals. But the rest was learned over time, sometimes the hard way. Mainly, I learned from my own managers what not to do: the things that would drive team members crazy and create confusion, frustration. and distrust.
But to return to the question—how do you become a people manager or team leader?—the reality is, it’s no great mystery. Do your job well and let your supervisor know you want to move up, and you’ll be on the path. The better question is, how do you become a good people manager?
Most companies reward exceptionally hard workers with promotions, and frequently, such a promotion means a new managerial role. But just because you’re now working as a manager doesn’t mean your company will actually teach you what the role entails. Over time, new managers learn the hard way how to manage a team, conduct proper one-on-ones, run team meetings, write performance reviews, and help their team members grow. It’s usually a bumpy road.
This journey of becoming a manager could be a lot easier if organizations spent some time upfront training new first-line managers. They should promote formal training sessions and educate all new managers about how to lead meetings, receive and share ongoing feedback, set priorities and goals, conduct team-building exercises and interviews, and more. These managers will become the future leaders of the company, so why not invest in their future starting from the day one?
If you’re a new manager or thinking about becoming one and don’t have support from your company, here are a few actions I highly suggest you consider.
Check if your company offers any training for new managers, and if it does, sign up ASAP.
Learn about your team members and their responsibilities/projects.
Communicate status updates with your team members daily. What’s getting in the way of meeting their goals? Can you or someone else help?
Always have an agenda for your meetings—send your agenda in advance. A bulleted format works fine. This allows everyone to stay on track and get something meaningful out of your meeting.
Schedule weekly one-on-one meetings with your team members. This is a critical part of your role. Do your very best not to reschedule unless something truly pressing arises.
Keep your one-on-ones useful. In my experience, employees either want to 1. vent about another person, team, or situation; 2. ask for advice on a specific matter; or 3. get clarification on work priorities. Allow all three cases, but be an active listener and ask open-ended thoughtful questions. Employees should be talking the majority of the time, not you.
Trust your team members to do the right thing. They already know the right answers; they just need to speak it out aloud and get confirmation.
Ideally, your team members will come up with new ideas and approaches, rather than being told what to do by you. This way they truly believe in the idea, and if it doesn’t work, you can encourage them to try a new approach and adjust based on the lessons learned from previous attempts.
Give honest feedback with clear, timely examples. (Don’t wait weeks to bring something up.) Feedback can be positive or constructive, but how you deliver a constructive message is critical. Present yourself to the employees as their coach not a judge.
Keep records of your feedback—they come in handy when you need to write a semi-annual or annual review.
What challenges have you faced as a manager? What have you learned?
If you’re struggling to move up in your career or want to make a change, schedule a free coaching consultation today. Let’s see if I can help!