In the absence of supernatural alien powers, us common mortal managers are constantly rattling our brains about how to become a super-manager.
Let’s start with why we long to become great managers. Apart from that satisfying sense of achievement you get from having developed strong talents over time in your team, you may have also had a great manager yourself. So it’s about giving back. Or, on the contrary, like some parents, you want to give your springs everything you were not given yourself.
Whether you are new to people management or have a good few years experience, if you are reading this you are likely to have the basics; those regular one-on-ones with your team members. But let’s face it: No-one is just a people manager anymore. We all have our roles and responsibilities, where “manage a team” is simply an “on top” part of our job description. And you are a good people manager. But it’s like kryptonite is stopping you in your ways..
So what will accelerate your growth as a people manager? What will strengthen your management skills? What’s missing? Use the below 6 tips as a checklist that I hope will inspire you to reveal your hidden “S” and fly above and beyond your city’s limits!
1. Build the relationship. Earn the trust
Make sure you develop a healthy relationship with your team members. This fundamentally includes earning their trust. Reveal the real you and be yourself. Be honest and focus on building a strong, long-term connection. This means having (also) informal conversations, asking for their opinion, following through with their ideas and supporting them.
2. Listen + coach
A close cousin of the above, but deserves a point all to itself. Listen and coach, in that order. Listening sounds easy, but as you are more experienced than the person reporting to you, it is very tempting to jump in with your advice as soon as you think you have understood the issue. Often, however, the first thing they say is not their real challenge. Show you care, by diving deeper and deeper into what your report is saying, and make sure they do most of the talking.
Start to coach them on the topic only when you are sure you have the full picture. You may even find that they get there on their own, purely thanks to you asking the right questions. That’s a good coach. One effective way to start a conversation where you are an active listener, is to begin with an observation on how you see them today.
3. Empower + Exploit
Empowerment is about giving your team members the space and the tools to take ownership of a project or a task. Your role here is to set them up for success, give them the advice they need and do not micromanage them. They may need to check in with you along the way (if they ask, you know you’ve got points 1 and 2 right). A very effective way of empowering a talent in your team is to ramp them up through succession planning towards your role. Once your team member has achieved something great, make sure you go public with it! Positively exploit the achievement and celebrate their results; drop an email to top management (or everyone) on what they did and how they did it.
4. Collect the facts and make a dead-set decision
When it comes to decision making, your team members are often fundamental to helping you reach the right conclusion. This 4th point requires you to have conquered all 3 of the above ones: (1) Your strong relationship will ensure that your team members want to help you; (2) Be at the top of your game with your listening skills, so that you dive as deep as possible into the data and the facts your team will share with you; (3) Once your decision has been made, ensure you recognize your team for their support. Then the most important part, once you have all you need, do not waver on your decision.
5. Face your demons and elephants
It’s hard being a people manager. Then it gets harder when you realize you need to solve a tricky problem with someone in your team. The issue may be about general low performance or one big mistake some has made, or it may be about a bad attitude. In any case, do not delay these cases for longer than a week. Problems need to be faced together with you, front-on and while they are still fresh. Pluck-up your super-courage and have those difficult conversations.
6. Hope you get a tough cookie
Last but definitely not least, this one will help you become a super-manager the hardest, but potentially the most effective way. By “tough cookie” I mean someone who, for one reason or another, is particularly difficult to manage. They may not believe you are good enough to be their manager, they may have a conflictual personality or they may just not like you. If you have a tough cookie, you know it 🙂 They may seem like they want to make your life difficult, you may even see each other as the enemy. This team member is constantly challenging you, making you look bad in front of the others, making you feel you are not doing a good job as their manager, right? Why can’t they just be nice, kind and helpful like the others?
Do not see them as the enemy, because like it or not, these individuals are your key to developing stronger, more mature management skills. Like in sport, if it’s making you sweat, it’s working. These people will stretch you as a manager, as you stretch them in their developmental path. By constantly challenging you, they will force you to look around corners, obsess about high standards, reason, experiment, search alternative solutions. They will push you to become greater than what you expected. You just have to recognize and embrace the situation. In their defense, they are probably just ambitious and don’t want to be set back.
Don’t fall into the trap of being negatively provoked, but take a moment to assess what is the best way to react, maturely as the super-manager you are.
Finally Superman-ager, Leadership is about leading, and leading by example. And above all, it’s more about giving than receiving, because if your focus is on giving (listening, building on their growth, developing their skills, caring, etc.) then it is likely you will receive a great deal more, as a consequence.
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