So, you’ve been promoted to manager… now what?
Over the Winter holidays I had the pleasure of catching up with many friends. We shared pleasantries and asked the common question adults ask each other: how's work? Fortunately, I got to celebrate with several people as they told me they had recently been promoted. Yes! Congrats! Unfortunately, every person that experienced a promotion also told me the same story: I don't know how to be a manager, and my company isn't helping. I didn’t decide to write this article to cast blame on organizations—most are just doing the best they can and are aware there is a gap in their professional development resources. The reality is that even when we are aware of the gaps, they don't just fix themselves overnight, and there is nearly always something else that takes priority.
Valid excuses aside, around the world today many people will be promoted into people-manager positions, and very few of them will receive the help and support they need to be successful in the role. Furthermore, many people that have been managers for years might not be ready for managing after the pandemic, which has a much lower focus on task management and a higher focus on empathy. According to the Harvard Business Review, "The most effective managers of the future will be those who build fundamentally different relationships with their employees." This is a dramatic shift from managers of the past who did not have the productivity tools of today and were forced to take on the role of "assigning work and nudging productivity." The research and consulting firm Gartner predicts that by 2024, 69% of the tasks done by managers will be replaced with technology and only 47% of managers will be ready for the change.
In a brief LinkedIn poll of 47 people, when asked to describe the most important thing a manager can do, 45% said "Give me autonomy in my tasks," followed by 38% wishing their managers would "help me feel valued." The mostly remote employees of today can manage their own tasks—what they need is a manager who will listen and support them. If managers of old don't recognize this and make a change, they will be left with very frustrated team members. A UKG Workforce Institute study surveyed 3400 people across 10 countries and found that "managers have just as much of an impact on people's mental health as their spouse (both 69%) - and even more of an impact than their doctors (51%) or therapist (41%)." In other words, the approach you take as a manager matters. The impact you have on the lives of the people on your team can be the difference between them loving or hating their job, which greatly impacts their mental well-being. While it can feel like a lot of pressure, rest easy. The biggest battle any leader faces is finding the desire to be a great leader, and the fact that you are reading this article means you are already winning.
The following suggestions for new managers are based off my nearly 20 years’ experience managing small and large teams, as well as lessons learned from a variety of management books and articles, of which I've included my favorites as a resource for those who want to dive deeper. I should also note that in the modern workplace, it is impossible to offer suggestions without including technology. As a Microsoft expert, most of mine will be centered around their suite of tools, however I've included a list below of equivalents in other suites like Google or free resources available to all.
Week 1 | Essential Tasks
Establish dominance by firing the weakest link on the team
Kidding, please do not do that! Many people step into leadership positions with an outdated authoritarian view of what being a manager is. Honestly, even the word manager is misguided. People don't need or want to be managed; they need to be led. A good people-leader is one who amplifies the natural skill in each team member and creates space for them to shine. I love the way Liz Wiseman puts it in her book, Multipliers, describing great leaders as people who "used their intelligence as a tool rather than a weapon… These leaders seemed to make everyone around them better and more capable. These leaders weren't just intelligent themselves - they were intelligence Multipliers."
Action item: Before you begin the logistical stuff like setting up one-on-ones and team meetings (see Month 1), do a status check and make sure you're going in with the right mindset. You’re not there to dictate, you’re there because the whole is better than the sum of its parts and becoming "whole" is a lot easier with great leadership.
Lead by example
There are many leaders out there who will tell you directly "do as I say, not as I do.” These are the people that tell you to show up on time but are always late themselves. They say they trust you but then micromanage everything you do. Don't be that kind of leader. Whatever expectations you want to set for your team, make sure it is something you can commit to yourself. The idea here is not that you are becoming the perfect manager that no one ever was for you, it's that you are starting with reasonable expectations. Sometimes ideal can't happen for one reason or another, and that's okay. Pick one or two things you think are important standards to set and hold to those. The mistake new managers make is not falling short, it's setting the bar too high in the first place.
Action Item: Make a list of everything you think you want your team to be doing (e.g. turn camera on during virtual meetings, arrive on time, track tasks in a planner board). Now go down the list and first see if you are up to each task yourself. If you aren't or if it's just not possible in your work environment, then change the list. It's better to start small and be true to your word than having to back pedal later.
Reach out
Whether it's a drop in at their office, or a Teams chat message, it is important to establish yourself as a leader who communicates and is there to support your team. Remember that becoming a manager is not just a change for you, it's also a change for the people you are managing. Depending on the circumstances, this may be a smooth and easy transition, or it could upend their entire day-to-day operations. If your schedule is very full, at least send a chat message. Don’t over think it. Your goal is to just establish a line of communication. Someone who gets a new manager should never be left wondering, even for a day, what to expect from you.
Action Item: Send an individual message to each person on your new team. It doesn’t have to be long, but it does need to be personal. If you now have a large team, copy the main thing you want to say - I just wanted to drop a message to say I am looking forward to working together. You can expect an invite to a one-on-one by the end of the week where we can talk through details and any questions you have. In the meantime, if you have anything more time sensitive just shoot me a message! When you paste it to everyone just personalize it by at least adding their name. The level of personalization will (and should) vary based on how well you know the person already.
Month 1 | Essential Tasks
Set up Team Meetings
Every team should meet regularly, but the cadence and structure will vary greatly based on company and team size. I recommend smaller teams (10 or less people) meeting once a month. This meeting is additional to any other meetings you have around your tasks. This meeting is not to talk about the work you’re doing or even how you’re doing it, it is where you proactively build relationships with each other so that any difficult conversations you have in the future are a lot easier. Or you might use some of the time to have the essential conversations every team may need to have, but rarely has time for. We often keep going about our processes in slow, inefficient ways because we don’t carve out the time to ask the question – is there a better way?
Action Item: Before you set up the cadence, start with just one meeting together. This will allow you to invite your team into the discussion of when and how often to meet. What I have suggested here is what has worked for me; however, one universal truth is that people want to be a part of the process. This is their meeting, so give them space to decide how it goes.
Set up cadence of one-on-ones
A good one-on-one does two things: answers questions and guides professional growth. I have often seen people provide space for the former but then fall short with the latter. They say, “the one-on-one is for you, so you bring the agenda.” I personally think this is a lazy approach. While it is true that we all should come to a one-on-one ready with any questions (and you should guide your team to do this), the intent of this meeting is not just to get things done. This space should be a chance to talk through any places your team member may be struggling, and those conversations will be very hard if you haven’t already been helping them feel valued during this time. It is also a space to talk about them and their growth at the company. It is far too easy to let the day-to-day tasks dominate the conversation and so I always recommend finding a way to create space for both.
Action Item: Set up a recurring meeting with each team member for at least every other week. The cadence and length may vary if you are remote or in person, and with the seniority of the person. Find a way to make sure you have space to talk about their tasks and space to talk about them. For remote teams, I recommend 25 minutes every week alternating between talking about their work and talking about them.
Define high performance
One of the things I ask during every interview I’ve ever been in is this: how will I know if I’ve succeeded? 6 months or 6 years down the road, what metrics can I use or what milestones can I reach to know that I’m knocking it out of the park? Even for people who have been put into positions that fit their skill set, they likely won’t succeed without clear expectations. This is true of day-to-day work that lacks a clear “definition of done” and “acceptance criteria." It is also true of essential skills that fail to develop. Most people are capable of excelling in any role they are put in, the difference is in the leadership. Do they have someone who has clearly outlined expectations; someone who has the courage to address problem points head on before they become major issues? Whether it’s in your one-on-ones or in your team meetings, by the end of the first month every member should know what it takes to succeed this week, this month, and this year.
Action item: For this week, day-to-day work should be clear. When you assign projects, be specific. Don’t say it’s due next week, but rather be ready to present this in the 3pm meeting on Wednesday. For this month, establish team goals that you are working toward and show how they achieve company goals/metrics. If you see a team member underperforming in an area, bring it up early. Talk about it. For help with those conversations check out the tips in this article: The Day I Decided to Quit - How to Have Difficult Conversations. For the year, if you are going to use any system to judge someone’s performance, they should know about it now. Do not show up in an annual review with some rubric they have never seen. Bring it up quarterly so you can talk about it on a regular basis.
Year 1 | Things to consider
Are you a remote team? Consider a daily standup.
A daily standup is a 15-minute meeting in which each team member says what they worked on yesterday, what they will work on today, and any roadblocks. It is called stand-up because often when in person the group is standing, with the intention to keep it short and only to the three designated questions. It is not the time to solve elaborate problems, it is just the time to mention them and off-line any troubleshooting. For remote teams, it is a great chance to say hi and laugh together, which helps with team camaraderie. It also allows you as the leader to offer support where needed, while still giving full autonomy of projects they are working on. A successful standup is not the team giving you updates, but rather the team giving each other updates. They are fully capable people that can help and support each other. You should be doing very little talking and you might not even need to be there every day. For larger teams, keep standup groups to 5ish people. You can join as needed or alternate between groups. Remember you are there to support and guide, not dictate.
How old are the people you manage? Consider generational needs of each member.
Did you know that people are different? Yup! Revolutionary concept, I know. Unfortunately, despite knowing this we still try to help people the way we would want to be helped. That might be a good place to start, but not everyone will thrive if you give them the same things you need. Personality type is one thing most people consider, but generational differences can be just as important. These days you will often find teams that span Gen Z, Millennial, and Gen X, so being aware of some of the common differences is important. I personally found this LinkedIn Learning course, Managing Generation Z, to be very helpful. The fact that it was only 30 minutes and interesting to watch was a bonus!
Are there any tools that can make your life easier? Consider automating some tasks.
Often people know what they should do but finding the time to do it is a whole other ballgame. For me, being encouraging and compassionate is not my strong suit. It’s there, for sure. I don't have to fake it, but I do have to intentionally make time for it. My default instinct is to jump right into problem solving and getting things done. To combat this, when I managed my last team, I used OneNote. In our shared team notebook, each team member had a password protected section. Every one-on-one we had, I would create a page, which allowed me (and them) to drop in any agenda items ahead of the meeting. Throughout the week, anytime I saw them doing great, I would add it to the page under a “Keep it Up!” list. What this allowed me to do was give very specific positive feedback rather than generic “you’re doing great” statements - Great job speaking up during Tuesday's meeting. It was a heated conversation, but you handled yourself well and gave clear and concise opinions. I also was able to use that list to share up the line to my manager. The goal here was not just to make my team members feel valued, but it was to make sure I was acknowledging and sharing their value with other people.
Do you have space to talk about the elephants?Consider individual and team check ins to address changes or concerns.
We all know the familiar expression “the elephant in the room.” The elephant is the thing everyone sees but no one talks about. Elephants are things that will destroy teams if left unchecked. Your role as a manager is to create a safe space to talk about the elephants. The best way to do that (in addition to creating a positive team environment with all the other things in this article) is to model calling out the elephant. In their book, Crucial Conversations, the authors* talk about the importance of decreasing the lag time between when something happens and when you talk about the thing that happened: "You can measure the health of relationships, teams, and organizations by measuring the lag time between when problems are identified and when they are resolved." For example, if there is a big company announcement that might leave people feeling uneasy, don’t wait until your next team meeting or one-on-one to discuss it. Schedule an extra touch point right away and call it out - that announcement was a shock. How are you feeling about it? You also need to call out your own elephants when you see them - wow, yesterday in our meeting I took over when I shouldn’t have. I know I have a tendency toward micromanaging and I’m sorry. Please help me work on it and let me know if I do that again. Our job as manager is to call out the elephant when you know there is one, especially if it's you. If you lead by example in this, then hopefully when someone on your team spots one that you don’t see, they will feel confident and comfortable bringing it up because they’ve seen you handle it gracefully. Creating space for these conversations is what makes or breaks a team.
Do you know what motivates your team members? Consider if they are a rockstar or superstar.
In her book, Radical Candor, Kim Scott describes how a leader at Apple used to think about the members of their team as either Rock Stars or Superstars. She writes, "Rock stars are solid as a rock… The rock stars love their work. They have found their groove. They don't want the next job if it will take them away from their craft. Not all artists want to own a gallery; in fact, most don't. If you honor and reward the rock stars, they'll become the people you most rely on. If you promote them into roles they don't want or aren't suited for, however, you'll lose them - or, even worse, wind up firing them. Superstars, on the other hand, need to be challenged and given new opportunities to grow constantly." When you talk about a career path and growth with each team member, ask then directly what they want to be doing a few years from now. If you are a superstar, it’s easy to assume that is what everyone else wants too - a promotion up the ladder - but that’s not always the case. Learn more about the goals of each person so you can pave the way for them to thrive.
Resources & Further Reading:
Gartner Predicts 69% of Routine Work Currently Done by Managers will be Fully Automated by 2024
The Day I Decided to Quit - How to Have Difficult Conversations.
Crucial Conversations by Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler and Emily Gregory*
Multipliers by Liz Wiseman
Radical Candor by Kim Scott
Trust and Inspire by Stephen M. Covey
Leading from the Middle By Scott Lautz
The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni
Measure What Matters By John Doerr and Larry Page
Tool Options:
OneNote - this is free to all, although there are other options like Evernote or Google Keep.
Planner - Google Tasks, Trello, Asana, Monday.com,
Teams - Slack, Zoom chat, Webex, Google chat, etc.
Check out all posts for People Managers:
Clearing the Path for Change | Part 4
It is ironic that the only way I have managed to start writing this article on Focus Time, was to wake up at 5am on a Saturday. It has been on my To Do list for weeks, but somehow there was always something more pressing that bumped it down the line. Does this sound familiar to you? Too often the environment that we are living and working in does not leave enough uninterrupted space to focus on the things that matter most.