The Top 3 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Management
Looking back, there are dozens of things I wish I could have taught my past self that would have helped tremendously. In this article I cover the top 3 that I think would be valuable to a new manager, or a reminder to a more seasoned one.
It’s true for any career that the further you progress, the more experience you develop which leads you to make better, more informed decisions and become more successful. Many of these are unfortunately not teachable; you need to go through the journey, make mistakes, and learn. Pieces of advice are often largely generalized in nature and tough to apply “on the ground” when you’re in the thick of things.
I thought largely about advice that could hopefully be both relevant and applicable to my past self, and came up with the points below. This should hopefully be relevant to your own journey — hope you enjoy!
#1 — You Will Make Many Mistakes — and Here’s Why That’s Good For You
As someone who has a hard time handling mistakes, I would often get demoralized when I messed up or missed a date. I refused to even think retrospectively on the mistake, too ashamed to relive the painful memories and look for wisdom in it.
What I failed to see, however, was that these failures made me a better person. I was so hard on myself that I couldn’t get past the mistake, and so there was no growth. Mistakes serve as invaluable learning opportunities, providing managers with firsthand experience of the consequences of their decisions. Analyzing and understanding the root causes of mistakes fosters a deeper comprehension of complex situations and helps managers refine their decision-making processes. Moreover, the humility that comes from acknowledging mistakes creates a positive leadership trait. It encourages a culture of openness and transparency within the team, allowing for constructive feedback and continuous improvement.
Additionally, facing and learning from mistakes promotes resilience and adaptability. Managers who have encountered setbacks are better equipped to navigate challenges, finding innovative solutions and adapting strategies for future success. Embracing a mindset that values learning from failures can also cultivate a more dynamic and creative work environment. Team members feel encouraged to take calculated risks, knowing that mistakes are viewed not as failures but as stepping stones toward improvement.
In essence, the willingness to make mistakes and learn from them is a powerful tool for professional development, enabling managers to lead more effectively, foster innovation, and build resilient and high-performing teams.
Now I have a much healthier outlook, and although I’m still making mistakes, I’m asking myself often what I could have done better or differently. In a weird way, I’m sometimes grateful for the mistakes because I know it comes with life lessons that I could not have learned in any other way.
For you, the reader, try to think about your mistakes and learn from them. If you’re going through without doing this, you’re doing yourself a great disservice!
#2 — Your Team Has Strengths and Weaknesses — Know Them
In my past teams, I regret that I did not dive in deeper on the personal level with each member. In addition to poor 1:1 attendance, and not giving enough Feedback, I also didn’t come to appreciate their strengths and weaknesses to create a more successful team and deliver better on my goals.
A successful manager understands that a team, like any dynamic entity, possesses a combination of strengths and weaknesses — it’s up to you to use these for the benefit of themselves, the team, and the company.
Now, whenever I meet people, I find myself subconsciously assessing. “This person seems very charismatic, I bet you they’d be great at talking to Product or Clients. This person is detail-oriented, I probably want them working on my status reports and doing code review”. This silent appraisal I do is what helps me to build effective teams — I identify where everyone is on the their professional trajectory, how I can help them grow, and where they’d be best positioned for success.
While it is natural for us to avoid handing out assignments that could exploit inherent vulnerabilities (ensuring that team members are not set up for failure), I also do try to grow them in these weak areas. Not growing your team in these “discomfort” areas can lead them to having a lack of confidence — for example if one person was always bad at presentations, it’s not good for you to always say “Well that’s not the person who does presentations. Let’s keep them off that forever”. Instead, challenge yourself to say “What can I do to grow them at becoming better at presentations?”.
A skilled manager invests in professional development opportunities to bolster their team’s skill sets, transforming weaknesses into strengths over time. This dual approach of leveraging strengths while actively supporting the growth of weaknesses creates a synergistic team environment, where each member contributes optimally, fostering overall team success and continuous individual development.
#3 — Your Job as Manager: Results AND Retention
As a new manager, I had a hard time understanding what I’m supposed to do. Do I write code anymore? Am I supposed to let people lead initiatives or do I lead everything? How do I balance projects with people? It was really confusing.
Fortunately, I came across some advice early on that helped me tremendously. Mark Horstman, Author of The Effective Manager, and Co-Founder of Manager Tools, says a manager’s job is to both deliver results and focus on employee retention.
When I first read this, I had a huge realization that I was not focusing on both in equal measure, often too worried about one or the other, and often at the wrong times.
As a manager, your job is to deliver results for your company, and ALSO to care deeply for your team and retain them, helping them to be the best they can. Not one, or the other, or sometimes one, but both, all the time.
However, it’s easy to lose that perspective. Focus only on results (meaning care little for your team), and your efforts to drive a project to completion will result in angry Directs who in the long run will move on to new jobs. Sure, you’ll get the project done, but at what cost? Ironically, the results you were chasing will dwindle as you lose trust with your team, damage your reputation, and face attrition.
In other words, it is too easy to become overly fixated on achieving results while neglecting the well-being and job satisfaction of the team, and I see it time and time again — managers take this route, and it leads to a host of detrimental consequences. An incessant focus on outcomes without due consideration for the individuals responsible for achieving them can result in aforementioned burnout, stress, and a toxic work environment. Employees may feel overworked and undervalued, which can lead to high turnover rates and decreased morale. Moreover, a results-only mindset creatures a culture that prioritizes short-term gains over long-term employee development and loyalty. Team members may become disengaged or disenchanted, impacting collaboration and overall team dynamics. Sustainable success hinges on a manager’s ability to strike a delicate balance between driving results and creating an environment where employees feel supported, motivated, and valued, ultimately contributing to both individual and collective success within the organization.
a results-only mindset creatures a culture that prioritizes short-term gains over long-term employee development and loyalty.
While prioritizing employee retention is undoubtedly crucial for fostering a positive work culture and building a dedicated team, solely focusing on retention at the expense of achieving tangible results poses significant dangers for a manager. A manager’s responsibility extends beyond cultivating a harmonious workplace; they must also drive productivity and contribute to the company’s success. Ignoring the pursuit of results in favor of retaining team members may lead to complacency and a lack of accountability. Your team might become more focused on maintaining the status quo rather than pushing boundaries and achieving ambitious goals. This myopic approach could hinder innovation, stifle competitiveness, and compromise the organization’s overall performance.
So you see, in the end, striking a balance between employee retention and achieving measurable outcomes is essential for a manager to ensure the long-term success and sustainability of both the team and the company. You need to have both!
Wrapping Up
We cannot pick up a book and learn everything without making mistakes and gaining experience. The problem, however, is many of us do not try (or make the time) to learn from these, becoming a better person. Try to be retrospective, and appreciate that each day brings with it new learning and opportunities and that will mold and shape you to be a better, more resilient manager.
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