In this opening section I need to make the assumption you are new to people management and you are in a moment of your career where you need guidance. I'm also going use this opportunity and break the news to you that it's unlikely that you've actually been managed properly, which means together we need to 'tear down before we build up'. This is going to require you to be brave, and operate with an open mindset as you are introduced to concepts and frameworks that in time will make you look and feel like a superhero to your people!
As we progress though this guide, each topic will be listed on the right hand side.
Stages of Change
The Transtheoretical Model, or stages of change, describes the situation you are going though. Understanding, accepting and working though what is happening will slingshot you to change.
There are five primary stages:
- Precontemplation, where individuals are not yet considering change
- Contemplation, where they recognize the need for change and start to think about it
- Preparation, where they plan and prepare for the change
- Action, where they actively implement the change
- Maintenance, where they work to sustain the change over time.
Each stage represents a step in the process of modifying behavior, and individuals can move back and forth between stages as they progress towards lasting change.
As a new manager just the thought of taking on the responsibility of managing another human can bring mixed emotion, both excitement and terror. But don't worry you are in safe hands, and so are those you are now managing.
People management might not be the progression in your career that you quite expected or wanted, you may not have even had a say in it happening! But do not think for one second that you cannot be an awesome manager, this guide was written for this specific purpose.
Regardless of how you arrived at this moment you are now in the position to be one of the best things that ever happened to someone. You have the potential to be one of managers they look back on in their career and think of fondly.
The art of management
I'd guess that many people have never really been managed, they have had managers but they have played more of a supervisor role rather than someone that is focused on nurturing them on their career path. On reflection this is exactly what ive experienced and only since learning there was more to management have I come to appreciate it is an art. Like any art it requires you to dedicate time into learning the techniques in order to master it.
I firmly belive that if a company has great managers, people will enjoy working there and the business will have fewer internal obsticals to achieving its strategic goals. I will also go out on a limb and say that an organisations management strength is actually the most important aspect of its operation, I see this now and I hope you will too. Humans are what makes the company succeed and happy productive people deliver impact at scale.
Throughout this guide I want to walk you though what it takes to be an awesome manager, there are many topics to discuss and I plan to share my experience and perspective to help you, because I believe that if you understand the scope of what is involved the easier it will be to wrap your arms around.
Counter to many management books, guidance, and manuals, you will find my approach is focused on people first. My experience has been that if you put people first the business will get what it needs, both humans and business win.
Nurturing people
The first challenge i'd like to put to you is not to default to your own experiences, and shaping how you manage based on how you were managed.
Your focus is now developing and nurturing those in your care, I chose the expression 'nurture' deliberately because it accurately reflects what is needed help each individual to be their best selves now and in the future.
Each one of your direct reports is a unique human, they have a life outside of work, they have families, friends, hobbies, partners and interests - just like you! You want to get to know them as humans, understand what they really care about (motivations), and what they don't so that you can help craft their growth and impact over time.
You will most likely hold the view that you are determined on managing better than you've been managed and thats awesome, so lets channel that drive into preparing you for what is to follow. The hard truth is that you will need to adapt your mindset towards management, we all have, and that is because it requires you to put people before delivery. Don't get me wrong you can still achieve delivery, it just requires a different approach and I fully intend to prove this to you.
As you wade though books on management many will focus on the structure, processes, mechanics these are critical and we will cover them too, but the most important element that is often lacking is what often refer to as the “connective tissue”, the human element.
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Preparing for direct reports
You will be expected to continue to carry out your job, now with the added responsibility of caring for your direct reports. Think about how you are going to balance this throughout your week and carve out time to dedicate to your responsibilities. It would be a good idea to block these times out in your calendar, not only for the intent of ensuring you are able to do them, but also helps other know you are busy and do not schedule meetings etc with you at those times.
In order to carry out your duties you need to care both about what they do, and how they do it. To be specific doing your job is good, however helping others, being focused on the bigger picture, and doing things to strengthen the dynamics of the team at the same time is brilliant.
There is a year in year out cycle to management and each person in your care. Thinking about it as a checklist is ok, but never consider care for people as a tickbox exercise. You must be objective as that is the only way to help, but you must also be human because at the end of the day people are not robots.
So lets just list out the responsibility you have now just taken on:
- Performance
- Career progression
- Working arrangements
- Salary
- Bonus
- Training & development
- Welbeing
- Feedback
To guide your direct report to this place you will work to get to know them better, you don’t have to become BFFs or social friends, but you do need to take a personal interest. This is known as establishing phychological safety. The mutual understanding that giving a little of each other will help develop the depth of the overall relationship.
"Psychological safety is the belief that you won't be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes. At work, it's a shared expectation held by members of a team that teammates will not embarrass, reject, or punish them for sharing ideas, taking risks, or soliciting feedback."
With phycological safety established you are able to speak more freely about where things are going well and where things can be improved. What you will find is that interactions will become rich with meaning and impact, they will begin with discussing the weekend, how you both are getting along with a hobby or interest and even how your partners or children are doing. It’s not awkward, it’s not intrusive, it’s a deeper relationship.
You can start to see that this is incredibly helpful when you need to guide your direct report through their career development. There are times when sharing feedback where this will become critical, they will trust that you will share it in a way they can both understand and take action.
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