5 Things I’d Tell Myself On My First Day as a Manager
When I was 23, nine months into my first full-time role, a reorg landed me as manager of the business development team I worked on, including my three fellow team members. I’d managed a couple of interns before, but this was the big leagues - responsible for the careers and development of real, full-time human beings...
A lot of young people tend to put management on a pedestal, some badge of honor showing they’ve been put in charge. Unfortunately, not enough people see management for what it is - a responsibility, first and foremost, to your employees - to develop their talent, fight for them behind closed doors, and ultimately the responsibility for their success or failure at work.
It’s been eight years since being thrown into the deep end, and a friend recently asked what advice I had for new managers.
Out of hundreds of experiments and ideas, here are 5 things I wish I knew on that first day as a manager.
1. Deflect “What should I do?” back onto the employee
It might be the most common question asked of managers... “What should I do?” A couple of variations you may have heard:
In sales: “I’m getting this objection from a prospect… What should I do?”
In inter-company communication: “I’m having trouble getting buy-in around this project… What should I do?”
In building a presentation: “Not sure how to show this data… What should I do?”
When asked for your opinion around a plan of action, it’s tempting - especially as a new manager - to flex your expertise and reward the employee for their impeccable judgment in coming to you for advice. But management isn’t about showing off - it’s about training your people to make the right call without you. Immediately giving them the “right answer” is the slowest way to get there.
Hands down, the best answer to “What should I do?” is… “What do you think you should do?”
Flipping the script and pushing the question back on them has a magical effect, specifically:
Allows you to see (and edit) the employee’s thought process. Is their suggestion close to what you would have recommended? Way out in left field? Did they come up with something even better than what you would have? Forcing the person to take their best guess at the appropriate course of action helps shine a light on their strengths and weaknesses - so you can course-correct, accordingly.
Empowers your team to make use of the data available to them. As teams grow, your reports will have the most relevant information related to the problems they're solving - your understanding of the situation will likely be much more surface level. Asking the person to assess the data and propose a response will often help you further understand the circumstances surrounding the situation at hand.
Teaches employees to have a problem-solver mindset. The long term goal is for employees to execute at a high level without you, and giving away the answer every time someone asks will form a dependence on you - people won’t think for themselves. Train autonomous killers that understand the strategy, not worker bees that need your opinion on every move.
The hidden treasure here is that a lot of the time you will have to do less work/thinking. Let the employee make a suggestion - don’t just give them the answer.
2. Keep notes on every employee
Coming up with feedback doesn’t come naturally to everyone, but as a new manager, it’s time to start building the habit. Create a note for each report (Evernote, Notes, old fashioned paper and a Ticonderoga #2, whatever your fancy), and make a habit of consistently recording feedback to be delivered later on. Similar to how simply keeping a dream journal next to your bed helps trigger lucid dreaming, having an active note on each team member triggers your mind, forming a habit around constantly asking yourself how people can improve.
3 great questions I like to ask myself when struggling to think of feedback for someone:
If I were in their shoes, what would I be doing differently?
Why isn’t this person being promoted today? What do they need to do differently for that to happen?
What is this person doing great? What behavior do I want to MAKE SURE they continue?
Moreover, constructive feedback is best given in private, and recording your thoughts fresh ensures you won’t forget or jumble insights if you can’t immediately relay to the person. Whether you’d advise framing something different in a presentation they just gave, wish they would have spoken up more in a meeting, or you just realize after hours that they haven’t been committing to a project - storing your stream of conscious thoughts in a live note to be drawn upon is a great trick for making sure you can deliver actionable and specific feedback in every 1:1.
3. In that Note, also keep a list of “What I need to see to promote this person”
A manager’s job is to recruit, develop, and promote talent --- this last piece can often prove the greatest test of the manager/report relationship. When someone asks what’s required for a promotion, there is no response more frustrating than, “Let me think about it and get back to you.”
You should always know exactly what your reports need to develop/achieve in order for them to reach the next level.
Keep a list - this will differ for each person depending on level and role - of both soft and hard skills that need to be developed in order for that person to be promoted - here’s an example of one list I had for an entry-level employee, many moons ago:
Mastery understanding of core business and strategy - ability to onboard new employees and explain team strategy with expertise
Show you can tailor our sales pitch deck for the situation and client
Close 4 deals of $X value
Show great judgment in mining prospects for top deals - understanding of roles and responsibilities at partner orgs
Having a concrete plan prepares you for the inevitable “how do I get promoted” conversation, and forms a rubric to construct feedback against down the line. Once you’ve defined exactly what’s expected from someone, identifying specific points of feedback becomes much easier.
4. Tout great work
Constructive feedback is essential. But that’s not to say that your people aren’t also going to be doing great things. It is essential - and extremely valuable - to tour your employees’ stellar work to the rest of the team and company. If someone was a rockstar on a recent project, that shouldn’t be a secret to the employee, nor the rest of the team.
Also - your employees’ success is your success - don’t you dare take credit for the accomplishments of your team. The best way to show off how great of a manager you are is to let the work of your reports do the talking.
Reinforce positive behavior, celebrate wins, and make sure the rest of the team knows who is killing it.
5. Don’t take culture for granted
At the end of the day, management is an art, not a science - and while half the fun is in defining and growing your own style, how you interact with the team and the systems you put in place for your team will by default shape the culture of your team starting Day 1. Culture is created in every meeting, every reaction to the team hitting (or missing) goals, and most importantly, in every conversation between team members that you are not a part of.
Be concerted, don’t leave it to chance, and think about the culture your team is forming. Look out for a post next month on what can make or break great cultures.
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