Advice to a New Manager

I was chatting recently with a friend of mine who was being promoted into management for the first time. This young, talented engineer flattered me by asking what advice I'd have for a new manager.

I've been around a bit. I led teams of over thirty people before I turned thirty: sometimes well, sometimes poorly, but always with whatever tools were at my disposal at the time. Nearly never, though, was I trained for the job, and I've always considered myself a work in progress.

It's amazing to consider. In my current field of software engineering, a four year degree is the norm just to get in the door most places, and it's expected that one will continue that education forever into the future, constantly learning new tools, practices, and patterns. But, when it comes to mentoring the next generation, balancing engineering work with people management, and taking others' careers into one's hands, there is none. Zero. Zilch. Nada. The fact there are any good managers at all is amazing to me.

With that in mind, the following are what I consider the core tenets of good leadership. Some of them I was taught (or self-taught through reading). Others I noticed in the truly great leaders I've been privileged to follow. A few are lessons learned from struggling underneath less than stellar managers. These are the ideals I aspire to emulate.

Those you manage are in your care.

Everything else stems from this idea. Your reports, your team members, are living, breathing human beings over whom you have been granted power. Your interactions will shape their futures as much as your own, so wield this power with the respect and humility it deserves.

It is your responsibility to ensure these folks have what they need to succeed. This could be training or it could be time off. It could be insulation from others while they work through personal issues, or it could be more face time for someone who's normally shy.

Ask questions. Listen to their answers. They'll tell you what they need.

Praise in public. Punish in private.

The human ego is fragile. Pride and shame are powerful.

Praise those in your care loudly and publicly. The glow generated by a "thank you" or an "attaboy" issued in front of C-level executives will resonate with that team member long after the meeting is over. This also signals to leadership you're mature enough to set your own ego aside to give credit to those doing the actual work.

When it becomes necessary to adjust a team member's behavior, do it privately. Find somewhere you can close the door if you don't have an office. Then, follow this formula:

1. Lay out the situation as you saw it.
2. Explain what behavior you expected.
3. Describe the behavior you witnessed.
4. Ask why there's a discrepancy between the two.
5. Listen to his response.
6. Discuss.

Give your team member the opportunity to explain his actions. This could be the result of a personal issue. It could be a momentary slip. It could be your fault for not effectively communicating your expectations. Taking this approach gives you the opportunity to work toward more productive behavior together rather than making it adversarial.

Be the team's firewall.

Gripes go up the chain of command, never down. You can (and should) register your issues with your boss regularly, and you should welcome gripes from those under your care. The squeaky wheel is often speaking for more than him or herself alone, and you can generally trust this as honest feedback.

Own upper management's decisions as your own. You are the voice of the business within your team. You can argue against a course of action as long as upper management will allow you to do so, but once the decision is made, that's what the team's doing. It's your job to lead them forward. Doing this helps keep the gripes coming to you rather than going around you, and it signals to upper management they can trust you will follow their direction.

Own your fallibility.

There's a lot of talk these days about the necessity of showing vulnerability as a leader. I've found that to be difficult to define and even more challenging to teach. Instead, let your team know you're fallible. You make mistakes, and when you do, you own them.

When you make a mistake, especially if it was a call you made that went against your team members' advice, try the following formula at your next public opportunity:

1. I was wrong.
2. [Team member(s)] was/were right.
3. We'll be going with [team member(s)] solution.

This is more praise in public, and it will create a culture of respect and honesty that provides the ability for everyone on the team to learn from their mistakes.

Successes belong to the team. Failures belong to the leader.

Team members do the work that makes the business run. When they do good work, the business succeeds. This is why they own successes.

Leaders decide the team's direction. If those decisions lead to the team working on something that doesn't benefit the business, the business fails regardless of how good the team's work was. This is why leaders own failures.

Finally...

There are leaders and there are managers. Managers control chaos, mitigate risk, and focus on keeping everyone in line. Leaders inspire their team members, challenge them to be the best they can be, and provide them a safe place to do so. Be a leader.