My advice for nascent people managers

You often take for granted the great, the good, and the mediocre managers you’ve had along the way…that is until you’ve encountered a terrible manager. The saying is true:

Your manager makes or breaks your experience in the workplace

Some wise person

I still have some residual trauma from the worst manager I’ve ever had. I started working at a big tech company and was assigned a new manager. The hiring manager had too many direct reports so this new manager was brought in as a result. I welcomed this change and saw this as a great opportunity for the both of us to elevate each other since we were both the new kids on the block. My mindset with any manager is this – “If I do great work, my manager looks great and vice versa”. Unfortunately, this manager was inexperienced and didn’t share that same philosophy. Instead, I was seen as a threat and subjected to some unpleasant experiences.

Some of the issues I had to navigate daily include: being gaslighted, taking credit for my work, dealing with innuendoes, being micromanaged, having a security camera installed and pointed in my direction to monitor my movements. In addition, many folks often questioned my manager’s competence which often reflected badly on our team. In spite of all that, I was able to execute successfully on the job and frequently got recognition from the executive team much to the chagrin of my manager. As I was the only one on the team who shared an office with him (others were remote), I felt suffocated and ultimately, decided to resign to the shock of everyone. Shortly after I left, I learned that manager got demoted and moved into a different team. I don’t believe in schadenfreude… but just this one time, it felt great to be validated.

When I got an opportunity to hire and manage a team, I was so determined not to be like that manager that it sometimes clouded my judgement. I made some mistakes along the way; as a result, I actively seek ways to grow and be a better leader.

Here are some of my learnings and advice for people managers. The list below barely scratches the surface but I do hope it is helpful to new and experienced managers alike.

• Have a clear sense of what you want to accomplish in your life and career: My career and personal goals are never limited to my place of work. I am often surprised by the number of people I encounter who have no sense of what they want or hope for in their lives. While nothing is guaranteed, having a north star is helpful as it helps with guiding your decisions as well as navigating the rigors of the workplace. As a manager, this has helped me think of myself less and focus more on how I can be a better manager to my direct reports. When you know what you want, you’re able to see the bigger picture and are able to deal with any obstacles you face along the way.

• Be someone worthy of respect: You gain respect when you treat others with respect, when you’re always willing to lend a helping hand, when you’re conscientious, when you’re reliable, when you’re hardworking, and when you frequently deliver valuable results. For you to be a successful people manager, you need to already be respected for your individual contributions. If you’re not someone your team and others respect, you will have a steeper hill to climb just to gain a fighting chance.

• What got you there won’t keep you there: The attributes that made you successful as an individual contributor don’t always translate into success as a hiring manager. You’ll need to flex some different muscles, particular those softer skills like communication, tact, empathy amongst others. You’ll also need to be comfortable with delegating appropriately.

• Determine your hiring criteria and expectations for each role: For any role you hire for, you should assess a set of criteria in addition to the job responsibilities. In addition to evaluating the candidates technical competence, these are the 5 qualities I assess for:
  1. Are you kind and respectful?
  2. Do people enjoy working with you?
  3. Can you communicate aptly?
  4. What is your willingness to learn or take on new tasks?
  5. Do you show initiative?

These are weighted differently. For a more experienced hire, I’d expect all 5 questions to hit the mark. However, for a person with little-to-no experience, I may lower the weighting for one of the questions. Your criteria will change as over time but it’s important to be able to articulate what other characteristics you value in a candidate aside from the role and responsibilities.

• Don’t be afraid to hire someone who is better or more skilled than you: When you’re first starting out, it’s tempting to want to hire someone who won’t outshine you. Don’t do that. Put your ego aside. Ask yourself whether this person is right for the job, will be a great fit with the team, and can be a force multiplier for your company. Also see this as an opportunity for you to learn from that candidate and improve your skills. Hiring someone more knowledgeable than you raises the bar for your team, product, and company. When you hire someone who is better than you in some aspects, it improves the perceptions of you as a hiring manager within the company. I love hearing feedback and compliments from my colleagues when a hire I made is doing fantastic work. Anticipate that this person will take your job in a few years. This is why it’s critical to go have goals and aspirations that extend beyond your current role.

• Adapt your management style to each member of your team: Every team is bound to have a variety of skills and expertise. Every individual is different, what works for one won’t work for the other. As a manager, it is your responsibility to be cognizant of that. Communicate, figure out what works for each team member, and adapt your management style accordingly.

• Guide and delegate, don’t micromanage: If you have a team of varying skills and expertise, some members will require more guidance than others. However, this extra attention provided should not be conflated with micromanagement. When you delegate a task, trust your team to be able to execute and encourage them to come to you with questions. Your colleagues will also learn to trust your direct reports when they see how much you guide and entrust them with.

• Help your team develop and get closer to their career goals: This is why 1:1s are important. You should use your 1:1s to strategize towards career goals and discuss opportunities for growth. Seek and give them opportunities to tackle on stretch goals and grow their scope within the organization.

• Serve as a protective layer: There will be fires, new strategies, changing priorities, capricious or impatient stakeholders etc. As best as you can, make sure you’re protecting your team from the line of fire. Direct colleagues and stakeholders to come to you with any concerns or disappointment. Encourage your team to keep you abreast if there are any issues or concerns that impact their ability to work effectively. Not everyone will feel comfortable doing that but make sure your team knows they can come to you without fear of repercussions.

• Share the credit and praise publicly: When a member of your team solves a problem, gives a great presentation, or shares a great idea, be sure to recognize their efforts broadly. It is not ok to only praise that person in your 1:1 or team meetings. When you get an opportunity to acknowledge that person publicly, do so. These days, it’s easy to do so in a slack channel or your company’s mode of communication.

• Give constructive feedback in real time, but privately: Don’t wait until performance reviews to give feedback. No one likes to be surprised with negative feedback come review time. Be proactive in giving constructive feedback and actively acknowledge when you see improvements.

• Acknowledge when you make a mistake: Owning up to your mistakes shows your humanity and builds trust. It’s even a better example to set when you take active steps not to repeat that mistake.

• Don’t leave your team in the trenches alone: I will never make anyone on my team do something I am not willing to do or unable to guide them through. However, I do acknowledge that this is not always practical especially as you deal with other responsibilities. When I can’t be in the trenches with my team, I’ll be sure to check-in frequently, do whatever I can to make things more tolerable and less painful for them.

• Protect your team’s mental well-being: Constantly check the temperature of your team. Acknowledge stressful times, encourage (and sometimes enforce) time-off. Frequently organize team-building and team-bonding activities.

• Work yourself out of a job: Finally, one of your goals as a hiring manager should be to work yourself out of a job and into a new experience. You know you are there when you can step away from your project for a period and all goes well without your input. If that’s you, congratulations, you’re ready for a new opportunity!

As product managers grow in their careers, management opportunities are inevitable. Not everyone should be a manager and no one should feel pressured to go into management if it’s not of interest. There should be room for individual contributors and people managers alike. The more people who are intentional about management, the better the work environment will be for everyone.

Additional Resources

If you enjoyed this post, here are some helpful books to help you along your journey:

• The making of a manager by Julie Zhou
• The First-Time Manager by Jim McCormick

---

Liked the post and think someone else will? Please share 😃

---