#013 How to be a people manager
A simple guide on being a great people manager that drives results and grow your people 🌻
Congratulations! You’ve worked your way up, proven your ability to deliver results, and just been promoted to being a people manager. Well done! 👏🏻
Hopefully, managing a team is a path that you have chosen rather decided for you (we’ll cover this in a future post), and you’re now in this position where you’re responsible for your team.
This is a quick and simple guide to give you a taste what a great people manager look like. Each of the topics below deserve their own post, so if you’d like a deep dive into any of them, leave a comment and let me know :) I’ll update this post over time as we cover these topics in detail in future posts, so bookmark it! Last updated: Aug 2023
Your performance as a manager
As a manager, your performance is measured by the following metrics:
Your team’s performance: Is your team achieving the KPIs and key results that drive the business forward?
Your team’s behavior: Are they collaborating well with each another and with other teams? Do they care and help others succeed?
Team retention: Are your team members staying or leaving you? What’s your team’s turnover rate?
Team’s career progression: Are members of your team progressing in their career? Are they taking on more responsibilities? Working on bigger projects? Being promoted to the next level?
Note: If you also take on the role of independent contributor (IC) while managing a team, consider negotiating for a headcount to take over your IC activities so you can focus on your responsibilities for the team.
Your responsibilities as a manager
Setting direction: Good managers ensure that every member of their team understands exactly what is expected and when it is expected.
Establish the purpose for your team’s existence
Establish clear, measurable, and inspirational goals
Establish standards (how we do things) and expectations (our values and behaviors)
Help your people prioritize and be effective (most impact) with their time and effort
Provide coaching: Good managers coach their people towards accomplishing their short and long-term goals
Conduct regular 1:1s
Review performance and accountability
Unblock mental and skillset limitations
Goal setting
Offer help where needed
Career development: Good managers invest in their people’s careers in a way that considers their long-term goals and aspirations beyond the four walls of the current company, and certainly beyond their next promotion.
Conduct regular career reviews
Discover their values and how they drive with their career aspirations
Find out what their career goals are
Develop a career action plan together with them
*Resource: Check out the Career Conversations Tool by Russ Laraway as a guide.
Your skills as a manager
To be an effective manager, measured by your performance (see above), you will need to develop the following skills. Always be learning.
Communication
Coaching
Decision making
Leadership
Management
Self-mastery
I hope you have a better idea of what is generally expected of a great manager and how you can be that great manager for your team. If you’d like a deep dive into any of the topics, leave a comment and let me know :)
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