The toughest job of management

I think the hardest part is making sure that the original vision of the people you’re managing comes through. Everyone is a part of the organization for a reason, their vision and unique contributions. Losing that is fatal. Robert, thanks for the entertaining and inspiring 3 AM posts, it’s people like yourself that keep me going everyday.

-JLB

Admit mistakes, and take responsibility head-on.

Listen.

Listen more.

Be spontaneous.

understanding the difference between “managing” and “administering” is very useful when managing older people.

I very much doubt that you’ll make the most common mistake in new managers: not realising that you’re there to *enable* your team to do their jobs. I imagine that with “creatives” this is likely to be pretty much a given.

Back when I was still stressing in management I found that one of my main functions had evolved into that of filtering and controlling the information flow up and down the line. Not censoring, you understand (hmm – there may have been some of that too) but ensuring that everyone knew what they needed/wanted to know and weren’t swamped with unnecessary and output-reducing superfluity. (If that last word isn’t real, then I claim ownership, by the way. Oh, Google says it is a word. Dang.)

Toby’s first point (admitting mistakes) is a good one. I’ve found that good managers aren’t afraid to ‘fess up when they realise they goofed: good news about today, not bad news about yesterday, that sort of thing. Bad ones will go to extraordinary lengths to show that it Wasn’t Their Fault, to the ultimate detriment of their employer, team and own selves.

If your people have the potential to be stars, let them be stars. There are some personal risks of a political nature, particularly in larger organisations, but if you really are good then the risks are worth taking. Come to think of it, it’s good to have something of a risk-taking mentality. But I think you’re OK on that one…

But how does it feels when the stars made by you leave?.. Is it a kind of betrayal? What did Jeff (your creator?) said to you as you leaved?

Konstantin: when they leave you’ve done your job. He congratulated me on a job well done and wished me well. Then he turned right around and started working on making the next star that he could graduate up.

Well – I’ve been working in statups for 7 years, and I was a manager for a small internet startup for a couple of years. Here’s an excerpt of some of the things i learned. I’ll see if I can get the message across in English, it’s not my primary language, so this can be a bit diffcult.

Most important of all is empathy – you have to struggle to see things form your employees perspective. Eevery time you deal with your employees think about what you think they want, and how you can make sure, you know what they want.

If your wishes and theirs differ and you have to enforce your wishes make sure everybody understand, that you know about the difference, and that you know you’re enforcing a decision. In other words, make sure you take responsibility when needed.

Allways be sincere when asked about the state of the company, and how well or bad you are doing. If there are any risks involved, let people decide for themselves what to do.

There are a lot of other more practical advise, but in my experience they are as important as the things i mentioned here.

Good luck.

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Best of luck,

One of the sayings that has always stuck with me is: “Eat hamburger while feeding your people steak.”
What it all boils down to is you handle the difficult tasks, and pave the way for them to succeed. They will appreciate that and will work to lighten your load, if they are worth having, and everyone improves. I believe in leadership by example. The way you work and carry yourself will be instrumental in building your team. Be yourself.
You’ll do fine, you seem to be well balanced with a strong work ethic. I enjoy your blog and wish you well.

I always found that motivation and morale were some of the most important parts of being a maanger. You need to keep the troops happy and excited about the job. I would recommend a book called Shackleton’s Way. Shackleton was one of the greatest leaders ever on the planet. And he was not a business leader.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142002364/sr=8-1/qid=1152197883/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-5527181-0436621?ie=UTF8

I don’t know if you are much of a sports fan, but you always hear about how the great coaches know how to motivate each athlete. For some that means kicking them in the ass, yet if you take the same approach to another it could crush them. I’ve always found the hardest part about managing a team is really understanding each individual and know how to motivate them.

The other advice I’d give you’ve already discussed. Knowing that you are serving your employees is a big step that most managers miss. A lot of managers are out there because of the power trip and they usually fail.

Know your employees
Be straight
motivate

Never make unsubstantiated assertions.

Hi Robert:
Didn’t realize you are managing a team: congrats! My advice (cobbled from great managers I’ve had over the years like Jim F and from own experiences)

1) Hire people who are smarter than you are
2) Push decisions and visibility and responsibility/accolades down
3) Be selfless in giving credit to your team
4) Sing your team’s praises early and often
5) When its time for someone to move up/on, help put them in the right next job so it helps spread the word about how great you/your company is so you can help recruit the next rock star
6) Make sure everyone has fun, passion, sense of urgency about the mission at hand

Good luck!
Matt

Don’t hire anyone ONLY known to bloggers, geeks and the web. Look to real content creators, and learn SAG rules.

And read this book: Management of the Absurd: Paradoxes in Leadership by Richard Farson

http://www.shearonforschools.com/Management%20of%20the%20Absurd%20Paradoxes%20in%20Leadership%20by%20Richard%20Farson/

Once You Find a Management Technique that Works, Give it Up
As a corrollary to the suggestion that skill is not what matters in an important relationship, the author suggests that a manager who finds a technique that works, rather than “using” it to “manage” people, should abandon it as a conscious effort. Otherwise, the “managees” will sense that they are “being managed”, resent it, and the technique will therefore no longer work. In some sense, it is the same as suggesting that a great artist “transcends” technique.

I was just sent this management blog. His advice rings true with me: http://www.randsinrepose.com/cat_management.html

Robert,

You and I have never met, but I spent a LONG five years at Microsoft. I have also been the CEO of three very successful startups.

What you may have learned at Microsoft is likely not management as it is defined in the ‘real world’.

My best advice is to go purchase all five books written by Patrick M. Lencioni and read them each twice. This will take you about one day to do, they are fast reads and very interesting.

Follow the books to the letter.

1. Listen, do not pontificate. You are not necessarily the smartest person in the room.

2. Remember that when you render your opinion in a meeting as the ‘manager’, you are dictating. This will lead to many wrong decisions as your team blindly follows in an attempt to make you happy.

3. Learn to ask questions, not render opinions.

Good luck.

I think that most of the ideal philosophies and topics have been covered. Now here is a perspective from someone who has trained himself through education to be a manager but is still in a position of an employee (not because I am incompetent, there are multiple reasons I am still here but the biggest is simply timing.)

Along with enabling the people that work “with” you (not for you) to be that star you will need to act as a sort of buffer. Make sure that when someone at the top decides to have a bad day and spout off about something your team did “wrong” or didn’t do it how they envisioned things, that you funnel it through you. I have worked for various kinds of managers and it is the ones that were able to take the heat and relay the messages in a civilized manner that always scored points with us “employees”.

Then, I don’t think you will have a problem relaying the messages in a productive manner.

Everything else on here is great, I just wanted to throw this idea in the mix.

It’s not about you, it’s about them. Protect them, remove all the obstacles to letting them be successful, and then get out of the way. Tell the world that all the success is due to them, and any problems or failures are your fault. Give positive feedback publicly, negative feedback in private. Don’t do it on email. Let ‘em be creative, but with limits.

Oh, and if you have an opportunity to hire a wild card do it. There have been times that I should have, and didn’t..

I could go on.. You’ll have fun with it. Meet me at Barbara’s Fish Trap for fish’n'chips this fall if you want to vent…

Lots of good comments on this post.

Jeff Erwin, thanks for the book suggestions, I picked them up tonight on my way back to my hotel.

http://www.jeffsandquist.com/PracticingLeadershipWithPatrickMLencioni.aspx

and not being jeff sandquist is why andrew from RB will end up like mc hammer.

Hi Robert,

No authority on the subject but one thought really intrigues me. Your PodTech role has been the talk of the town (or the world, I should say) and Great Expectations are always monitored under microscope.

Self-appointed analysts and observers would be all set “evaluating” your performance vis-a-vis the MS stint and that could get annoying at times. I just hope nothing of that sort happens.

As regards managing people, I do not think there is a silver bullet. People are more unpredictable than Business or Technology. The challenge is more of dismantling teams rather building them – you know what I mean!

I’m self-employed and gloriously alone now as Writer-in-chief of my own copywriting agency (Articulate Marketing) but I used to run a 65-person software company.

Looking back, the number one thing I wish I had done was to spend less time dealing with the employees who had problems, needed performance management, didn’t get on with colleagues etc. And more time with the really excellent people who did all the good work.

In fact, the bad guys took up about 90% of my time and the good guys about 10%. The proportions should have been reversed and I feel like an idiot for not making it happen. I guess the squeaky hinge gets the oil.

Robert,

Never ask those that report to you to do something you would not be willing to do, or have done, yourself.

Never set them up to fail.

Believe in them, support them, protect them.

Do not forget that respect is earned.

Absorb the other comments on this post. Good Luck!

Do unto others as you would have them do to you. That just about encapsulates it all for me.

All the best, Mr Scobles.

Credit for success goes to the people you manage and failures are your responsibility.

As in life, in management, its all about pull, push almost never works.