Getting the most out of your manager
“It’s really cool you do this for your team.” - Someone not on my team.
One of the most significant factors in job satisfaction is the relationship we have with our manager. A strong manager can create a positive work environment, foster growth and development, and provide support when we need it. A weak manager can contribute to stress, frustration, and even burnout. Understanding what to look for in a manager can help you find a job that is both fulfilling and rewarding.
Expect more
Managers have a lot of influence over our lives. They are responsible for our livelihoods and the environment where we spend most of our time. With that, we should hold them to high standards no matter how involved they are in our day-to-day lives.
I’ve been fortunate enough to manage various teams across many companies. With each new direct report, I refine my onboarding process to set the best foundation I can for our working relationship. There are some basic facts about myself that I share and then ask of them. With this, I’ve built up my reputation of being a trustworthy and empathetic advocate. So it wasn’t very surprising when I found myself in the position of being a go-to person at each of these companies for people I didn’t directly manage.
Why? What were they asking for?
Not having as deep knowledge of everyone, I would ask some general questions to help identify which hat to wear: coach, mentor, or sponsor. I had to set boundaries to protect my time and minimize the extra emotional labor incurred from helping others.
Qualities of a good manager
It's important to recognize that a good friend doesn't necessarily make a good manager. When I became a tech lead, my current manager wasn't providing the level of support or sponsorship I needed to succeed. I started to doubt their experience so I turned to management books for guidance. Inspired by them, I created a list of questions to ensure my manager aligned with my career goals:
Q: Do you feel supported in your career growth?
One of the things I learned way too late in my career is that you can only go so far without actively seeking help. Your success relies in part on those around you. There are many ways a manager can support you and they will take on these roles to various degrees. While there may be some overlap, they each serve a unique purpose.
Mentorship
A mentor is someone who provides guidance, advice, sharing their own experiences to help you grow. They may offer feedback on specific tasks, as well as career development advice.? Due to the intimate nature of this relationship, a mentor should always put your needs first. Because this may conflict with the needs of the organization, I recommend finding a mentor who isn’t your manager.
Coaching
Coaching often involves providing feedback, identifying areas for improvement, and helping you build your skills. Coaches use tools and techniques, such as this framework, to empower you to reach your goals.? They don’t need to have the same background as you to be effective. There is usually a personal detachment so the focus can be on your needs. Coaching can be done in a one-to-one or one-to-many setting.
Sponsorship
A sponsor is someone who advocates for you to help you advance in your career. They may use their influence and networks to create opportunities, such as introducing you to key decision-makers, recommending you for high-profile projects, or nominating you for promotions. It is so important that a lack of sponsorship has been directly linked to the underrepresentation of women in senior leadership. If you are looking to advance your career, this is an important person to have in your network.
Q: Do you understand what you need to do to progress?
Everyone has their own definition of progress. It can encompass various aspects such as personal achievements, growth, contentment, and series of successes. When we enter a contract with an employer, we enter an agreement of mutual progress where both sides should complement each other. Feeling stalled in one’s career is one of the main reasons employees leave. A strong manager will ensure you know the business’s expectations of you and how to balance them with your personal progress.
领英推荐
Q: Is your manager sympathetic? Can you talk to them about personal issues?
Let’s face it — most managers were never trained in people skills, especially in the tech industry. For decades, we’ve reported to managers that had no idea how to handle conflict or understand issues such as equality and diversity. Those conversations were left to HR and often took place too late in a situation. Great strides have been made in recent years to provide adequate training to people managers. Unfortunately, with all the recent layoffs, we may be backsliding.
A good manager works to create an unbiased environment for people with different backgrounds, experiences, and challenges. They provide guidance to help deal with issues affecting performance and use their discretion to determine when to escalate a situation. They should understand how to work with HR when the need arises or when they're out of their depth.
Q: Do you feel your manager trusts you? Do you trust your manager?
There are many benefits to having a trusting relationship between you and your manager. A manager who trusts their employee is more likely to delegate responsibilities, provide opportunities for growth, and offer support and guidance when needed. An employee who trusts their manager is more likely to feel engaged, motivated, and committed to the work they are doing.
Q: Do you feel well-equipped to handle criticism?
Having an open and honest culture is critical to building a successful team. Opening ourselves up to criticism leaves us vulnerable, as we risk being hurt or embarrassed. When we receive criticism, we can categorize it as either constructive or non-constructive. Constructive criticism is meant to help us improve, and it should be delivered in a way that is respectful and professional. Non-constructive criticism is often motivated by personal biases or emotions. It is rarely helpful in improving our performance.
To create a healthy culture of feedback, your manager should encourage some type of radical candor. This concept, coined by Kim Scott, is where feedback is delivered in a way that is both direct and compassionate. A good manager should be able to model approaching feedback with humility, an open mind, and a willingness to learn.
Participate in the interview
If your team is hiring a new manager, you should get the opportunity to interview this person. Any manager would be eager to meet their potential team members. Ideally this would be done with the whole team, but at the very least you can send a representative who may ask questions on behalf of all of you. If this isn’t feasible, try to have a meet and greet with them as soon as possible. Chances are they’ll have their own list of questions to ask to get to know you and understand your wants and needs.?
In any case, you can use this framework to learn how they’ve handled each of these situations in the past. Once they begin, expect a transition period between them and your current manager that includes a handoff meeting to go over some background information, what you’ve been working towards, and any other current or upcoming issues.
Next steps!
Take some time to answer and reflect on these questions. By using this framework, you can better understand what you need from your manager to achieve your goals. You can also use this as talking points for difficult conversations or when wanting to switch teams. I’d also recommend following-up after a few months to a year to see how well your relationship is going.
If this resonated with you and you decide to use it, let me know how it goes :)