How to get the best from Accidental Managers
We all make mistakes as managers: forgetting to make time for our people, not listening to others, thinking we need to have all the answers. So, it was a privilege to speak to @Kate Waterfall Hill about ‘accidental managers’ and how to develop them. Kate is a Leadership Coach at Waterfall Hill Consulting Ltd, and is also known as Linda, the bad manager. Kate’s alter ego inspires us to brilliant leadership by showing us what not to do!?
You can watch the whole conversation with Kate here: https://www.appraisd.com/podcast/navigating-performance-management-season-2-accidental-managers-episode-4?
Spread the joy of being a great leader
Firstly, being a leader should be joyful, says Kate: When your team is in alignment, feeling positive, engaged, excited, enjoying the common goal, there’s collaboration, no blame culture, no one is throwing one another under the bus, and you have united them in shared purpose - this is a lovely feeling if you get it right! This is the gift of being a manager and one that HR can help leaders to actively cultivate.?
Where manager become unstuck
Managers can start to come unstuck when individual contributors get their first team, with no training, guidance, or role model to inspire them to great things. Plus, it’s important to consider that these people are not given any extra time! If you have a portfolio of client work and you’re given a team to manage along with their performance reviews and career conversations, you don’t get any less client work or a reduction in billable hours! This is where problems can arise, as these managers need training and time.?
Can’t managers just work it out?
In short, no, says Kate, people can’t just work it out on their own. And it’s not just first-time managers that struggle. Entrepreneurial founders can lack people management skills too, and are more likely to think they don’t need coaching; leaders who have an innate love of the business can face difficulties when managing employees for whom the business is a role, not their life! In contrast, new managers are more likely to feel they have imposter syndrome, when in fact they might just be new to the role, and feeling like they have a long way to go.?
Accidental managers CAN be intentional managers
But even those who ended up in a managerial position as ‘accidental managers’ can become excellent leaders so long as they want to do so. It’s got to come from within, says Kate; they have to want to do it and taking a course won’t provide all the answers. Accidental managers need to be intentional about the way they lead: They need to ask themselves what their priorities should be, what will make the biggest difference to their team, and, how should they show up to make it happen? This intentionality will help them to grow as managers and leaders.?
Watch the full episode with Kate Waterfall Hill
Enjoyed the highlights? Watch the full episode here: ?https://www.appraisd.com/podcast/navigating-performance-management-season-2-accidental-managers-episode-4? ? And, to learn more about Appraisd, talk to us ??