Leadership & People Management - 5 lessons over 5 years.

Similar to Marmite, people either love or hate people management as part of their career trajectory. Like to many who are eager to climb the corporate ladder, I knew that I had to eventually emerge from the closed jar of individual practitioner expertise and get a taste for what it would be like if I demonstrated my leadership capabilities and knowledge to those who worked alongside me.

A self-proclaimed eccentric only child and a staunch creative individualist, my leadership and people management capabilities were (and still area) a learned entity rather than a natural skill. I have always known that I can grab the attention of a room, but could I hold the attention and respect of a high performing or newly acquired team and lead them towards success? In 2019 I took a deep breath, jumped into the unfamiliar, and 5 years later I’ve come up for air to share some observations.

For anyone who is beginning, struggling with or in a similarly reflective state with their people management journey in a similar industry to mine, here are five people management/leadership lessons that you may regularly see on your LinkedIn news feed, but in my opinion do have some weight behind them when put into practice.

1. Don’t let initial discomfort distort your core leadership beliefs.

It is normal to want to run from a new habit that feels unfamiliar and uncomfortable, especially when the human brain is hard wired to protect us from any perceived threats or discomfort. The first few weeks or months can be filled with impostor syndrome, overthinking and over-analysing how your team perceive you whilst trying to ascertain your new position.

Allow me to explain this visually using two familiar fish from Finding Nemo:

When you think of the word ‘manager’ or ‘boss’, this image may spring to mind:

Whereas this is how many new performance managers (including I in 2019) usually feel when having to exert new authority, hoping for a cooperative result:

When you remain resilient and step outside of your comfort zone, the impostor syndrome will die down, yet new discomforts may just be around the corner. A little over two years into my performance management journey, a new challenge arose – managing and training in a bigger team, the majority of whom were new during a fully remote working era, and for those of you who remember the recruitment market during 2021/2022, it was MANIC! The job market was manic, and I was showing up on Zoom team training sessions and Partner calls every day looking like Blenny. Our team recently attended a conference where one topic focused on ‘the burned-out middle manager’ having gone through the middle management stint during the pandemic. My team affectionately waved and pointed to me during the conference and collectively mimed ‘That’s you!’ – I thanked them for recognising this!

Even during those initial months of impostor syndrome or the 2021/2022 job market fiasco, as a performance manager I never wanted to turn into the shark that you see in the above initial image. Many of us have dealt with a poor performance manager at some point in our careers, and it can make or break an employee’s view of an organisation. I never wanted to lead based on fear, status or power. My formative years were filled with incredible leaders who emphasised growth, confidence and empowerment, and I wanted to emulate those learning's to those around me, even when some other mangers/leaders around me may not have been doing the same. The more comfortable that I have become as a performance manager, the easier it has been to implement my core beliefs about effective leadership.

2. Bring out the best in people and create psychological safety

From the moment you start leading a team, your reign as an individual practitioner draws to a close and thus begins the coronation ceremony and new reign of selflessly bringing out the best in those whom you lead, an act of service so to speak. You are now tasked to become your team’s biggest cheerleader. This is particularly important in a large organisation where it can take time for people to get to know your team members and more importantly to know what each team member is skilled at doing (more about this later). You need to take time to understand how you can facilitate their development and ultimately guide and encourage their own individual career success, keeping in mind that you are not managing yourself and what they need from you will differ from what you needed from your own performance manager.

When your team sense that you have their back at work, it creates psychological safety. Being an authentic leader can also be linked to creating psychological safety. I have always brought my full personality into the workplace (it would get bored if I left it at home) and let’s just say that I don’t leave my sense of humour at the door every morning and my team have learned to do the same! Developing the courage to be an authentic leader, showcasing the best of your own character and encouraging others to do the same will equally help to bring out the best in those around you.

3. Lead by example

If you expect your team to work hard and go the extra mile, are you doing the same for them when they need your support? If you are not prepared to get into the trenches with your team when they are stretched, they will see you as someone who has no problem leading them into a stressful situation but unable to lead them out. In some situations, you may simply come across as being indifferent. This is not to be confused with saying that you should always shield your team from stressful scenarios. At the beginning of my performance management journey, I took on the role of the mother hen who tried to protect her team from discomfort, and all it led to was burnout. It’s also not to say that you should continuously put all of your own work demands to one side to facilitate the needs of others. It takes a balanced approach and some finely tuned organisational skills, so that when your team look around during the peaks and troughs of their role, they know that there is a leader there who will walk the talk when necessary.

4. Encourage them to be a better practitioner than you were!

Attention to all insecure managers – your impact on those around you is more toxic and long lasting than you will ever know.

Have you ever worked hard on something only for someone more senior to swoop in at the end wearing their recycled superman cape, attempting to take the credit for your work to fill a void within their own self-limiting beliefs? We’ve all been there, and it’s infuriating. It’s a cowardly power move, and no one wins long term.

I can say with full confidence that I have never been an envious leader. If I’m not encouraging my team to be a better practitioner than I was, how can we build better team than the one that existed yesterday? Some of my weaknesses are my team members’ biggest strengths, and I love that we recognise these differences and blend them into a formula that works.

Allow me to take this time to bring my own team to the written stage and showcase their unique talent and capabilities. Together, they create the recruitment team of dreams:

Shauna Maguire (Assoc CIPD) – absolutely brilliant at project management, knows how to coordinate and execute any project put in front of her and does it with trusted consistency. Shauna has taken on multiple new business areas to recruit for over the last three years and her infectious personality and warm demeanour make her a firm favourite amongst our senior stakeholders.

Sharon Griffin – no better expert when it comes to high volume recruitment. Completely at ease with anything that requires speed, deadlines and high-volume candidate management. Her concentration skills are impeccable and I can always learn something from her about putting the head down and firing through a bustling to do list. Deal Advisory were delighted to see her recently return from maternity leave!

Karen Savage – Karen is the analytical recruiter within our team. She loves data, loves excel and is a pro at finding out how the correct data can drive better hiring activities within our team. Karen is also a very determined worker – I’ve frequently seen her tackle hiring process/decisions tricky stakeholders and more often than not she emerges victorious!

Holly O'Toole – Holly is part of our coordination team who are the pedals under the recruitment ship – without her, we would sink. Whether it comes to posting jobs last minute, setting up what feels like thousands of interviews every month or helping with our global mobility processes, you can rely on Holly to get the job done and with a beaming smile.

Karine Vatuska – Karine has always been incredibly thorough with the candidate experience and is often complimented by our new joiners as someone who always takes time to ensure that those interviewing and joining KPMG have a positive experience. Her patience and quality of work always brings a calm aura to the team.

Ciara O'Connor – Ciara's administration and process improvement skills are second to none. Similar to Holly, she is part of the pedals that keep the recruitment ship sailing along the ocean. She has been the backbone of our team for over 9 years and if you want to describe Ciara and I in terms of a Myers Briggs assessment, she is the blue bullet who keeps the yellow manager on the straight and narrow!

Kayleigh O'Brien – Kayleigh has recently left our team to travel over to Sydney, but given that her departure was very recent it would be amiss of me to not mention her. Kayleigh spent a year with our team and from day one exerted an incredible enthusiasm for her role and everyone around her. She is a very quick learner, did an amazing job at recruiting for our Deal Advisory practice, and her LinkedIn posts were always attention grabbing and showcased the best of life at KPMG Ireland.

5. Feedback goes both ways.

We all know that providing regular feedback to your team members is important. Constructive feedback is required to build your teams capabilities, but have you ever asked your team to give you constructive feedback? This concept might throw people, but who ever said that there is an expiry date to learning and developing as a people manager? This may be an area of effective leadership that isn’t developed enough due to the probability of an initial defensive reaction from some managers who may view their team members opinions as subordinate.

At our performance reviews I ask my team what they need from me going into the next quarter – is my coaching style working for them or does it need adaptation, have I missed any gaps in their development that need more attention, what do they want their role to look like in 12 months/how do they want to feel and how can I help them get there?

For many, the day to day responsibilities at work move at a fast pace, but do remember to turn down the speed on the treadmill when it comes to feedback. Your feedback and coaching conversations should occur on a regular basis, remembering that slow and steady wins the race. Providing consistent feedback and coaching as a leader requires patience, empathy, the ability to listen and the ability to have qualitative conversations. I have seen over the last five years that the time and effort that I have given to my team has been returned to me in spades.

To conclude, even if your own people management efforts may feel like a small ripple in the ocean at times, note what values are important to both you and your team, lead by example, stay consistent and over time you will watch the magic unfold, together.