What ‘Managers’ often miss…

Simple Do’s and Don'ts for becoming a better manager (musings, not a list!)

Being in a middle management or team-handling role brings its own day-to-day pressures and expectations. Though there are case studies, there is no standard playbook, accepted and followed by managers across.?In my experience having worked for over 12 years in a similar capacity, what most managers miss during the daily grind are simple, controllable things that have profound long-term implications. Sadly, no college education or training prepares them to meet these. A few are fortunate to find good mentors who share the time and the magic potion. Many just wing it and learn on the job; others discover too late in their life and many never figure out what went wrong! This process of a manager trying to be a manager consequently affects two things - the human asset at hand and the quality of deliverables to clients.?(P.S.: In Indian parlance, I am generically using the term manager here to cover team leaders, assistant/associate managers, managers, senior managers, and assistant directors for ease of explanation).

In this thread of manager diaries, I want to lay out a few obvious, simple things that managers MUST DO and NOT DO. I have consciously decided not to include nice-sounding or trendy theories from organizational behaviour or pronouncements of business gurus! Instead, these are gems from my own learning which someone needed to tell the ‘new manager’ early on in their career.?

Know your KRAs

Every manager must understand the demands of his/her role. While the JDs do a good job of giving an idea, the situation often becomes fluid in the heat of the production period. Ideally, a manager must seek time from his seniors (and HR) to crystallize what is expected out of him on a daily basis (so that he divides his day) and the long-term plan. Discussion and documentation around KRAs or Key Responsibility Areas help freeze the expectations. More often than not, I have seen managers either wandering directionless or scrambling to do everything under the sun. The days and weeks pass by with no achievement to show. With my experience, I can share a few gems:?

• Know the “Pareto Principle”. Vifredo Pareto was an Italian economist who noticed that his society seemed to be roughly divided into 20% "vital few" (in terms of money and influence) and the remaining 80% of “trivial many”. He later discovered that all economic activities and business outcomes behaved similarly. He saw that 20% of activities account for 80% of results; 20% of certain customers account for 80% of sales and that certain 20% of tasks account for 80% of the value of what you do. So what a smart manager must do is first make a list of all activities he does - let us say, there are 10. Now, out of these 10, which is the only 1 task (aligned to one’s KRA, of course) if asked to choose and do will have the biggest impact and justify the role and remuneration? Go on to identify 2-3 more tasks in a similar fashion and only do them. Delegate, delay or eliminate the rest ruthlessly. These 3-4 tasks are your core 20% tasks. If you resolve to work only on these identified areas, this will make a compound difference in your career and bring you rich rewards.?
• Resist the temptation to clear up the small things first; instead, force yourself to eat that ‘ugly frog of an item’ first.
• Work is unending and you will only have 24 hours. You need to choose what to do on a day and eliminate the rest. Time management will follow.
• Do not spend a single work day without a TO DO list that comes from a monthly objective sheet that comes from a quarterly goal sheet that comes from your annual KRAs.

Bother about the Goal setting

I have often seen juniors scrambling to fill their goal sheets after the last reminder from HR hits their inboxes. Unfortunately, most managers are not equipped to help them as they themselves do not fully understand what certain goals desire or mean. So, eventually, it turns out to be a compliance exercise when people even copy each other. I shudder to think how the significance will shrink further with ChatGPT now at our command.?

So what are these lofty goals and why should managers bother about setting them? Goals are milestones that will uplift and give your work direction. Every good manager must understand the hierarchy of his team or who does what and avoid a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, he/she must book a few hours for himself in a meeting room, first with his senior(s) and then with just himself to brainstorm the goals. Ask why the goals are framed such; whether the boilerplate goals can/should be tweaked to suit the practice and what is the expected outcome of each goal. This exercise needs to be done at least a quarter in advance and not later. Then make copious notes apportioning goals as per the role and a long-term vision of the impact.

Finally, the manager must take out time to sit individually with his/her direct reportee to explain the import of each goal to the best of his ability. An offsite is a good venue for this exercise (HR and bosses - please take note). This may be too much for a young manager and he/she must not shy away from seeking help from the seniors. Now on a practical note why this is important - this not only gives direction to your work but instills purpose in day-to-day work life. If correctly done, the cumulative efforts alone will shine and fuel years of work and kill attrition.

Understand and Inhale Company Culture

The culture of a company is a strange animal that hums and vibrates invisibly in all corners and actions of the organisation and, intrinsically, energizes the growth of an organization. Not many understand this or bother about it other than maybe the founders! Most of the time, it gets lost in that lofty ‘Vision’ and ‘Mission’ statement or gets buried inside the onboarding kit. The culture of an organization is one of the most important aspects that can make or break an entity. It is like a living smell wafting in the boardroom that makes the client decide to give you the business or not.? It is the unseen electric buzz on the production floor that makes an employee decide whether they belong there or if it is time to move on. Long gone are the days when money was used to compensate for the inadequacy or absence of a good work culture.?

Therefore, a manager must first fully understand what the company culture means and align his/her interpretation with the senior management. HR has a very active role to play here. One needs to believe and buy into the dream. This may sound like some unnecessary mambo-jumbo but let me tell you, all your actions and decisions as a manager of a team must align with the company’s culture and values. Otherwise, things either don't succeed or fall apart. Needless to say, if the culture suffocates you, don’t stay for the money!

Communicate Right & Often

If you are a manager, you will need to address numerous meetings and speak to your people, stakeholders and clients. You need not be a slick Toastmaster but you also cannot afford to be a dud communicator. The internet is awash with courses and training that one can take over the weekend and brush his/her mode and manner of communication (meaning, English). This is a life skill and the most prized soft skill. Especially in today’s age of millennials and Gen Z, the respect of a manager is closely knit with how he/she presents himself in front of a crowd. Now, one may not have a polished command of English but it is essential to know to speak with clarity, purpose and gravitas! I have seen many managers speak well but without direction or content and the audience can’t seem to leave with any takeaways. People should take note when you say something and respect you for the purpose arranging the meeting. Speak less but communicate often -? I learnt the hard way that it is essential to drive home your point although it may mean telling the same thing more than once. Over-communication is often better than leaving people to guess the import of what you said once. Uncomfortable or bad news must be shared with both empathy and clarity.

Don't play to the galleries

Please don’t be that manager who nods vigorously and laughs loudly at the bawdy/silliest joke of the seniors. While one must make all professional efforts to aid the common purpose, don't think you will win your way to promotion by trying to be popular. Surprisingly, bosses will respect you for the ‘irreplaceable you’ -? the seamless deliverables along with ethics and dignity that you bring to your work. Remember, your team members and colleagues will instantly know when you are playing to the galleries (they might even snigger and comment) and it will eventually erode your credibility. Instead, be the one who calls a spade a spade (preferably with a dollop of diplomacy) and offers solutions at the meetings.

Don’t Cut Corners

They say that ‘shipping is more important than perfecting’. This has led to numerous counts of RCAs being done on billable hours just because somebody cuts corners. The adage holds true when a manager has gained a certain ease of delivery in an old project. When starting out anew, one must devote time to honing the process. When a manager has newly joined a project, he must first attempt to break down the project himself into tiny steps with the aid of his senior team members. Does not matter if the exercise has been done and dusted by someone a year ago or if a Six Sigma effort has been already invested. Breaking down the process will give the manager the confidence to know where to pause and where to sail. This will also help him/her align the demands of the projects with the ability of the team and award him with the ‘pulse’ of what and when things can go wrong. Finally, know that in this age of demanding customers, one can only do so much. Going a bit further is the least one can do; cutting corners would be blasphemous.?

Hiding Mistakes / Lying

People make mistakes! And do it so often that it has been normalized as “human errors”. Even statistics had decided to keep a margin for such mistakes. At times, managers ignore them simply because they think the mistake is so small that it can be brushed under the carpet. But know that the carpet eventually stinks and small mistakes creep into the habit of the team as acceptable practice. It is a good practice to openly discuss and admit mistakes as teachable moments and better still document them in writing. You never know when it may come back to haunt you!?

More often than not, managers get caught in their web of lies. They may lie to save their team members or brazen it out thinking no one will notice. People on the other side of the table (with grey or white hair) have been there and they will know! Some may ask pointed follow-up questions which may trap you to finally admitting while others will simply make a note. You will fumble and keep lying to cover the earlier lie and what does all this result in? It dents your credibility which took you years to build. A better alternative - prepare for the meeting at least 30 minutes prior and know the facts inside out. If you don’t know something, apologize and ask if it is okay to get back with the correct data after the meeting. And yes, never forget to follow up!

Read Right

I would like to cry out to all managers out there and say that yes, you have the time to read books. How else did you find time to go through seasons of ‘Games of Thrones’ and ‘Family Man’? But read relevant books that further your career and bring depth into your professional life. I would suggest that you refrain from trends and readings from friends. I have often seen young professionals walking around with a promiscuous display of books which on closer inspection turn out to be Chetan Bhagat, Ankur Warikko or dense hardbound Kahli Gibran.

I have nothing against them but then know you should start sequentially and gradually go up the reading ladder (Adolf Hilter, of all people, has harped upon the correct reading way in Mein Kempf). I have suggested below a few suggestions focussed on a career manager:?