Why Your People Managers Are Underperforming (And How To Make Them Great)

Great companies are built on great managers. While the path to greatness is available to all managers, how to get from here to there is unclear for most. Some are thrust into management positions with little more than a “Congrats on your promotion to manager!” While others have held a number of people management roles without ever learning the basics.

If you’re a fast growing company and have yet to chart the course for your managers, let me show you where to start.

Where to begin with manager training

Many Heads of People reach out to me after an employee engagement survey results in low marks for their managers. Usually the company doesn't have a manager training program in place so the quickest way to impact is to connect managers with the foundational skills I teach in ManagerBASICS.

Your managers can always turn to books, listen to TED talks, or look to LinkedIn Learning to develop their skills, but why leave it to them to figure out where to focus?

Here’s the thing: they need make-or-break skills. While managers will eventually need to know how advocate for a promotion for someone on their team or to terminate someone, these skills can come later. In other words, there's a natural progression to becoming a great manager. Missing these foundational skills may be why your managers are underperforming.

5 foundational skills of people management?

After 20+ years leading teams and training managers, I’ve distilled what’s most important into five areas. Here's what your managers need to know in order of importance.

The role and responsibilities of a people manager

Managing people is a tremendous job, and a ton goes into it. Management is both an art and a science, which can feel daunting. Managers must motivate a team, build trust, help people grow, hit goals, and more.

Since no one tells them exactly what it means, I help clarify what being a people manager is and isn't. [Managers, read: Before You Move Your Team Forward, Take These 3 Steps Back.]

How to kick off or reset any management relationship

Once managers understand their role and responsibilities, then it’s all about establishing a management relationship with their team and members. This can feel awkward at first because some are now managing people who used to be their peers or they’re the newbie on an established team.

Instead of stumbling their way through this crucial phase, I teach them five key questions and the techniques of using a “Getting to Know You” meeting. [Managers, read: If You Don't Know These 5 Things About the People You Manage, You're Doing It Wrong.]

Motivating, goal-setting, and accountability

This is where we get into the work of the work. A high-performance team results from setting a clear vision, communicating expectations, and then holding people accountable. Managers need to know “Why” before they can help their team understand “Why.” Otherwise, it’s nearly impossible to motivate their team members to achieve the goals they’ve set.

Even goal setting requires a strategic approach. Managers need to know how to break down goals and how to get their team to care about them. I help managers understand that holding people accountable means they care; understanding these techniques means the difference between their team's success and failure. [Managers, read: How to Connect the Dots Between Motivation, Goal-Setting, and Accountability.]

Effective & enjoyable 1:1s + team meetings

One of the tools I teach to further build relationships and hold people accountable is 1:1 meetings. It’s a built-in way to check in, understand how each person is progressing, provide support as needed, and strengthen their relationships. When leveraged right, 1:1s can be the most enjoyable and impactful meetings they have each week.

Team meetings are another way to move things forward. No one sat me down to say, "Here's how to run a team meeting," so it was a hard skill for me to learn, and I wish I'd discovered it sooner. I help managers establish the pillars of a successful team meeting so everyone knows what to expect and can focus on what’s most important. [Managers, read: Don't Schedule a Team Meeting Unless These 5 Things Are True.]

Creating a culture of feedback

Everyone loves to receive feedback, right? Mmm hmm. This can be a big point of stress for managers. I teach them ways to deliver feedback that are candid and caring. What it really comes down to is the culture they create around feedback. It should be just as normal to say, “Hey, that thing you just did, do more of that,” as it is to say, “That thing you did, don’t do that again.”?

Managers can skip the dread of feedback when they use a proven framework I teach and make it a part of their culture.

Give your managers the foundational skills to becoming great

How can you turn around underperforming managers and help new managers avoid common pitfalls, hone their skills, and build their reputation quickly?

ManagerBASICS is designed to give new and experienced managers the foundational tips, tools, and tactics to become the manager everyone wants to work for. They’ll master these five building blocks in two 2.5-hour sessions.

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Email [email protected] to book a ManagerBASICS workshop for your company. If you’re a manager and your company doesn’t offer a program like this, sign up for one of our upcoming cohorts.