Originally posted to LinkedIn on 05/01/2022 https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-i-wish-knew-management-beforehand-mark-molea
As an individual contributor to your organization, you’ve probably developed some idea of a manager’s role. No doubt that you have some experience interacting with managers at your company, so your picture of the day-to-day life of a manager may be partially accurate (though incomplete). I’d wager that managing takes more skills than you’re likely imagining. Like an iceberg, most of ‘management’ is hidden beneath the surface of what ‘the managed’ will observe. That isn’t your fault because you’ve likely never held a management position before. Like any role, there are things I find fulfilling or positive about being a manager. Others are frustrating or trying.
Here are some things I wish I had understood about management before I took my first management position.
You’ll need different skills to be a successful manager#
The skills that made you a successful individual contributor likely won’t be used in your management role. Your job duties will change, so you won’t be expected to leverage them. Instead, you’ll be expected to perform a new set of job duties that require an entirely new skillset.
That’s not to say that the skills you’ve acquired are useless. In my experience, you will use your old skills in two ways, especially if you’ve previously held the role of those you’re managing:
- You’ll be in a good position to ask your team the right questions. Since you’ve done their jobs before, you generally know what it takes to get the job done and may have run into the same problems your team is facing.
- When you need to make a decision quickly, your team is more likely to accept your decision on the spot because they know you have experience performing their jobs.
Management is a set of behaviors that can be learned#
Behaviors are the things you say and do. Management requires the execution of a set of simple behaviors every day. I’ll emphasize that these behaviors aren’t easy. They are just simple to describe and understand. I believe some of the most important behaviors are:
- Setting clear expectations
- Providing feedback
- Delegation
- Evaluating performance
No one is likely to teach you these behaviors before taking on a management role. You have experienced these behaviors under a good leader if you’re fortunate. Regardless, you can learn these things even if you have to seek out books, podcasts, or other online resources. I found the Manager Tools podcast a tremendously helpful place to start since all of the advice contains at least one actionable component.
Managers don’t have as much decision making power as you might think#
A middle manager still has a boss. They are a cog in the machine just like you, just a different kind of cog. They can’t unilaterally make sweeping changes to the organization. Are they potentially better positioned to raise concerns or suggest changes to processes? Probably. But they still can’t implement change on their own, necessarily. There may be company-wide standards they might need to work with. There may be budget constraints that prevent them from implementing a good idea right now. Your manager likely sees the same problems in the organization that you do. If they aren’t doing something about it, there might be a good reason that you simply don’t have visibility to.
You will need to implement decisions you disagree with#
Hand-in-hand with the fact that managers don’t have as much power as you might think. They may also have to implement decisions they don’t personally agree with. Some might call this “carrying the company’s water”. The folks at Manager Tools would call this “professional subordination”. Once a decision is made, the manager must execute the will of the company (excluding ethical concerns, of course).
As a (middle) manager, you might have a seat at the table when the options affecting your team are discussed. But, once a decision is made, any other ideas that were in consideration are moot. It will be your responsibility to implement the chosen idea in good faith.
Be prepared to become an air traffic controller#
Most of my job duties involved “deep work” as a software developer. It’s a term coined by Cal Newport, a computer science professor at Georgetown University and author of the “Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World”. According to Newport, “Deep work refers to a professional activity performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that pushes your cognitive capabilities to their limit”.
As a manager of software development teams, I’ve found I engage in almost no deep work anymore. Instead, I find myself playing the role of an air traffic controller, constantly switching gears and changing my focus. I always need to be ready to make a decision, reprioritize my team’s work, coach my team through a challenging situation or problem, etc.
But that’s ok. It’s what the job requires. By being responsive, I’m making sure others aren’t stuck in a state of limbo while they wait for a decision. As an individual contributor, I was expected to keep my head down and focus on a single problem for hours. As a manager, I was expected to always have my ears open and to keep myself as available as possible. This paradigm shift can be quite jarring if you aren’t ready for it.
You will get praise and blame for things you didn’t do yourself#
Being a manager means being responsible for the performance of others. When your team does well, others outside your team may compliment you. A good leader recognizes that they are just a proxy for the team and in that instance will redirect that praise to the team. On the other hand, when the team does poorly, others outside your team may blame and criticize you. In these instances, I think good leaders take responsibility and commit to working with their team to perform better next time.
It can feel strange or unfair to get feedback about things you didn’t do personally. You’ll have to get used to this.
Hiring is challenging#
Can you judge what someone will truly be like to work with before you’ve worked with them? That’s exactly what’s expected of a hiring manager. To decide whether to take the chance on someone and offer them a place on their team. Not only will you want to assess their ability to perform the job duties you need, but you will want to get a sense of what kind of teammate they would be.
Interviewing well is something that will take practice. Over time you can get better and your rate of successful hires will improve. Just be prepared to live with a level of uncertainty and try to involve several people in the interview process to help you make more informed decisions.
Conclusion#
If you’re someone looking to get into management for the first time, I hope this has given you some additional perspective or at least some things to consider. I know I always find it easier to handle a situation if I already have some idea of what I’m in for.
