How Did I Not See This Coming?

One thing is clear to everyone who has been exposed to management… management is tough. In this book, Katy Tynan speaks about the misconceptions that many new managers have regarding what management is all about. Told in the form of a story, it follows the journey of fictitious character, Julie, a recently promoted team leader in a software development company. She’s just run head-on into a brick wall realizing that, even with the best of intentions, she has been doing things wrong.

Most new managers approach their new role optimistically. They believe that all they need to do is work harder and stay on top of all the tasks their team is responsible for. They aren’t thinking about leading a team, they are thinking about keeping track of a lot of tasks.

The first thing Julie learns is that it’s less about tasks, and more about articulating a sense of shared purpose, or a vision. Consider the values that your team members have in common, and how your work contributes to the goals of the whole company. Having a clear understanding of that purpose and vision is the key to prioritization, and to resolving conflicts.

The second challenge most new managers face is the realization that they don’t (and probably can’t) know everything. Before becoming a manager, you may have been an expert in a certain area, but once you make the transition, it’s not about expertise. It’s about your ability to help the people on your team do their best work. Managers most often need to focus on the “what” and not the “how”, which means leaving the details up to your team.

This leads to the third thing that Julie discovers in her journey. While most people who become managers know that goals are an important tool for tracking a team’s progress, they sometimes overlook how important it is to not just have goals but to align them with the vision and with the needs of the people on the team. It’s important to master the mechanics of setting and tracking goals, but they won’t get you very far if they aren’t connected to the larger objectives of the team and of the organization.

Goals are a little like ingredients when you’re cooking. If you go to the grocery store and pick up a random selection of vegetables, you can throw them all in a pot with some water or stock, and you will end up with something that looks like soup. But if you want to make a specific kind of soup, you have to get the right ingredients, combine them with the right spices and cook them for the right amount of time.

The fourth secret is that we all make mistakes. Sometimes it’s a project that goes off the rails. Other times it’s a tough day that makes you lose your cool when your goal as a manager is to have a calm and stable demeanor. The truth is that nobody is perfect and putting pressure on yourself to be perfect or feeling like a failure when you make a mistake is not going to help you in a management role. Keeping your focus on learning from mistakes and fostering a culture of learning rather than a culture of blame is one of the most positive changes you can make in your approach to leadership.

The fifth truth that Julie learns about management is about trust. Leadership comes from mutual trust. Trust is the foundation upon which everything else is built. Your team has to believe that they can trust you to keep your commitments, to tell them the truth and to go to bat for them if need be. You have to trust that your team members are doing their best, that they care about the work they do and the team as a whole. When trust breaks down, it becomes almost impossible to achieve any goal, no matter how well-aligned or constructed it is.

So to sum it up, this book covers five key truths about management:

1. Vision: Define the values your team shares and measure everything against those values.
2. Team: Know the strengths of your team members and focus on clearing the obstacles to their success.
3. Goals: Focus on the output and recognize achievement.
4. Learn and Adapt: Develop the habit of learning from each day’s work and focus on growth vs. perfection.
5. Trust: Without trust there is no team.

This is a great book for new managers. There are many takeaways from this book and can only be acquired by getting a copy. It’s an invaluable tool and a great investment that you’ll not regret.

THE BIG THREE – KEY POINTS

Key point #1: Most new managers go into the role with good intentions, but they don’t know what they need to do differently to be a great leader. New managers need training and support to make the transition successfully.

Key point #2: The most important thing a new manager needs to do is create a vision and clearly articulate how the work the team does ties into that vision. From top to bottom, everything the team does needs to support those shared goals.

Key point #3: Today’s work environment is constantly changing. We all need to learn new skills and have a growth oriented mindset to be successful. The manager’s role is to facilitate that learning process, and to create an environment of trust where people can feel safe enough to learn and grow.

One Last Thing

The distinction between leading and managing is important. Managing consists of overseeing people who work for you, along with their time and money. Leading refers to your ability to influence and motivate those you oversee; you lead their energy. A great leader understands the difference and balances both. ~Anonymous