Author: Andrea Huspeni / Source: Adobe 99U
What if the manager you always wish was in the room… is you?
Congratulations! You’ve been bumped up to a leadership role for the very first time. Maybe it’s something you’ve seen coming for awhile, or maybe it’s come about because the scaling startup or creative studio you work at suddenly needed a management layer.
Whatever the case, you feel like you’re on the path to greatness and everything’s coming up roses and dollar bills.That is, until reality hits and that promotion glow gives way to panic: How the heck do you manage a team?
Julie Zhuo, VP of design at Facebook, was just 25 when she became a rookie manager at the rapidly growing tech giant. Her knowledge was limited: “All that I knew of management could be neatly summarized into two words: meetings and promotion,” she says.
Now, years later—after countless rounds of feedback, wasteful (and useful) meetings, deer-in-the-headlights experiences hiring (and firing) employees—Zhuo has outlined her experience as a first-time manager in a new book called The Making of a Manager.
We’ve summarized a few of the book’s most actionable insights, including how to get the most out of your team to the importance of being direct in your feedback. Read on, and may all your meetings be a good use of time.
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1. If ‘everything is fine,’ someone is lying.
When an employee tells you ‘everything is fine’ for too many one-on-ones in a row, it’s time to probe deeper. It may mean that an employee is actually too shy or scared to tell you they’re struggling. You can’t help if you don’t know so earning the trust of your team is your top priority. As a manager, it’s on you to build a pattern of positive reinforcement toward transparency, criticism, compassion, and vulnerability. Then, when someone shares that things aren’t “fine,” they’re demonstrating that you have a good trust dynamic between the two of you. Sure, the situation may not be fine, but the relationship is great, and that’s the more important thing.
2. Fuel strengths.
Ambitious people often want to know where they fall short so they can fix it. While pointing out flaws is valuable, it’s an exercise that overlooks what people are hired for: their strengths. When your employees jump to the “needs improvement” section of their reviews and skip over the “strengths” section, redirect their focus. Highlight the specific value they bring. It’s more powerful to strategize around strengths versus weaknesses. Make sure your employees know that the value they bring is what you see in them and what you expect them to grow. A next-level manager can do this, not only with individual employees, but with whole teams.
3. Define ownership.
Make sure everyone knows who is responsible for what. When responsibilities aren’t clear, things…
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