How to Be a Great Manager

Originally published on Cleopatra's Worldwide — January 9, 2020

While the first few years of your career tend to be defined by the constant struggle for more — more money, more ownership, more freedom and more responsibility — a moment suddenly comes around where you land a very serious responsibility. The responsibility to help shape someone else's career.

More often than not it becomes another chore. Something we have to do and put time into alongside our full time jobs. As you continue to climb the ladder, you get more and more of these responsibilities. It gradually becomes the case in a broad range of professions that managing people is your primary job, above all of the "doing" bits that you originally signed up for.

I don't trust anyone who believes, in this day and age, you can be a success with no people management skills. I also don't believe the best managers work the hardest. If you build the right team and make conscious effort in the right places, your team will be much more efficient.

Conscious effort upfront = more engaged team = less work for you. It's a no brainer.

Being a good manager is not primarily about your ambitions for yourself. It is about valuing the growth and success of those in your care. Recognising how much of an impact a career can have on someone's life and having the desire to have been a positive part of that. The intention to be a good manager needs to be a part of your priority list. Something you take seriously and take pride in.

Time

The first thing you need to give is your time. As a manager, if you need to move a meeting with someone you look after, it is your responsibility to find another alternative slot. Having a one-on-one monthly is a good guide. The more frequently you have these, the less sizeable issues you're likely to run into.

Understanding the Individual

Ray Dalio is the Chairman of Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund. As part of the recruitment process, Dalio has potential employees take a Myers-Briggs style personality test, knowing that different personality types thrive in different roles.

"Personality assessments are valuable tools for getting a quick picture of what people are like in terms of their abilities, preferences, and style. They are often more objective and reliable than interviews." – Ray Dalio

Not all roles in your care will be done best by someone similar to you, so it's important to create space in your team for different characters.

Fighting for Them

Showing your junior team members that you're prepared to stand up for them in conversations with your superiors will go a long way in winning their trust. A great manager is always prepared to take some responsibility for their team's errors and offer up praise when they do something successfully.

Looking Ahead

As a senior, you've generally got more experience under your belt and therefore have the benefit of often being able to look further ahead when it comes to your employees' careers. Not just what will be best right now, but what will be best five years from now.

And finally, one conclusion on management I heard a very successful founder arrive at:

"Maybe it's about really listening."

Something that is as true of management as it is of success in most things.