When you transition into management you should internalize and accept two responsibilities -
- success of your team (downwards)
- success of your team ladders up to company success (upwards)
Team success matters over individual success and more importantly team success should lead to company success. Give individuals on the team the autonomy they deserve, set clear expectations and hold them accountable.
The type of skills you need to effectively manage these responsibilities will constantly evolve and challenge you, so having some cheat codes help :)
Cheat codes
Don’t rush into any thing – move slow and move smart to ask questions and set expectations. See the bigger picture before signing up. The details matter and don’t leave things open for interpretation.
Don’t assume – Be explicit, call out dependencies, clarify things, clear the air.
Be a good listener – respect opinions, identify the bullshit and call it out.
Use fewer words – don’t be the loudest voice in the room.
Double down on your strengths – establish yourself as a leader in that space.
Build redundancy in the team – be prepared for departures
Focus on team efficiency – what is actually slowing them down
Give feedback regularly – even when they don’t ask for it. the feedback should never be a surprise whether it’s good or bad.
Take feedback regularly – be explicit when you are taking feedback.
Focus on things that matter – your time and your teams time is finite so cut your loses if need be and move on.
Hire the right people -— don’t hire just for today, hire for tomorrow. In other words their current skills might be relevant today but also assess how they fit in your team 3-6-8 months from now.
- will they pull up the team or will they drag?
- what is their primary motivation for the next role — promo, more scope, etc etc
Build the team brand – such that you have a key stake in the company business objective, not as a dependent team but the team that can actually move the needle. Your brand must be aligned with the company success.
Be present in meetings – it’s easy to turn off your camera or open laptop and do your thing when the discussion is not relevant to your team but being present by actively listening, asking intelligent questions and giving meaningful suggestions will really stand out.
Stupid shit that you shouldn’t buy in to -
- Throwing money at the problem in the hope that this will scale and fix the problem. Especially true in problems pertaining to scaling the platform. E.g. let’s buy this tool that has already solved this problem.
- Throwing more people at the problem and this will help us move faster. It adds more friction - new folks are struggling to find their wedge in, existing folks start questioning their role and are more focused on that.