managing others

At some point in your career, you become the “Boss.” You get the opportunity to manage the work and the careers of others. There are countless management and leadership articles and books that address this multifaceted topic. A lot of responsibility comes with the position. It is challenging to manage your work and the work of others, and there is a learning curve if you’re new to it. But as you take on more of this kind of responsibility, your skillset of managing others grows too.

This post is an introduction to three very basic principles you can keep in mind when managing others. You need to simultaneously care about building an effective team, managing their workload and work output, and managing their career aspirations and their skills growth. Whether you’re just starting to manage a team of one or two, or you’re a seasoned people manager, these are a few reminders of what it takes to manage others.

1. Managing their skillsets and personalities

Whether you’re selecting individuals for roles and staffing a team, or you’re allocating work to individuals who have already been assigned roles, it’s important to remember that you should not want or expect everyone who works for you to be exactly like you. Your team is composed of unique individuals who process information and complete tasks differently than you do.

On a skills level, realize people bring their own skills, strengths, and experiences that are different than your own. This is a PLUS, not a detriment. It’s been proven that diverse teams are more effective. As a leader, you want people who complement your skillset and the skillsets of others on the team. When you think of a sports team, different positions on the field of play require different strengths and skills. It’s exactly the same when you’re building a team at work.

On a personal level, you don’t have to be friends with everyone who works for you. In other words, in a parallel universe, if this person didn’t work for you and you just met them out and about, you might not choose to be friends with them. As long as their work is good and their personalities aren’t toxic to your team, that is totally ok. You may get along better with some of your direct reports, and that is ok too. But be conscious of favoritism. You have to give equal opportunities for visibility and growth to everyone who works for you. 

I specifically look for people whose skills complement my own. I can’t know everything about my industry or be an expert in every skill, so I rely on staffing people who can serve in those roles. And when it comes to completing work, everyone learns differently. Where I might need to visualize a process and draw out a diagram, someone else might need to write it out using words. To acknowledge these differences, I like to allow people to “choose whatever medium” they want to deliver information.

2. Managing their careers

The individuals who work for you may also have different career aspirations than you do.  They may have taken a different path to get where they are, and they may want to continue on a different path than the one you took. These differences do not mean they will not be an effective or successful part of your team. You must be empathetic, listen to their goals, and position them for success as individuals. Help them leverage their strengths and develop their weaknesses to be successful..

If they are unsure of specific career goals, give them opportunities to try new things and figure it out. You’re a coach helping them realize the best versions of themselves.

Don’t project your own career goals onto the people who work for you.  I have encountered so many managers and leaders over the years who do this, and this kind of career management style is pretty selfish, and it ignores the individual who is standing in front of you looking for career guidance! 

I sincerely appreciate the career paths of others that have differed from my own because they bring a different perspective to our work. And I understand not all of the people who work for me eventually want to climb the ladder to have my job. I like to help them get to where they want to be.

3. Managing their morale

Say “thank you” and mean it. This is such a simple thing to do, but we often forget how important it is to show gratitude. Your team needs to stay motivated and the clearest and easiest way of doing this is by showing appreciation. This can really be as simple as saying “Thank you” upon completion of a task. This can be as involved as having a public way of providing team shoutouts – on a team call or on a shared team space. How you show appreciation is up to you, just make sure it is clear that the recipient of the praise knows they are valued.

I worked for many years before a leader or boss at work sincerely said “Thank you” to me. You don’t realize your work culture is lacking in appreciation, and how much that negatively affects morale until you encounter a new environment where gratitude is the norm. Take it from me, it makes a huge difference to simply say “Thank you.”