Being a manager does not just come with a fancy title, benefits, and higher salaries. Managerial positions come with many new responsibilities, and achieving targets and improving performance are not the biggest ones. A person stepping into a managerial position with direct reports has the biggest responsibility to its team. Being a people manager means you are not a single contributor anymore and you need to deliver results through your team. In research conducted for HBR, results showed that 62% of people who gave their managers good grades are willing to go the extra mile. Imagine having a team of 10 and if 6 are willing to do more than is requested, and go above average, the result for the company can be incredible. It is easy to conclude managers have considerable influence on their teams, but not just performance and job satisfaction wise, also on mental health. As per Forbes article, 69% of people said their manager has the greatest impact on their mental health. Having a good manager means a lot, and you can feel the difference in almost all aspects of your life, not just professionally. Working with an understanding and supportive person who creates a healthy environment at work, where you are motivated to give your best, will for sure have a positive knock-on effect on other aspects of your life. The same goes in case you have a bad manager. Having a bad manager has a negative effect on both professional and private life, and it can lead to employees leaving the companies just to escape that person. Research published in the DDI Frontline Leader Project shows that 57% of people who leave the company do so because of a bad manager, not the company itself. Bearing in mind all the above, and those shocking numbers, it is more than evident what a huge influence a manager has. My best guess is most of you reading this book have experienced what it means to work with a bad and a good manager. In this book I want to discuss my view on what makes a good manager, and a leader in the hope of having more managers striving to have a positive impact.
You are wondering who am I to talk to you about leadership, people management and people development? Fair question. Let me give a bit of background. I started my career as a management trainee and for two years I was trained in how to be a manager. The whole experience was amazing, I even got to work in Japan for 6 months. Afterwards, I took over my first managerial position and my first team. Throughout my whole managerial career, I was always leading big teams. Since I had my first position as a store manager and a team of 25 people, to a team of 400 I am currently leading together with my 7 direct reports. I got to work with wonderful people, lead great teams and face particularly challenging situations. I am grateful for every experience I had, good or bad, because I learned from it, and it brought me to a point where I am now.
Since the beginning of my people managers career, being aware of what impact I have on my team and indirectly on their communities, I have been striving to be a good manager. My wish was always to create a positive work environment where we all work hard but have an enjoyable time and fun. I never saw work just as a workplace. Since we spend so much time at work, the workspace becomes the second place we spend the most time at, and it must be joyful and fun. I always wanted to create a work environment where my team would come happy, be motivated, and inspired to work, and without any “stomachache”. I am very aware that the mood and energy of the place mostly comes from me, and hence I am always trying to be positive and spread good vibes. It is not always possible, and I am human with bad and good days, but I see it as my responsibility to be there for my team even when I am feeling down. There is a saying “the fish stinks from the head”, and I agree with it - the manager sets the mood and energy in the team. I’m not saying work should be only fun, my point is that with a good mood and positive environment the performance also increases. I see my team as my primary responsibility, and they are the ones achieving targets and bringing in results. My role is to support them and help them do their best. With that being said, most of my time is spent on working with my team. Over time, I've come to realize that the commitment to and prioritization of people's development varies among different managers. Irrespective of the organization you are employed in, if you have individuals under your supervision, your foremost responsibility should be to guide and foster their growth. I heard managers saying, "I couldn't do weekly meetings with my direct reports because I'm too busy", and that is completely wrong. I know it's a strong statement and many people won't agree with me, but then those people are not in leadership and people management. Or they maybe are but shouldn’t be. When you are a people manager, you are expected to deliver through your team, and your main task is supporting them. Most of your time should be spent working with your team. Hence, you need to have time for them, especially for meeting with your team members. Your success is measured by how successful your team is.
I worked for a company that had a strong customer focus, the customer was king. It was expected by every manager to personally take care of some of the customers. We discussed more about customers than our own teams. I still remember the exercise we were doing where managers needed to put priorities for their positions, among the choices were customers and employees. All my colleagues have put customers first place, and I was the only outcast putting employees in the first place. I always saw my primary task being there for my team, making sure they are supported, engaged, and motivated. In return, they are then providing great service for the customers. Richard Branson, who I admire a lot, has the same view that he embodied in the whole Virgin Group. His famous quote, with which I could not agree more, goes:
“Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients”.
Richard Branson
My leadership style has evolved since I first started in a managerial position. I got my first team at the age of 26, and honestly, apart from having a bunch of training, I had no clue what I was doing. It was exceedingly difficult at the beginning. I inherited a team from an experienced and a very likable manager. For my team, I was just a kid from college without any real work experience. That team had great individuals, but also one that was testing my limits. Those were the ones who tried to manipulate me (sometimes successfully), they tried to cheat (and sometimes succeeded), but they helped me evolve and learn. At the beginning, I avoided difficult discussions and confrontation. I tried to be nice to everyone and please everyone, but that is not how it works. And people tried to take advantage. I learned the hard way that you need to protect good team members and take out the rotten fruit. Now, I do not want this to go in a negative direction, but I want to show you that I learned from my own mistakes. My wish is to point out the downfalls that I had, so you could learn from them and avoid them in real life. So, lesson number one, before we even start - do not avoid confrontations and difficult discussions. You are just dragging the situation down, feeling uncomfortable and anxious while the overall performance of the team is suffering. Deal with individuals, give constructive feedback and be decisive.
Not only challenging situations, but also challenging individuals helped me grow. However, I was lucky enough to have many more wonderful team members, with many of them I am still in contact with and I am thrilled to see their growth and development. There were many amazing people that helped me come to where I am now. I am lucky enough to even call some of them my friends.
I will never forget my closest collaborator at that time, my HR assistant working with me for almost two years. She is a person with a warm heart but can be strict and direct when needed. She went beyond to finish tasks, and she was a high performer. A person I could 100% trust. After holding a managerial position in another company, her wish was to step back and do something less stressful which involved working with people. We were an awesome team. We have jointly improved the engagement of the team, implemented many changes in the store, and I can say I had a true partner. What I appreciated the most - I learned a lot from her. Even though she was my direct report, she never held back when she thought I am doing something wrong. She would take me aside and express her opinion. I valued her feedback greatly! Together we navigated through ramp up of the operations, heights of COVID and many other challenges. Till today, she remains one of the most valuable collaborators and team members I have had so far, and a very dear friend.
Find out more in the book Leader, Not a Boss.
Available on: