Managers + Monday Matters.
Issue 12: How can we make the job of a manager just a bit easier?
The Net-Net: The prevailing winds of change around how we work have been well documented, written about, and discussed at conferences and in boardrooms. But no one struggles more than the well-meaning managers who feel unprepared for the moment they find themselves in. There’s a new generation of employees with a different definition of work and higher, sometimes unrealistic, expectations for their leaders and companies. Companies are more determined than ever to have a workplace where higher productivity, deeper commitment, more customer focus, and more agility are all present. Geez, right?
Given our lack of proximity to each other (even when working in the office) and the shifting needs of employees, the moniker of “the manager” is both unfulfilling and not fit for purpose. Companies must invest in building both strong team leaders and strong team members—ensuring each knows their roles and responsibilities in building a strong and vibrant team climate.
If you are interested in learning more, read on.
A Simple Visual to Make the Point
Cool and Scary Data
90% of managers do not feel prepared for the “future of work.”
53% of managers are burnt out.
70% of c-suite executives are considering leaving their jobs.
82% of employees feel their managers are uninspiring.
58% of managers haven’t received any management training.
Only 12% of employees leave an organization for more money, yet 89% of bosses believe that is the main reason for going.
58% of people say they trust strangers more than their own boss.
Practical Tips
If you are a manager or team leader, give yourself and a fellow manager a pat on the back. The role of the manager is the corporate version of an elementary school teacher. The world rests on your shoulders and you don’t have nearly enough resources or training to do your best work. This can feel overwhelming and super lonely. You aren’t alone or you don’t have to be. Create a small manager community and use your time together to celebrate each other, share best practices and frustrations, and help yourself feel less alone.
Look for free resources available on the internet to become a better manager if your company isn’t investing in you. Whether you are a manager now or aspiring to be one, you can never learn enough. Lucky for you, every day there is another free resource for managers. For instance, Coursera offers a free 28 hour manager training from the University of London for free. 28 hours, wow! You can check it out here.
Determine the kind of manager you want to be and be great in those moments. With all the multiple demands and many roles a manager plays, it is important to decide where you want to be great. You can’t be great at everything. What do you want to be known for as a manager? What do you want your team to depend on you for above all else? Where do you gain the most energy from the role? When you get super clear about the manager you want to be, it helps you make the appropriate trade-offs consistently as opposed to it feeling arbitrary or random.
Team member, you can shape your manager. One of the least appreciated truths of great management is that employees make their manager, not the other way around. As managers progress in their careers, they get less and less feedback. So, if you want a better manager, make them great. Get clear about the 10 behaviors of your ideal manager. Carry the list with you and every time your managers does one of those behaviors, give him or her that feedback (make it specific and repeatable). You know what will happen 9 out of 10 times? They will do it again…and again…and again.
Inspiration Doses
How to Turn a Group of Strangers Into a Team. (TED, 2017)
Reframe the Role of the Manager. (Quartz at Work, 2023)
Are You An Accidental Diminisher? (Multipliers, 2020)
A Great Managers Most Important Habit. (Gallup, 2023)
Book Review In Haiku
It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's...* -by André Martin It's the manager. Our engagement is their job. We must help them more.
*Inspired by Jim Clifton’s and Jim Harter’s book It’s the Manager which takes on the important role that managers play in business and how we can help them. In this book backed by all the amazing research the team at the Gallup Organization produces, Clifton and Harter share insights from 52 discoveries made in one of the largest studies of the future of work. If you are a manager/team leader or want to become one, check this book out out.
“GIF”-ffirmations
EXCLUSIVE SUBSCRIBER OFFER
Hello subscribers. We have a new, rad (and free) text-based course designed in partnership with Arist.co. The course is titled Interviewing for Right Fit: A User’s Guide.
It promises to provide insight and tried-and-true techniques essential for navigating common recruiting pitfalls that lead candidates to wrong fit companies. Did I mention it was free?
Let’s Connect!
Want to Buy a Copy of My New Book? Order Wrong Fit, Right Fit - Why How We Work Matters More Than Ever on Amazon click here!
Want to book me for an event or learn more about my work? Click here to head over to my website and learn more.
Want to check out the recent review TD Magazine did on Wrong Fit, Right Fit? Click here to read the stellar review of the book from the magazine produced by the Association for Talent Development.
What to catch me on the 1% Extra Podcast by Steering Point? Click here to check out my conversation with Shay Dalton. You are going to love it.
Monday Matters is sponsored by the rad minds over at Joyful.co. If you don’t know them or their work, check them out…do it now.
Joyful is a full-service employee engagement creative agency. We make work more joyful. Fortune 500 brands, high growth start-ups and organizations experiencing culture challenges partner with joyful to establish, re-build and maintain a healthy and vibrant company culture. We work with brands domestically and internationally on culture strategy (assessments, audits and action plans) and execution of culture campaigns, experiences, events and communications.