How to be a good people manager?

[Slat3]

I had an internal interview today for a line management role to 10 employees.

If I get it, can I have your tips on being the best line manager to a team? I know the employee role inside out if that helps.

My views are somebody who is honest, fair, assertive, knowledgable, etc but practical tips would be appreciated!

Have you ever had a bad manager?

Don't do what they did.

If you've been doing the employee role and know it inside out, I'd caution you to be careful not to become everyone's fixer.

You'll end up running yourself ragged doing everyone's job for them - I learned that lesson the hard way. A good question to ask is "What do you think we should do to resolve this?" it leads o a much more constructive discussion.

Good luck with your interview

Empower them to make decisions, set boundaries, be clear in what is expected, be their boss not friend and don't micro manage. This is based in my experiences of shit managers.

Be approachable , fair , assertive , knowledgable

Know the job inside out and exactly how to do each bit plus how long it should take

Be a leader that leads from good example , don't be sacred to roll up your sleeves and get stuck into mundane work when needed but equally be confident at delegating to your team

Remember you are the boss not their friend , be close whilst keeping an essential distance

Do not have favourites but do get to know strengths and weaknesses of your team and use it to good of everyone whilst still strengthening their individual weaknesses

Give praise when it's due

Be a professional

Work out what motivates individuals and then use that to empower and encourage them to make decisions, take risks and manage responsibility. Don’t provide all the answers. Show that you expect people to use their initiative and skills to solve problems themselves. Compliment good work. Ask your team members what you can do to help them do their job better, listen, and put it into practice.

I understand what user above means by be a boss and not their friend; but I do think a good manager takes an interest in and cares about their team members as people and makes an effort to find out who they are when they aren’t sitting at a desk.

I think it will be a hard transition to go from being a friend/colleague to being a boss, which is my main worry. I don’t want people take take advantage, but equally I don’t want to step up & be disliked & seen to have ‘changed’!

Good luck - hope you get the job. It's really great that you're thinking ahead about being a good manager. You get the best out of your team when you put them at the forefront of your mind

Here is my personal random in no particular order list of good managering... (From experience of managing and being managed)

Find out who in your team is expert in what and listen to them. You can't know everything. Bad managers are ones who fail to acknowledge that people they manage can know a whole lot more than them about most stuff.
Solve problems and issues as a team as much as possible.
Involve the team in planning and decision making.
Remember it's better to say you don't know something and will find out than either blag it and get it wrong or just ignore an issue.
Never lie to your staff even if telling the truth about a situation is uncomfortable and you are under pressure from your management. It kills trust and creates huge bad feeling.
Resist the urge to micromanage. People will do things in ways you wouldn't. Take a deep breath and let them get on with it.
Trust your staff and allow them as much flexibility as possible within the constraints of the environment and ensuring the job gets done.
Emotional support for personal issues is as important a part of a management job in my view as ensuring people do the work.
A large part of a good team managers job is protecting their team from the shit being dumped on them from above. Be the umbrella of protection not the funnel channeling the shit further downwards.

I admit, some of this comes from bitter experience. Good luck with the job.

My friend recommended a book called "The one minute manager". I can't remember who wrote it. That was a few years ago though - maybe out of date now. He found it really useful and got a promotion based on what he learned from it.

I think listening to people is massively important as a manager. Really listening, and taking on board what people say even if your initial reaction is to disagree with what they're saying.

A conversation is usually better than an email, even if it means it takes you more time. It's so easy to lose nuance in an email.

Don't assume that your priorities will be everyone else's, but be aware that it's your job to bring your team with you. Think really carefully about how you can do this and practise difficult conversations beforehand (cringingly awful to do role play like this but it really helps prepare you).

And don't be afraid to ask YOUR manager for support and advice when you need it - they'll have been in your position once too!

Lead by example. Don’t ever ask anyone to do something you wouldn’t do yourself. Doesn’t mean you have to do it but would be willing if necessary.

Thank people for their work and contributing

Encourage your team to voice their ideas and be confident to credit them for successes when something they suggested is pulled off.

This is useful for me - while my manager is covering her manager's mat leave, I'm doing line management of three people, so I am thinking about this. Also as I want to start applying for external management roles before my cover role ends.

I am not a great delegator, although only one of my reports is someone for me to delegate to (the others are doing their own thing and I'm mostly just checking they're doing OK)

I have a good manager. I think it's about:

• Picking your battles
• Getting to understand how your team members process stuff and absorb information so you can help them
• Don't expect them to like you or the decisions you make all the time
• Be fair and upfront
• Be honest
• Face into difficult conversations rather than sweeping stuff under the carpet
• Don't micro manage people and give them a sense of ownership of their own work
• Always saying thank you and recognizing them when they do something well

Listening is really important when you’re in a position of authority. You don’t have to agree or do what people suggest but reflecting back what people are saying
“I can hear that this is really frustrating”
or when someone goes off on one, instead of getting defensive, listen until they run out of steam and then ask “is there anything else?”
I don’t mean in a snarky way. Very few problems need a solution straight away and actually a lot of problems go away when people feel heard. If people can trust you to listen, then they can trust you to lead.

Give clear instructions.

Don't micromanage.

Praise for a job well done.

Stand up for your team when necessary.

Say thank you and please.

Offer your team development opportunities. Speak to them regularly - find out what's going well and what isn't.

Be flexible with those who offer your flexibility in return.

Be approachable - smile if a member of your team approaches you.

I've been managing people for years. I don't think there is any magic formula, but I can offer a few tips on the basis of my experience.

Firstly, don't be an arse! It sounds obvious, but so many managers treat their staff like shit. Be respectful. Understand that people have a life outside of work, and be as flexible as you possibly can to accommodate this. Be supportive. Listen to what people say, and don't assume that you know it all. Care about them as people, not just about the work they do.

Use your power/status sparingly. Don't pull rank or throw your weight around. Lead by example, not by decree. There are times when you will have to step up and make a decision, and there are times when you can let other people have a say. You need to know the difference. If you're the one making the decisions, do it quickly and unequivocally, on the basis of sound evidence, and own whatever you have decided. However, don't be afraid to admit when you're wrong. If you delegate decision-making to other people, then you need to have their backs. Help out with the little, menial tasks every now and then. Don't think you're above anyone else. Your role is more senior, but you are not superior. Everyone has value.

Give feedback. If people are doing a good job, tell them. Thank them for what they do, and make them feel appreciated, but do it genuinely. If people are not doing a good job, tell them that too, but in a constructive way to help them understand what you want them to do differently. Offer support/training if necessary. Don't be afraid to have difficult conversations and don't beat about the bush and hope that people will take the hint; issues fester if they aren't addressed. If people aren't doing what they are supposed to be doing, try to find out why. Be reasonable and supportive, but don't let them take the piss. If you have to deal with performance/disciplinary issues, address them as soon as possible and follow it up in writing. If the issue escalates, it will help you enormously to have a record.

When you delegate, don't micromanage people but do check in with them to ensure that everything is on track. If they bring problems, don't just chuck it back at them but do involve them in finding solutions. Empower people to take responsibility by letting them know that you will support what they do and ensuring that they have the necessary knowledge/skills/time/resources to deliver. Ensure that you give them the credit for everything that goes well, and remember that ultimately, it's your responsibility when things don't go well. Be mindful of staff workloads, and encourage them to maintain a good work-life balance. Look after your own work-life balance too - your behaviour contributes to the overall culture of the organisation.

Be fair and consistent. Don't play favourites. Don't share people's personal information. Your job is not to be liked, so don't make decisions on the basis of what will make you popular. Having said that, people will usually like and respect you if you work with compassion and integrity.

Remember that people are human. They will fuck up sometimes. So will you. You need to create an environment where people trust you enough to tell you when something has gone wrong. Don't blame people for mistakes, focus instead on how to make things better in the future. Encourage people to share their own ideas about how to improve stuff. Remember that the team can achieve much more together than you can on your own. Give people opportunities to work together and try to play to their strengths.

Remember that a happy team is more productive than a miserable one. Your job is to make it possible for everyone else to do their best work.

I've been managing people for years and years but started just managing one person (I now manage multidisciplinary teams that include experts that are sometimes a higher grade than me). I think that is must be really hard to go from managing no-one to managing 10. Don't expect to get it right the whole time and admit your mistakes if you get it wrong.

When giving feedback then always include something they've done well and something they need to work on (if a good performer this can be about what they need to move to the next level). People really appreciate honest and fair feedback and get very frustrated if you don't helpthem grow and progress. Give informal feedback on a regular basis (that's a good idea / thankyou for doing that extra bit of work etc). If someone is severely underperforming respond to it quickly, it often means things aren't going well outside work and a sympathetic response means you can work together to minimise the impact on their work.

Give people space to grow, I'm a scientist and so am generally managing very bright people who are enthusiastic and want to learn. Balancing giving them that space vs making sure they don't go off at a tangent means having regular chats where they feel safe to come up with ideas but you can gently redirect or help if they are struggling. Your company should have some management tools to help you do your job but as a PP said you need to talk to people regularly to touch base and chat and have an open door if they need help.

Accept it’s a massive learning curve.
Recognise that your role changes (especially of it’s a team you used to be a part of) and your peer greoup change.
Find a mentor.
Be kind, fair, know when to have a laugh and when to be serious.
Get stuck in when you need to. Delegate when you need to.
Recognise your limitations.
Make work fun. People are spending 8 hours a day there. Make it enjoyable in some way.

@slat3 i was in your position 5 months ago having gone from colleague to line managing the team. I have been very lucky in that I have an incredibly supportive team. I had been trying to move up for ages and they were genuinely pleased for me so that made the transition easier. For me the most important thing is to be understanding and supportive. People have things going on outside work which means they may want to leave early or come in late.

As others have said don't micromanage and also don't sweat the small stuff. If someone is having a quick look at their phone then so what however if it doesn't go away after a few mins then I might say something.