What Makes a GREAT Manager? (it’s not what you think)

Apparently, there's a question we can ask ourselves to see whether we would make good people managers in the workplace. And that is... Do you get more satisfaction out of the outcome being achieved or in playing a particular role in getting to that outcome? To illustrate, imagine you're in the sales team. You love chatting with clients and closing deals. You enjoy being in the role of a salesperson. And because you're so good, you're promoted to a manager. A week later, there's a problem with an internal process. Salespeople are fighting over clients and travel expenses are not being reimbursed. As a manager, you put down the phone and spend the next month fixing those processes because that leads to a better outcome for your team. So is that it? There's a special group of people in this world who are just magically able to prioritize the outcome and are destined to become great managers. Julie Zhuo, ex-VP on Facebook, says no. She became a manager at the age of 25 and based on her own experiences and by observing other highly rated managers, she concludes that great managers are made, not born. And in the making of a manager, she shares the three universal qualities all great managers possess and more importantly, what they did to get there. Let's get started. Quality number one, great managers build trust. Trust means different things for different people but if you think about it, there are three things we all do when we trust our boss. We share problems and challenges we're facing. We're not afraid to give them critical feedback and given the chance, we would happily work for them again. So what are the things great managers do to encourage this behavior and build trust? First, they're not afraid to show vulnerability. Professor Brene Brown is an expert in the study of emotions and has famously said, "'Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage.'" I remember this one time I asked my manager how to communicate in a nicer way with my colleagues while still being as direct as possible. And she told me, Jeff, I'm still working on this myself but here's what I learned so far. Her not pretending to know everything made me respect her more and I definitely didn't think, oh my God, I can't believe she didn't know the answer to this. Second, they give specific recognition, advice and feedback. Emphasis on the word specific. Just imagine after a presentation, your manager says, great job, I think it went really well. Compare this to, great job keeping us all engaged with that interactive poll. And I think the marketing team really appreciated the call out on slide seven. Those extra few words show a manager paid attention and recognize the parts of the presentation we made the additional effort to get right. Third, they prepare for our one-on-ones. Julie's premise here is simple. Managers are very busy people and if they show up to our one-on-ones fully prepared, it means they prioritized us above other work. Interestingly, fully prepared does not mean our managers came with all the answers but rather relevant questions that help us decide on next steps. Broadly speaking, these questions can be broken down to three categories, identify, understand and support. And managers should draw from this list of questions depending on the situation. I also have an entire video on how to run productive one-on-ones with your manager. So check that out after. By the way, this video is not being sponsored by Julie, although that would be cool, but it is supported by those of you who subscribe to my paid productivity newsletter. Link in the description to learn more. Quality number two, great managers give great feedback. I always thought feedback meant suggestions for improvement. And although that's certainly part of it, Julie says great feedback inspires us to change our behavior. And there are three things great managers do when giving feedback. First, they set clear expectations at the very beginning. And a tip here is for the manager to share ideal outcomes according to a timeline. When I first joined the marketing team, my manager Greg said, in the first three months on the job, I expect you'll take ownership of this spreadsheet and help me plan this offline event. In six months, hopefully you'll be running the weekly status meetings without me. It was clear what I needed to do. And more importantly, I knew how my success would be measured. In six months, if the weekly meetings went smoothly without Greg in the room, I would have succeeded. Second, they make their feedback as specific as possible to drive action. Instead of saying, Jeff, your presentation was complicated and we got lost, where the word complicated is ambiguous, it's better to say you lost the room when you shared seven different designs for the review. It would be great to let us vote on three options next time. The feedback is crystal clear. And it also states specific next steps I can take to improve. Pro tip, Julie says every time a manager sees their report in action is an opportunity for feedback. A short note of praise or constructive criticism is most effective when the memory is still fresh. Third, they collect 360 degree feedback for maximum objectivity. According to Ed Batista of Stanford University, our fight or flight instinct kicks in when we receive critical feedback. And that hurts our ability to process what we just heard and react thoughtfully. When managers combine their own observations with feedback from our colleagues, we feel less threatened because a 360 degree view is more objective and comprehensive. Pro tip, if your manager gives you feedback you don't necessarily agree with, ask them to verify with their teammates. Actually, let me know in the comments if this is something you wish your manager would do more of. Quality number three and my personal favorite, great managers run amazing meetings. According to Julie, every meeting needs to have a clear outcome. And there are only five outcomes that warrant a meeting. First, when a decision needs to be made. The pro tip here is the decision maker needs to be in the room and the people affected by the decision needs to feel that the process was fair. Second, when information needs to be shared. Only invite the minimum amount of people necessary and it's the speaker's job to keep the audience engaged and entertained. Third, when feedback needs to be given on a project or a plan. The presentation should include changes since the last check-in, problems the reviewer can immediately give input on and end with specific next steps. Fourth, when ideas need to be generated. It's actually been proven that people are most creative when they're alone. So the key here is to prompt attendees to brainstorm before the meeting and use the meeting time to discuss which ideas can be turned into action. And fifth, when relationships need to be strengthened. The more we learn about our colleagues, hobbies, life stories, and interests, the more we enjoy working with them. So Julie argues social events are just as important as formal business meetings. In total, Julie actually covers eight qualities all great managers have, but I thought these three, build trust, great feedback, amazing meetings, were the most relevant for the majority of us. I'll quickly touch on each remaining aspect in the next 60 seconds. Even great managers struggle with imposter syndrome and a practical tip is to search for the name of your role model struggles on Google to see how someone you look up to deal with uncertainty and failure. They understand the importance of hiring well and a candidate with mixed reviews, but vocal supporters usually outperform those with consistently average ratings. They know perfect execution is more important than perfect strategy. So once you pick a reasonable direction, move quickly to learn what works and what doesn't and make adjustments on the go. They're able to delegate effectively by reminding reports of the purpose, not of the task. I love this quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry that goes, if you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea. And finally, they walk the walk. The quickest way for managers to lose respect and authority is when they say one thing and do another. If you're a working professional, you might enjoy my collaboration with the Harvard Business Review on email etiquette in the workplace. See you on the next video. In the meantime, have a great one.