Somehow, I Managed

I loved being a manager. I know, that’s unusual to hear, but bear with me. Working with talented, capable people is always energizing, and usually personally inspiring as well. Most high-achievers (or “try-hards” as a good friend used to call them) don’t need a manager to tell them how to do their work or to make decisions for their projects. These former “gifted kids” are intrinsically motivated and driven to solve complex problems. They are also usually very conscientious and detail-oriented.

Which is why micromanaging this population always does more harm than good. You (the manager) may be trying to make sure the work gets done well, and on time, but what you are communicating to your employee is: “I don’t think you have the intelligence or competence to do your job without me looking over your shoulder”. Since successful manager-employee relationships (and all relationships, actually) are built on trust, micromanaging is incredibly harmful over time.

Most of my worst managers are the ones who never made the mental/emotional/philosophical shift from managing themselves to managing others. Many successful employees are self-motivated, driven by some level of inner competitive drive, highly-self critical, and have extremely high standards for their performance. Turning that level of anxiety-driven focus on other similarly talented people is a terrible management framework- A perfect equation for a very unproductive and mutually unsatisfying manager-employee relationship.

In my varied experience, talented, capable, employees (usually) only need a manager for 5 things:

1) Provide context about work priorities/resources from leadership

2) Serve as a sounding board and mentor as needed when navigating new projects, or challenging work relationships

3) Help your people ensure the projects they are working on are directly tied to their individual professional development goals.

4) Speak up in support when your position can lend weight to their opinions and advice as SMEs

5) Be their champion in rooms they cannot (yet) access. Make sure leadership knows what each of them brings to the table as far as their talents and impact.

If you are a new manager who feels in over their head, I am here to help you build your management skills and philosophy. Let’s chat!