I have many clients who want to succeed in their manager roles. Some are first-line managers, others are already at a senior director level, yearning to enter the executive ranks by seeking a VP title. This blog is about what it takes to succeed as a manager and what are some of the common mistakes many managers make in playing their role to be effective and to be seen as promotion-worthy.
What most professionals do not understand is that there are three main transitions that take place in a career; each with a different Rubicon that one must cross. In this blog I plan to codify the behaviors that are critical to making a successful shift in each transition.
The first transition occurs when a fresh graduate enters the professional world. This is one of the most difficult transitions because much of what is taught in schools does not equip you to deal with the professional reality of the workplace. The academic knowledge teaches you how to think, but does not teach you how to behave; on that front you are on your own. The focus shifts abruptly from knowing to understanding. You may know how to solve a difficult problem through analysis and design, but without understanding how to use that solution to deliver meaningful value to the organization is something you have to learn on your own! This is why nearly 30% of new graduates disengage in their first jobs and many quit because they do not know “how to play the game.”
Those, who succeed in doing well in their first job as an individual contributor soon set their eyes on becoming a manager. Individual contributors doing well are promoted to first-level manager, without really understanding that the new role is quite different from which they just graduated. Since they assume that in their new role they should do more of what got them the promotion, they focus on doing everyone’s technical work, rather than learning how to get work done through others and through the resources they are given. This is the manager’s real job. So, poor managers end up doing both: managing resources (albeit poorly) and doing technical work that their team members are remiss doing. Soon, they are pulling a double shift and rapidly falling behind. Without understanding how a manager must execute their role (the four functions of managing: Leading, Planning, Organizing, and Setting up Controls) the first-level manager is doomed to fail, no matter how hard they work and no matter how smart they are!
To succeed in a manager’s role what is required is to know and understand how to delegate the right work and doing the work that only a manager can do. This applies to both technical and management work (the four functions of managing, again!). Successful candidates rise to become director-level employees responsible for a functional area, where good ones become known both for their technical leadership and management effectiveness. This is a rare phenomenon (only about 20% of managers succeed in this endeavor, many becoming tyrannical and incompetent in their roles).
The next level of promotion for functional managers (directors/senior directors) is becoming vice president. In this transition one must learn how to translate their functional expertise into business expertise. This includes knowing the business, markets, competition, and global forces that drive your business. Without this higher business perspective rarely a functional leader will be promoted to a VP-level executive.
As one rises in titles and their span of control they are required to manage their role by handling the right mix of technical and management responsibilities. The amount of time higher-level executives spend in each of the areas shifts commensurately in favor of more management work as the level of responsibility rises. Doing too much technical work instead of the right amount appropriate at each level can quickly make that executive ineffective as a manager and a leader. Ignoring important management work that only a manager can do in favor of doing technical work devolves the organization in a constant fire-fighting mode. Undone or ignored management work quietly piles up until it reaches a critical stage and then things start falling apart. Undone technical work, on the other hand, stares back at you demanding attention. This is one reason why managers focus on doing more technical work than they need to and ignoring management work that only they can do!
Now that you know how to apply your energies and focus to moving up in your career you can decide for yourself what are the appropriate behaviors you must exhibit at each level of your growth to get the next promotion to manage your career.
Good luck!