When clients come to me about their plans for career growth, promising individual contributors that are doing well in their jobs ask a question that is oft repeated: I am basically a nice person, and I do not see myself getting tough on those who will be now reporting to me if I decide to become a manger. Then they admit that although they would love to become a manager and grow in their career, they do not think that they have the stomach for disciplining employees or for firing them!
Hmmm! When I hear this I am often confused by their dilemma. One insight I have about this is that their role-models may be their own manager, who tolerates lackadaisical behavior from his direct reports and does nothing to keep them performing well. In so behaving they are doing a disservice to their job, their employees, and worst of all, their employer. The other thought I have when I hear this refrain is that people really do not understand the basic functions of managing. Yes, they have been codified and treated extensively in management literature.
There are four functions of managing: Leading, Planning, Organizing, and setting up Controls. Each function has a number of tasks under them that define how things are done within that function, and has guidelines that make doing those tasks efficient. For example, the Leading function has under it tasks that include, Motivating, Communicating, Decision Making, Selecting People, and Developing People.
The problem with most managerial promotions is that they are not equipped to start their job with the right tools to help them succeed. The focus traditionally has been on the legal aspects of their managerial role: Discrimination, Disciplining, Performance Reviews, Termination, Sexual harassment, and so on. In understanding these responsibilities, which stem from the legal aspects of their job, most incumbents do not get the right exposure to the real and normal aspects of what a manager’s job is; only when there is trouble.
A good manager knows the difference between their technical work (their expertise that got them promoted) and their management work (the four functions above). They are mutually orthogonal in their focus. You cannot solve a management problem by doing more technical work. In fact, you often make it worse. So, if an errant employee cannot write the software code to create a function needed, his manager’s intervening to help out makes that problem worse on an ongoing basis. So, not knowing their real job and not knowing how much technical work is too much in a given role, most managers face this dilemma of not knowing how to manage their direct reports. Being nice has nothing to do being a good manager. You can be a good manager and be nice!
The simple rule for being an effective manager is doing the appropriate management work (four functions), and doing the work that only you can do!
Most employees look for leadership, fairness, and inspiration from their managers. Thus, providing the right guidance so that their direct reports have the ability to grow and to reach their potential is one of the main duties of a manager. In so doing if she clearly communicates (see under the Leading function above) what is expected from an employee, provides the resources to carry out the job (Planning function), and creates clear accountabilities (setting up Controls to measure performance), then there is clarity in when an employee is delivering on what is expected from them. A manager’s role is to not intervene in the technical task that is assigned to them (that is micromanagement), but to guide them when they get stuck and to make sure that they have the right skills to do an efficient job.
Once clear accountabilities are set then if the employee does not come through, the manager has the duty to communicate (the Leading function again) and provide feedback to the errant employee. If this continues then she needs to escalate the matter, finally leading to the employee’s termination. When a manager carries her duties with this level of commitment to the management process, and helps everyone perform—especially by getting rid of the marginal performers—it creates a spirit of respect and professionalism within the team. In fact, marginal performers do better and the rest rise to the challenge, making the team more effective. The flip side of this is, if proper action is not taken in a timely way for those errant employees, it demoralizes the team and there is a performance problem across the team.
Yes, you can still be nice by being fair, being forthright, and by being consistent about how you treat your team. Actually, studies have shown that good managers are respected by how well they drive a team than they are by how nice they are to their team; those two are mutually exclusive.
Becoming a manager and rising above your peers to manage them effectively takes a growth mindset. You will no longer have the same relationship with them after you become their manager and that is how you’ll grow to your next level and beyond. Those who cannot stomach that idea even after reading this blog, will fail to become effective managers!
Good luck!