10 Things I've Learned About "How to Be a Great Manager" at Reflektive

One of my many professional goals is to be a great manager. I've been focused most of my career on being an individual contributor, but eventually in order to have a bigger impact on an organization you are destined to move into a more managerial role, even if you're not officially a "manager" of other people.

When I decided to join Reflektive to run marketing, one of the reasons I was excited about the opportunity was that I would have the chance to live and breathe management best practices (and get paid for it - what more could I ask?) What I enjoy most about using our product as both a manager and individual contributor is that it guides me through what I need to do in order to be a good manager. No software is going to make someone a great manager, but it does ensure that I build my "great management" muscle on a daily basis. It's actually surprising to me how much having a tool in place in my daily workflows helps me grow as a manager - especially when I'm so busy working on a variety of deliverables.

In no particular order, here are 10 things I've learned about being a great manager during my time so far at Reflektive:

1. Be the Queen/King of Alignment. One of the most important tasks of a manager is to ensure that your team's projects at any given moment align to the organization's greater goals. If goals shift, it's up to you as a strong manager to help guide the boat in a new direction without it flipping over. By being transparent about organizational goals and how your team's work fits into the broader objectives of the company, you can work together to achieve these goals. Business today moves incredibly quickly and it's ok for goals to change, as long as everyone is on board and moving in the same direction.
2. Be a Coach, Not a Cop. When I think of the best managers of my career to date, these leaders provided strategic guidance on how to achieve my goals, and (within reason) supported my creative ideas and insights. Many people go into management thinking the job is to merely ensure that employees are doing what they're supposed to do, but that's not actually what a manager should be doing. A great manager is a coach, helping guide their team to victory.
3. In-the-moment feedback is key - or taking notes to remember what happened in the moment and sharing this information face-to-face within a week is extremely useful for helping develop employees. As a coach of your direct reports, you should always be looking for opportunities to help them grow. Constructive feedback should be specific to an actual instance and covered in the next 1x1 to review ways to improve. The more people you manage, the harder this is to do on a regular basis and why I find - even with two direct reports - having software like Reflektive is vital to staying on top of providing useful feedback to my team.
4. Develop your employees - for a job on your team, in your org, or even in another organization. Gone are the days when people stayed in companies for the majority of their lives. As a manager, you haven't failed if your employees leave. You've failed if they haven't been developed during their time in your organization. Employee development isn't just sending your team to classes or conferences, though that can be part of it. True employee development is understanding your employee's professional goals and/or helping them create these based on their strengths, and then helping identify clear milestones and skills to pick up en route to those goals.
5. Empower your employees to be successful. Everyone knows a micro-manager is not a good manager. But there are times when you need to step in and help your employees achieve their goals, such as supporting their quest for resources and helping put together proposals for buy-in on programs requiring additional budget or human capital. As a great manager, you should be willing to "take a bullet" for your team, should one ever come flying your way.
6. Get your hands dirty. Managers these days wear multiple hats and that often includes being an individual contributor as well as a team leader. If you know what your employees are working on and what their strengths are (as well as know your own strengths) you can add the most value as a coach jumping in to help add bring the best out of your team.
7. Inspire your employees. Bringing passion to the table everyday. Maybe your company isn't saving the world or the whales, but still you should be proud of what you are creating - whether that's the best product of its kind or service. The more passion you bring to the table, the more you can inspire your employees (as long as you follow steps 1-6 and know what is going on and have alignment across your team.)
8. Connect your team with other contacts in and outside of your organization to be successful. It took me a long time in my career to feel confident enough to ask for help from people outside of my team. As a coach-like manager, I can take a step back and see where two players in the company can add value by directly connecting and help to facilitate that connection. My goal is not to step in and micromanage, but to provide the opportunity for two people to connect with the context of why this will help each reach his or her goals.
9. Recognize bias. Everyone has unconscious biases. By studying and understanding what our biases are, we can be aware of them and as managers really combat them when they arise. Before providing feedback or leaving more formal reviews, think about how your perceptions are shaped by your own unconscious biases, and make sure to adjust your messaging and thoughts accordingly.
10. Reward your employees. Your team works hard and when they do a great job, they deserve recognition. By keeping track of successes and being aware of how important they are in relationship to team and company strategic goals, you don't have to dole out praise left and right that is meaningless (and you shouldn't.) Instead, focus on specific recognition for meaningful contributions and improvements. Not only does this feel good as an employee, but it also means that as a manager you're truly focused on developing your employees, and aware of their goals for both company success and professional/personal success.