Managing the Managers
As one grows as a leader, a day will come when organisation has enough structure to have other Managers that report to the leader. Instead of just being responsible for a group of individual contributors, one is responsible for other managers & indirectly responsible for every individual. There are some differences in managing individuals and managing other managers. To layout those differences, following framework of four questions be considered to ask -
1) What do you look for when hiring?
2) How to do you assign tasks?
3) What updates do you expect?
4) How do you measure success?
The answer to each question explains the difference between managing individuals vs. other managers. These are explained as under -
1) When you hire, you look for technical expertise and ability to learn.
2) When you assign tasks, you define details of what needs to get done.
3) When you get updates, you expect status of their own projects and issues.
4) When you measure success, you are focused on individual results.
Most importantly, overseeing a team of managers requires a more strategic approach. You are providing less tactical input and instead being a sounding board to discuss issues, help with people problems and clarify objectives. To be effective in managing both individuals and other managers, following be considered -
1) Set clear expectations up front - Expectations for timeline and results need to be defined upfront.
Other managers might have more flexibility to adapt that timeline for their team. Individuals should certainly also have input but you may define a more precise process for them to follow with less opportunity to adapt it, depending on the capability of the individual. Ultimately, both sides benefit from clear expectations.
2) Give continuous feedback - Both managers and individuals need feedback on their effectiveness.
For individuals, feedback may be focused on specific tactics & details of how they are doing their projects to help grow. For managers, they may come for seeking advice on how to deal with a problem on their team, or if their approach to a problem is reasonable. You feedback to Managers
will likely be more strategic rather than tactical, if that Manager is capable.
3) Advise and don't dictate - While managing managers you should act as an adviser. Your goal is to listen & give advise with the expectation that your direct-report will come to the right conclusion. For managers, the need to dictate to do something can be indicative of a problem with that Manager's effectiveness. You should expect from managers to be fully capable of figuring out"what" to focus on and "how" to execute.
4) Avoid Micromanagement - Micromanaging the managers is toxic for your organisation. Managers need to have autonomy to run their team in their own way.They might have specific customs, meeting agendas & general approaches to how they work effectively. You must set guidelines that every manager must follow i.e. every one needs to have a one-to-one with each direct report once per week. However, when in doubt, step out of the way and let the manager use their own approach. Your focus should always be on results of team's performance.
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1) What do you look for when hiring?
2) How to do you assign tasks?
3) What updates do you expect?
4) How do you measure success?
The answer to each question explains the difference between managing individuals vs. other managers. These are explained as under -
1) When you hire, you look for technical expertise and ability to learn.
2) When you assign tasks, you define details of what needs to get done.
3) When you get updates, you expect status of their own projects and issues.
4) When you measure success, you are focused on individual results.
Most importantly, overseeing a team of managers requires a more strategic approach. You are providing less tactical input and instead being a sounding board to discuss issues, help with people problems and clarify objectives. To be effective in managing both individuals and other managers, following be considered -
1) Set clear expectations up front - Expectations for timeline and results need to be defined upfront.
Other managers might have more flexibility to adapt that timeline for their team. Individuals should certainly also have input but you may define a more precise process for them to follow with less opportunity to adapt it, depending on the capability of the individual. Ultimately, both sides benefit from clear expectations.
2) Give continuous feedback - Both managers and individuals need feedback on their effectiveness.
For individuals, feedback may be focused on specific tactics & details of how they are doing their projects to help grow. For managers, they may come for seeking advice on how to deal with a problem on their team, or if their approach to a problem is reasonable. You feedback to Managers
will likely be more strategic rather than tactical, if that Manager is capable.
3) Advise and don't dictate - While managing managers you should act as an adviser. Your goal is to listen & give advise with the expectation that your direct-report will come to the right conclusion. For managers, the need to dictate to do something can be indicative of a problem with that Manager's effectiveness. You should expect from managers to be fully capable of figuring out"what" to focus on and "how" to execute.
4) Avoid Micromanagement - Micromanaging the managers is toxic for your organisation. Managers need to have autonomy to run their team in their own way.They might have specific customs, meeting agendas & general approaches to how they work effectively. You must set guidelines that every manager must follow i.e. every one needs to have a one-to-one with each direct report once per week. However, when in doubt, step out of the way and let the manager use their own approach. Your focus should always be on results of team's performance.
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