By Indira Kasaeva
As I was “growing up” in my career, I was blessed with some great managers who took me under their wings and passed on the valuable wisdom and “know-how” of the job, and a few horrendous ones, who made life true hell with passive aggressiveness and big smiles on their faces. Can you imagine hating the word “hun” from the mental toll it had on an entire team?
I count both types as blessings as I took on those experiences as an example of how I want to be, and how I don’t ever want to be (and also learned that I should never take certain types of “attitude” from some people on a job!).
As I progressed in my career, getting a team, there were very interesting things I learned about myself, and what it takes to manage a team! Yes, it’s great to grow and head up a team, department etc, but I never really stopped to think of how that would impact me and my day-to-day.
Number One: You will do much less of what you love most
That will be replaced by training your team to do what you know/love the best. That’s the hard truth but managing a team will take over a lot of time, that was previously spent on doing your own thing. With a team it will be about ensuring everyone is doing well, guiding them, implementing efficient ways of working, fine-tuning workflows, spreading resources, and looking at the bigger picture.
Number Two: You have to genuinely love to see the growth of other people
Closely tied to number one – and I think this is the secret to great leadership. You have to love seeing your team achieve great things and give yourself credit for it because you know what? You taught them that! It’s spreading your knowledge, know-how and experience to see how it creates an impact beyond you. I see it very much like paying it forward and find great satisfaction in seeing them succeed. It’s a testament to the immense effort, work and coming together for a common goal. It takes a lot – but the results are so so worth it. I commonly compare it to moms witnessing their kid go to school, take first steps, say first words etc.
Number Three: Your approach = Team Success
On some subconscious level, we expect everyone to have the same ways of working like us, the same levels of responsibility, and work ethic, paired with a myriad of other features. The reality is every person is different, does things differently and requires a different approach. You may know best when it comes to the experience, what needs to be done, but it’s very much about them and how they see things, and what they need. There’s something different that motivates each person, and just getting the job done well, may not be it for them. I’d say you have to be good at reading people, more so things they do not say, and genuinely care for their wellbeing. Invest time into their development and look at the general picture more so, than the trivial matters. Every person needs a unique approach to them, to bring out best and train up the areas that need more work.
Number Four: It’s a relationship thing – and it takes time
We probably spend more time with our colleagues than we do with families, and I have seen first-hand how teams respond to a “new” manager (not the greatest response let’s just say). Building relationships is crucial, as with it comes trust, and all that comes with time. Everything you do will show your team what type of person you are, and either they will respect you or not. I honestly believe, that if your team know you have their backs in tough moments, they will perform to their best abilities, because they know you’re invested in their growth, and they appreciate that. It doesn’t mean they will not get tough feedback from you as a manager, but in the face of other external forces – they should be sure, that you’re on their side. Bond together over the tough times and celebrate the wins – a team spirit is crucial to success.
Number Five: You can’t be OCD & Time as an Investment
My toughest issue as I started managing a team was delegation. It was easier for me to do it myself; it was just faster, more efficient, and in all honesty “better”. As a control freak/perfectionist, it was also a trust issue. What I learned along the way was, that I’m not capable of doing “everything” myself due to time constraints, being human, and also having a life outside work. Also, I learned that my team will never grow as professionals if I don’t give them the opportunity to. That includes letting them make mistakes, giving constant feedback, and investing time. Yes, it is very time-consuming to have three rounds of edits on a document that you could have finalized in 20 minutes, but as I came to manage more people, I learned to look at time as an investment and from a broader perspective. Today it may take so many hours of my day, but in some time, it will take practically none, and when I’m not there, the team will do brilliant work. That’s what matters – getting there!