Entries Tagged 'Tips' ↓

How many bosses have you had in your working career? How many of those bosses were great? How many were terrible? If you are like most people, the truly great bosses and leaders tend to be vastly overshadowed by the sea of lack luster ones. On the surface this is a pretty bleak outlook on ones working career; that is until you consider how all those bad bosses can help you to become one of the few great leaders in the work force. The rule is simple – when in doubt, do the opposite of what your worst boss would have done.

It sounds almost too simple, but it really works. As a manager you’ll be challenged on a regular basis. It really can be hard to make the right decision or figure out how to motivate your team. As long as you keep those bad boss memories close at hand you’ll have a reference point to guide you through murky waters. If your bad boss had trouble making definitive decisions, make sure you try your hardest to be as definitive as possible. If your worst boss was a terrible listener, make sure you are a very conscious listener. Literally, turn all those historical criticisms into your own personal management fuel.

I can’t even begin to tell you how many times this trick has come in handy for me in the last decade or so. The one thing I can say though, is that I’ve never come up short by channeling my bad boss experiences and memories into my overall management style.

Making the shift from “do-er” to manager is usually a little tricky. You tend to shift from a clearly defined schedule to a much more free flowing and open schedule. In many cases you’ll feel as if you are being pulled in too many directions as employees, meetings, emergencies, and day to day activity eat up your work day. Many new managers struggle with time management. Luckily, there are a number of easy time management techniques that can be put into place to make life much easier.

1. Suck it up and make friends with your calendar.

Many new managers just don’t realize how important their calendars are. If you commit to something, book yourself some time to complete the task. Make sure you move your to-do list items into scheduled appointments. The most important part about scheduling your time is that you are committing to execution. If something unexpected comes up (and it will) you’ll be much more strategic and organized when you shift around your scheduled tasks and appointments. Thinking of your day in adjustable time blocks makes everything seem much more achievable, especially once the pressure to constantly remember action items fades.

2. Process your In-box

You may or may not be a fan of GTD, but there is something to be said for processing your in-box on a regular basis. Many new managers feel swamped by email as soon as they update their job title in their email signature. Using the calendar tip above, block out dedicated time in the day to process email and get your in-box down to 0 unread emails. As you review email you should be delegating tasks as necessary, scheduling time for action items, and be focused on organizing yourself. Processing time is meant for organization, not action so make sure you don’t get pulled off on a tangent when reading email. Timothy Ferriss of “4-Hour Work Week” fame suggests blocking dedicated email processing time in the morning and afternoon, and not even reading it in between.

3. Use the phrases “Send me an email” or “Schedule a meeting”

You may think it sounds a little harsh, but as a manager it is critical that you protect your time so you can spend it wisely on managing your business. Without a doubt, you will have all sorts of distractions pulling for your time. Once you’ve nailed the above 2 tricks of managing your calendar and in-box, make others help you. By asking people to email or book a meeting you accomplish a few things. You know that once the activity is in email or your calendar you no longer need to worry about it since you know it will be addressed in a timely fashion. The other (more interesting) side effect is that by asking people to be proactive about their requests you will also see a decrease in time-waster requests. The extra steps of emailing or booking a meeting usual force the people with time waster type requests to find their answers in different ways.

The 3 tips above have served many managers well for a long time. There is nothing new or revolutionary about the approach, but as a new manager, simple tricks like this can make a big difference. At the end of the day, effectively organizing your calendar and email flow will allow you to have much more productive time with much less stress.

(PS – These tips also work well for seasoned managers.)

So you’re a new manager. Maybe you just received a promotion or you’re totally new to an organization. In many cases you may be inheriting a new team along with all the good, bad and ugly baggage that comes along for the ride. It can be pretty daunting, but there are a few simple things you can do to make the transition much easier for both you and your new team.

1. Keep your mouth shut and listen a little

Listening and giving your new team members a chance to share their thoughts is probably one of the best first moves you can make. In many cases, a change in leadership can make people very nervous. Giving people a chance to tell their story about personal experiences as well as their ideas about the team, company, history, etc. can be very eye opening. As with many things in life, giving people a voice and allowing them to express themselves is a critical first step in developing both respect and credibility. Use your judgement here. Sometimes you’ll want to do one on one sessions while other times small groups of employees chatting may yield better results.

2. Share information about yourself and your management style

Once you’ve listened to your team, follow that up by sharing information about yourself. If you don’t think people are “Googling” for information about you, you’re sorely mistaken. Make sure you take the time to share the facts. You don’t need to share every detail of your life, but make sure you give people enough information so they can relate to you as a human and not just a figure head. The best managers are those that have a connection with their team.

Beyond sharing a little personal information, this is usually a good time to give people a heads up on your management style. Are you a collaborator? Do you prefer email over voice mail? When are you most productive? What are your strengths and weaknesses? These sorts of details can help build credibility, as well as help your new team members gain important context about why you are the way you are.

3. Don’t rush to change everything by the end of the first week

By this point you’ve listened to your team and probably have some initial ideas on what you might want to change or new ideas and concepts you want to introduce. Rushing in and quickly forcing changes can be one of the worst things you can do as a new manager. Yes it is important to have a mandate and to get down to business, but many new managers forget that they are missing a lot of the finer detail and context they need before making big decisions. Even if you think you have all the puzzle pieces in order, taking a collaborative and moderate pace to initial changes. Moderation minimizes the shock factor and also ensures that you have a chance to confirm your assumptions before rushing into anything.

4. Once things have been rolling for a quarter, let your team give you a review

A reverse review where you let your team (or specific team members) give you a performance review after the first 3 months worth of work is an excellent way to make sure things are operating as expected. 3 months is typically enough time for everyone to figure eachother out and work together on atleast a few projects. This reverse review is meant to give your team members an opportunity for a safe and frank discussion on what they like and maybe don’t like about working with you as their manager. The point of the reverse review is to facilitate self awareness on your behalf as the manager. A self aware manager is able to take this constructive feedback and make any necesary adjustments to their leadership style if required.

Keeping these 4 simple tips in mind should make the transition from “new guy” to credible and respected manager much easier.