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Not a question that gets asked enough, is it?
It’s a well documented fallacy that promoting your star performer into a managerial role can be a recipe for disaster - even if it’s a promotion they’re actively seeking. Years of honing technical skills through formal education, on-the-job training and good old fashioned experience usually gained the hard way have earned this individual a few battle scars and the stellar reputation that puts them on the radar for promotion.
Many organisations are still paying too little attention to making technical tracks without management responsibility available, desirable and just as well paid as the more traditional route from individual contributor to manager to manager of managers. So they’re stuck - they want to reward this individual for their performance, increase their sphere of influence, challenge them, retain them. Let’s give them a team to run!
Or maybe this particular individual is keen to turn their attention to management, in which case they may actively be looking for that next step. And we provide them with that opportunity and suddenly, almost over night, everything changes for them. They are no longer accountable for the quality of their own work but are judged on the performance of others, others they don’t yet know, trust or understand. Their biggest challenge is no longer a gnarly piece of legacy code nobody else dares to touch, it’s handling complex interpersonal relationships, communication, pastoral care, people problems.
But that’s okay, they can learn, right? Of course they can, so let’s ensure they get the training and knowledge they need to navigate these new waters.
Sorry. Say again. What? You want me to train my engineering managers, like tell them how to communicate? Surely they already know how to do that. They’ve been managed for years, surely they know what to do and what to avoid? It’s all a bit fluffy anyway, do you not just pick it up as you go along?
Of course I’m exaggerating to make a point, but very few organisations approach this transition in any kind of structured fashion, let alone support their new managers in handling these new kinds of challenges they face. Disorientation, confusion, frustration, self doubt, burn out - all common side effects as people step into this new world of managing people.
“They are surprised to learn that the skills and methods required for success as an individual contributor and those required for success as a manager are starkly different—and that there is a gap between their current capabilities and the requirements of the new position.” [1]
So what can we do?
Teach skills
Understanding people, psychology, communication, the importance of language, group dynamics, handling difficult situations, empathy - the list goes on. High-performing teams, the organisational equivalent to a mythical unicorn, don’t just come about on the back of a formula. You don’t throw together a bunch of carefully selected individuals with the “winning” combination of personality types and magic happens. Human beings are complex individuals, individual contributor and manager alike, and group behaviour unearths a whole new dynamic. What motivates one, disengages another. What one considers an exciting challenge appears an insurmountable obstacle to another. Managerial skills need to be acquired through the same combination of formal education, on-the-job training and hard-earned experience. Ensure there’s room for all three.
Coach
Provide a forum for new managers where they can share experiences, frustrations and seek guidance. A safe space where it is okay to admit that they haven’t figured it all out just yet. This can be implemented in a number of ways: through a formal coaching relationship, internal or external mentor relationships with experienced managers or a community of practice of peers sharing experiences and learning from each other.
Support transitions
Team changes, and especially leadership changes and the impact those can have, are even more overlooked than new manager training, yet there’s a complex dynamic at play here that is worth some consideration. I recently came across an interesting approach designed to ease the transition and support both the team and the new manager through the process.
Here is how it works: In a facilitated discussion the team that is about to get a new leader is asked to work through a list of 8 questions. This output is subsequently shared with the new manager. Having been given time to review the feedback, a subsequent session involving everyone is called to openly discuss concerns, misconceptions or challenges. But also aspirations and hopes! Where do we want to go together? What obstacles may we encounter along the way? In theory everyone leaves the room aligned and with the foundations for psychological safety laid - and ever since Project Aristotle we know how important that is for high-performing teams!
The questions are:
What do we already know about this new leader?
What do we want to know about this new leader/What don’t we know, but would like to know about this new leader?
What are our concerns about this new leader?
What do we want or need most from this new leader?
What does this new leader need to know about us as individuals/a team?
What are the key opportunities or challenges facing our team?
What are the major problems we think this new leader will be focusing on during the first year? (in order of importance)
How are we going to help this new leader be successful?
I haven’t yet had the opportunity to apply this, but was so intrigued that I thought I’d share it and give it the air time I believe it deserves. Consider the hours it can save by starting the team formation process with an open and honest conversation and reduce potential misunderstandings and the conflict that ensues as a result! I’m a fan.
Have you come across this exercise before? Have you used it? I’d be keen to hear about your experience, what worked well, what didn’t? Let me know, I’d love to hear more.
[1] Linda A. Hill Becoming the Boss https://hbr.org/2007/01/becoming-the-boss
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