What is the Primary Role of a Manager?

My favorite description is from Andy Grove:

The role of a manager is to increase outputs.

The greatest leaders can answer the question: How do we produce more, with the same (or less) resources?

The best managers know how to do this - when faced with seemingly impossible situations they can ‘rouse the troops’ and charge up the hill, bayonets fixed and with their team right behind them.

But what separates the manager that makes it to the top and plants the flag - versus the manager running solo with their team left dejected and despondent at the bottom of the hill?

To me, it’s the manager that understands the upside down org chart. It starts with a mindset shift from ‘I’m in chargeto ‘I’m here to serve’. I love this quote:

“If you don’t understand that you work for your mislabeled ‘subordinates’ then you know nothing of leadership. You only know tyranny.”

-Dee Hock, Founder of Visa

The best leaders I’ve worked with make deposits in their people before making withdrawals. They understand that their job is there to remove blockers and obstacles to help make them run faster.

In sales, this is especially true of the managers that are regularly on the phone with their team helping them close deals vs. the manager that just tells them to make more calls. 

But it’s more than that….

To produce the BEST work - you need the buy-in of everyone in your team and to create buy-in takes time and investment.

The problem is... we get busy. There’s that outstanding report… the meeting you need to prep for… oh; and that budget forecast you keep putting off. So what happens? Investing into our teams falls further and further and further down the list… 

There have been times when I’ve dismissed it internally with thoughts like: “they’ll be fine”, “I’ll do something about it next week” or “they’ve got plenty on their plates too”. Those decisions sacrifice ‘urgent’ work, over truly important work.

There is a direct correlation between the level of investment you make in people, and the level of return you see. That’s certainly true in my life - when someone has gone out of their way to give me feedback or help coach me in a specific area; those times have been the biggest moments of growth.

It may be hard to track, it may feel intangible, but investing in your staff may actually be the most effective way to improve results.

“Ninety minutes of your time can enhance the quality of your subordinate’s work for two weeks, or for some eighty-plus hours

-Andy Grove

So what does this look like? Here are some examples that come to mind.

Ways to show you care:

  • Write a card and leave on their desk

  • Buy them favorite coffee / snacks 

  • Remembering birthdays / anniversaries 

  • Each quarter change 1:1 to a lunch at a favorite restaurant

  • Ping an executive (CEO, president, VP) and ask them to send a rep an email or Slack encouraging them or thanking them. You can even write out the script verbatim to make it as simple and impactful as possible.

And here are some ways I’ve been invested into or vice versa:

  • Providing tough feedback (use the Radical Candor framework)

  • Sharing content (blogs, podcasts, videos) with specific applications

  • Giving more responsibility/opportunity at something new

  • Delegate more authority with freedom to make mistakes

  • At the end of every 1:1, ask the question, "What is one thing I'm doing well at and one thing I need to improve in?" If they say they don't know, wait until they do. It may be awkward at first, but it's those learnings that help you understand how to best serve your people.

  • Constantly look for ways for people to take ownership. It's so much easier to support someone in helping them hit their goals vs. pushing them to hit the goals you set for them. "People tend to support what they helped create and resist what was created for them". 

  • Determine who on your team has the greatest level of leadership and influence and encourage that person to call a no-manager meeting.

  • If someone asks you for advice, flip it back and say "you decide" or "what do you think?"

Thanks for reading,

Matt T

 
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