Lessons From Leaders Part 1: Understand People Management Before You Do It
- Mary H
- Nov 9, 2023
- 4 min read
Series Introduction
How many times have you heard the expression, “Hindsight is 20-20”? If you’re like most people, more times than you can count. Dwelling on what you “should” have done (or kicking yourself for not acting differently) quickly becomes unproductive. However, evaluating the past with an eye on how it can inform the future is something successful leaders do on a regular basis. And if lessons from the past can help other people avoid similar pitfalls, even better! With that in mind, I asked a dozen individuals, director level and above, working in the fields of software, data engineering, and technical product management to share the one thing they wish they had known or done differently when they were first starting out as leaders and managers. This blog series presents what they had to say.
Part 1 - Understand People Management Before You Do It
“It turns out, I just didn’t like managing people.'' This was the primary lesson from a senior data science leader for companies including Visa and Intuit. She’s not alone. People management is a unique skill set all of its own and just because you can cultivate those skills doesn’t mean you will want to. Being responsible for a team includes discovering what motivates people, being a cheerleader at times, being a coach and mentor, celebrating team wins, fostering diversity and inclusion, and helping people grow in their careers. I probably lost about a quarter of you already. If you’re still with me, read on. As a people manager, you can’t and won’t always be popular. You can’t shy away from tough conversations because you want people to like you, it feels uncomfortable, or because you’re worried you might upset someone. Being responsible for a team also includes letting people know when their performance is lacking, putting people on PIPs (performance improvement plans), informing people of budget cuts and how they will be personally impacted, enforcing deadlines, being a neutral referee when members of your team have personality conflicts that are affecting team dynamics, taking action when someone’s words or actions don’t foster inclusion and diversity, occasionally having to manage someone who doesn’t respect you and doesn’t think you deserve to be their boss (HELLO, I see you women in a male-dominate profession!), and last but certainly not least, firing people.
For some, the people management side of senior roles is exciting and rewarding. For others, it’s a challenge that they endure in order to have access to the aspects of their role that they are more passionate about. For others, it’s a deal-breaker. It’s important to think about this carefully before you strive for a role that requires people management. If you accept one of these roles you have a responsibility to take the people management aspects seriously and do them as well as you possibly can because at that point, it’s not just about you. Many of us know what it’s like to have a lousy manager and let’s just say that if you aren’t doing all that you can be a good people manager, it can have a serious impact on the job happiness of the people on your team. So if you’ve never managed people, how do you know if you like it? To a certain extent, you can’t be sure. However, here are some things you can do to get a decent understanding of people management before your job depends on it.
Be honest about what you like and what you don’t like. Think about what brings you joy and a feeling of satisfaction. Consider a time (or two or three) when you were really happy at work. Why were you so happy? What were you doing that brought joy? Similarly, think about a time (or two or three) when you were miserable at work. What made those situations unenjoyable? Answer these questions honestly, not how you think you “should” answer them. This can start to paint a picture of the kinds of situations where you find joy, which is to say, the types of situations where you will be the most effective.
Talk to people who are already people managers. Reach out to people in your company or personal network to let them know you are interested in exploring people management roles and ask them to have an informal “coffee chat” with you to share their day-to-day experiences in people management and what they find challenging and rewarding.
Look for shadowing opportunities. Work with your manager or HR department to see if you can shadow someone in a people manager role for a day to see what it’s like to “walk in their shoes”.
Ease into it. Try to find a role as a team leader where people may not be actually reporting to you, but you have to lead and be responsible for the work of others. This will start to give you a sense of what it feels like to be a manager.
For some people, nothing on the list of people manager responsibility sounds enjoyable and that’s OK. You don’t have to manage people to be a leader or to “move up” professionally. For the data science leader mentioned at the beginning of this article, instead of blocking her career growth, being honest about her feelings for people management allowed her to pivot and focus her career on strategic and technical vision, becoming a subject matter expert in areas where she was passionate and, not surprisingly, excelled.
Conclusion
It’s important to recognize that not everyone is suited for, or interested in people management and that's OK. Managing people requires a distinct skill set and passion that not everyone possesses. Don't get trapped into thinking that success in your career absolutely requires becoming a people manager. Pursuing and excelling in a role that aligns with your interests and strengths is essential for both personal satisfaction and professional growth. Ultimately, finding fulfillment in what one does is key to achieving true success. So take a bit of time to understand people management and explore what it is really like before embarking on a career track where people management is a central responsibility.
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