Welcome to the new manager podcast.
I'm your host, Kim nickel. Hello, and welcome.
I'm glad you're here. And I hope you're doing well.
We've had a lot of new listeners joining the podcast, so I want
to give a quick introduction if you haven't met me before, if
you are a new, my name is Kim nickel, I am a life coach, I
work with managers and leaders at different levels, in their
careers and I work with people in a wide range.
Range of Industries. I'm really interested in what it
means to be a human who works with other humans.
And so that's what I talked about here.
I want to help you to feel more effective to feel more
authentically, confident in the work place.
And we can't do that without bringing some awareness and
understanding to what it means to be a human.
And what's interesting is that everything you learn about
yourself, will also help you as a Manager because you'll
understand the people that you work with are also human and in
some ways they might be very similar to you.
But in some ways, you might actually be quite different.
And I think that, as a manager can be easy to manage people who
are like us, and it can be more challenging when we are managing
people who have really different personalities or different
backgrounds, or that just Like there's more friction and
difficulty. And so part of this, as you grow
your own self-awareness and as you grow in your skills around
strategic thinking, and decision-making, and
communication, and all of these other skills that you will use
in the course of your work, it just it all really starts with
being human. And the more, you know about
that for yourself, the more easily, it is to then.
Adapt and work effectively with a wide range of people.
And you know, the neat thing too.
Is that all of the skills that we need to manage people,
effectively? We also use those same skills in
all of our relationships. So the way we communicate, the
way that we listen, the way that we think strategically about the
decisions we make. I mean every everything that we
learn that helps us work better with humans.
Also will be of benefit to you in other areas of your life.
So I get kind of excited about all of that and I'm glad you're
here and I'm guessing you would get excited about that too.
Today, I want to talk with you about how to start thinking
about managing people, even if you don't manage them yet, I've
had a few questions. A few requests come in from
people who are not managing yet, but they anticipate doing That
in the coming, six months for the coming year and as a side
note, if there's a topic that you really are curious for me to
cover, you can always request that.
So find me on LinkedIn and message me.
Or go to my website, canonical.com, there's a link in
the notes below. Send me a note.
Tell me what you want to hear more about and I'll see what I
can do. But you know, when you think
about what are the things you need to be aware of and how can
you start preparing? Manage people.
It's what I've been reflecting on and want to share some
thoughts with you today. Also, because today, I'm feeling
super reflective on this topic because I have been
facilitating, this eight-month group coaching program for a
group of Physicians. And so, for them, they're
managing staff. They're also doing patient
management, like needing to manage the relationship with the
patient and they're also needing to manage up to their
leadership. Yep.
And they're having to do all of this within some pretty
challenging circumstances and within an organizational
structure that creates that creates difficulties as well.
And so I've just been thinking about, you know, what does it
mean to manage within kind of all of these dimensions and what
are some of the things that we can all learn from?
And one of the things that really stands out to me and this
is something That will be relevant to you, especially as
you move from Individual contributor to manager is that
when we're individual contributors very often, our
mindset is oriented around. Solving problems.
We have a specific task. The thing that we are supposed
to do, and our job is to be really good at solving that
specific problem, really good at the execution, really good at,
you know, getting into To the granular delivery of the of the
thing. And so what happens is we start
to feel really good about being problem solvers.
And in fact, a lot of interviews will ask about how do you solve
problems. But what often happens then when
you move into being a manager is, you might have situations
with problems that you can't fix in the way you would like
either. Because the problems that you're
facing are Turning on a very systemic level, and they always
were. But now because you're a
manager, you are seeing them in a new way, in a way that you
didn't see or couldn't perceive when you were an individual
contributor. And so, when you pride yourself
on being a problem, solver and you're in a situation where
there's not an elegant solution to the problem that can feel
very frustrating. When we We feel like we are not
doing a good job at resolving a conflict, or we are not doing a
good job of solving a problem when we identify as problem
solvers, that can be very demoralizing, very frustrating
and just draining because you don't get that feeling of
success and completion and competence.
So, one thing to be aware of is when you are getting ready to
shift from the icy roll into the Manager role is just being aware
of how much do you pride yourself on solving problems?
Because when you move into a manager role, we're going to
need to update your mindset a little bit.
We're going to need to shift your perspective and the work
that you do may not be solving problems in the way that you're
used to. One person I was talking with
said, you know, I was really good as an icy at doing this
task, doing this thing and when I became a manager, all of a
sudden, it was about managing relationships and dealing with
conflict and listening to people on my team share, how frustrated
they were about things that were happening in our organization.
And he said, I just was not prepared for that.
Like all I do now is relationship management rather
than the problem solving. So just be aware that it's
going. Look a little bit different and
the way you measure your Effectiveness might need to
change. We might need to explore what
that's going to look like for you.
So what makes a good manager? This is a great question to ask
yourself before you get into that role because when you're
in, I see you really have the perspective of What In your
experience. Has been a great manager.
If you think about the best manager you ever had and you
identify what are the qualities? And Characteristics of that
person that made them great and once you identify a list of
qualities and characteristics that made them great, then you
want to go to the next level which is asking yourself.
How exactly did they do that? So, for example, you might say,
a great manager, really cares about me and wants to see me do
well in advance in my career, and you might have had a manager
that did that, and you felt by the such a great manager.
Because I can just feel that they care about me as a person
and I feel like my manager wants me to do well in my career, you
want to ask yourself how exactly are they doing that?
What are the behaviors or how are they communicating with you
that conveys that feeling? Because you know, it's happening
all the time whether we're building, trust or eroding trust
but we don't always pick up. On the specific indicators of
how they're doing that. And so when you have a manager
as an IC, just start to notice what are the things they do?
Well. And then how exactly are they
creating that feeling, or how? Exactly, you know, if you say
they're really good communicator.
What exactly does that mean? Does it mean that they're very
clear? Does it mean that they are
direct? Does it mean that they are kind?
Does it mean? That oh my gosh, I hit I
received an email from someone. I used to work with this was
many years ago and this was a person who just did not believe
in you know, hard returns and between paragraphs and so I
would get this email and it would look like a wall of text.
And I thought, oh my gosh, if you just added a couple of hard
returns, if he could just make this visually more available to
me, that would help. It's so much but you know we
just thought in different ways and at the time I didn't know
how to have that conversation. So I just suffered in silence
and here we are. But you know, if you think about
what are the things that the managers that you have the
managers around you? What do you see and what exactly
are they doing? That's creating that good
experience that will help you. That's also why I find it can be
really difficult to give lists of examples and He studies
because so much of the reality of it that happens on the ground
day-to-day. They are these small Nuance
things that you might not notice unless you are looking for them.
So bring your curiosity. Be a little bit of an
investigator. Get really interested.
If you think someone's doing a great job, as a manager, dig a
Little Deeper understand why what are they doing?
Doing. And if you're in a situation
where you're feeling a lot of friction with your manager,
you're feeling a lot of. Not a lot of trust, you don't
feel like you have a great manager, then, ask yourself why,
like, what specifically is it in what they're doing?
That's creating that feeling of friction and the one caveat
here, the one thing to be aware of is that a person who is not a
good manager, it doesn't That they are a bad person.
I think a lot of people really do their best to manage but
don't have training don't have guidance or trying their best to
figure it out as they go and so you can have someone who's a
really good person and really great intentions, but the skill
level is just not, it's just not there and you know, remembering
that managing people is a skill. So it's something you can learn
and when we remember, okay, this person may not be a bad person.
And they're just not a great manager for me, then that lets
us take things less personally. It lets us be a bit more focused
and clear on what this relationship is and that just
gives you the breathing room to function in a healthier way
without absorbing all of the frustration, it just makes it
easier to deal with. So doing that reflection on what
makes a great manager, getting specific about how they are
creating those great qualities. If You have a manager and you
don't really like something about the way they manage you.
Then imagine that you could design or request the ideal
manager for you for your specific personality.
What is it that you would want to see?
What is the behavior? What is the experience?
What specifically would that look like?
And that will get your brain thinking and noticing some
specific granular behaviors? And qualities.
So once you do this for yourself, consider having this
conversation with friends with colleagues.
And with your manager asking hey what do you think makes a great
manager? What are your thoughts about
that? Because people have different
ways of describing, what makes a great manager.
They've had different experiences, some people will
prefer one style of management. Another Ian will prefer a
different style of management. And so, part of what you're
listening for is wanting to understand.
How do people talk about great managers about why those
managers are good about how those managers specifically were
doing things that really worked. Well, because you want to fill
your internal library with examples and links.
Wij and ideas about what people mean, when they talk about
someone being a great manager and all of this, you can start
to do way before you end up actually managing people like
having to do their performance reviews because you will also be
managing people, informally, you'll manage up, you'll you
might manage clients, you might manage like cross-functional
Partners or collaborative, team mates.
It's so the more you start to think about it and start to have
an active conversation about it. The more you really start to
learn and absorb in a very intentional way, and I found
that often people really enjoy sharing their opinion and their
thoughts about what makes a great manager.
Again, the one thing you want to be mindful of is not letting it
drift down into the negative because when we start, Venting.
And that's all we do is complain and talk about the terrible
experiences. We've had we usually end up
feeling reactivated and really upset and it can actually kind
of bring us into a place where we're focused on the negative
and this is more of an appreciative inquiry practice.
Where you're looking at, what are the qualities that you want
to amplify or you want to learn from or that you would want to
try for yourself? We're looking for the things to
try and do rather than for the things to try and to not do so,
keep it in the realm of appreciative inquiry.
And, and the other bonus too is that when you are initiating
this conversation with your manager, or people who are in
higher levels than you, you're also signaling that you're
thinking about, you know, how you want to manage and thinking
through, you know, I'm Caring for that.
Next level, you're signaling your trajectory, you're
signaling your sense of commitment to growth.
You're signaling that you are taking responsibility for the
direction and development of your career and they can help
you by sharing something, positive by sharing their
thoughts about what makes a great manager.
Maybe the manager, that inspires them, the things that they've
learned about how to manage people effectively, it can be a
really interesting conversation. And the other thing to think of
so you know, just to back up again.
So the question is what makes you great manager thinking this
through your own experience. Having that conversation with
others. That's why we're looking at the
individual. We're looking at an individual
manager and what are their behaviors?
How are they creating positive experiences?
But now I want you to shift your attention off of the one person
and look at the bigger picture me.
Saying the culture, the processes and systems within
which the manager operates and I'm mentioning this because we
work within an ecosystem and depending on how that system
functions that will influence the experience that both the
manager has and the people on their team.
So, for example, if you work in an organization, Ation that does
not have clear leveling meaning the distinction from like an
associate. A junior to an associate to a
senior-level person is very vague.
There are not clearly stated requirements or qualifications
for each level. It's very subjective.
Not very clear that is a structural thing that will have
a very strong influence on how that Manages compared to if it's
an organization that has very clearly defined and distinct
levels and competencies and requirements for each level, it
will just create very different experiences.
Another example there was a client that I had, who got a new
job at this really big company. This Global organization and we
were talking about feedback and performance reviews and she said
oh, with the This company doesn't actually do formal
performance reviews. I was shocked, I just, I just
kind of assumed. I mean, I had all I had either
worked in, you know, established companies, that had established
regular performance review structures.
Or I had worked in startup environments where everything
was being invented. You know, like every month, it
was like a new way to solve the problem, but it hadn't occurred
to me that a very successful Global organization could.
Just decide. Yeah.
We don't do performance reviews. That's we just don't do that
thought what that's fascinating. So you never know.
There are lots of ways to be successful.
There are lots of ways to organize work and people and
lots of ways to design, you know, how we do things here.
So, you know, in a company that does not have a formal
structured performance review, and promotion process the way.
That manager functions in that environment is going to be
different than a manager who works in an organization that
has you know every year or twice a year.
We do a formal review process and we have very clear, you
know, system of fork you know evaluating performance and how
people get promoted like all of that.
It just the the structure and the ecosystem.
You work in is a part of How that manager will manage and
similarly to the culture and I think of culture is simply how
to people treat each other. You can have culture.
You know, if you have two people you have culture because it's
about how do we relate to one? Another, how do we treat one
another? Do we extend the benefit of the
doubt? Do we freak out when there is a
mistake and then punish people and never let them forget it or
do we take a you know I learning Mindset approach are we generous
with second chances? You know there are so many
different ways that we can think about culture.
Oh I will also see two sometimes with culture depending on you
know who the employees are, if the employees are mostly single
people who do not have children, that culture will probably look
different than a company that has a lot of people who do have
who are parents and who do have have Partners like the way that
we treat each other and you know the way that we do team building
and the way that we show that we are committed, that can look
really different depending on the culture of the organization.
So when you look at the systems, the culture, the structures of
the organization is the organization going through a lot
of change. Are there changes in structure?
Are Changes in upper level leadership and management.
That might influence what happens and how people manage.
But when you look at the organizational as a space, as an
ecosystem, you look at the individuals and what are the
choices that they make? What are the ways that they
manage? Well, how do they create trust?
How do they create a sense of, you know, we're all on the same
team here, whatever it is that you identified as the thing that
those managers do. Well, when you look at those two
Dimensions that can help you to answer the big question, which
as a manager is like the first question, the first question
that you bring to your team and the first question your team is
going to ask of you, whether they say this out loud or not,
the question is, how are we going to work together?
And the way that you answer, that will be informed in part by
the Is a Sheen you work in as well as the specific and
individual choices that you make.
And the way that you and your team together decide to answer
that question. So that is what I wanted to
share with you is some things to think about, as you are
preparing to step into that next role where you become the
manager, you can start doing some preparation.
And now, just by the questions you Scanned starting to prime
your thinking and develop your mindset for what it, what is
going to come next? So enjoy that and thank you for
listening and I will talk to you next week.
Hey before you go. If you like this podcast, leave
a review. Tell me why you listen and what
has helped you. Thanks so much.
I'll see you next. Time.