William Wong May 2020
MANAGING MANAGERS
Become Your Coach's Coach
Managing managers is probably the most challenging and rewarding thing I’ve had to do. It’s like waging war on two fronts; making sure your managers are producing good work themselves but also helping them become effective leaders to their own team.
It’s one thing to be able to just lean on your own intuition and experience on people management, but how do you transfer all of that into your managers? The answer was to become my coach's coach.
My solution incorporated leadership coaching concepts plus a consolidation of my thoughts into frameworks for them to reference (the former touches theories while the latter injects domain expertise). I’m not trying to clone myself but rather it’s more about teaching them the thought process behind all my tactics so they can learn and adopt it to their own style.
"A vision is where you want to be (remember, it’s a place!). The purpose of your company is why you want to get to that vision. The mission is what you do en route to that vision. Your company’s values are how you want to get to that vision." - Know Your Team, LLC
[ 1 ] The Light Bearer
Understand your organization’s vision in terms of what it is and what’s important in getting us there (e.g. “Where are we going?” and “How do we get there?”). Your clarity in this matter will rub off on your manager, who in turn will need to communicate that to their direct reports.
Remember, it is your manager’s goal to align their team’s personal vision to that of the organization so your unwavering guidance on this will help them connect the dots.
Revisit this subject often with your direct reports even if it bears repeating or seek additional clarification. Together, use your organization’s vision as the frame of reference for any decision making.
[ 2 ] Ask Questions
The primary job of a coach is to ask questions to help in the solutioning process. To become a coach’s coach, you’ll be asking even more questions than you ever did before.
They’ll undoubtedly come to you when they’re stuck, confused or just outright frustrated about their team. Our job is to ask the right questions to help them think thru their scenarios. It is important that your staff arrives at the answers themselves, even if it means a heavy handed guidance from your side. Never force a solution down their throat - it needs to be something they helped create, can stand behind and think possible.
The questions you ask and the method in applying them will also act as a great model for your managers to replicate for their own team.
[ 3 ] Let Them Shine
Understand their strengths and assign projects that show off their expertise. Ask for their advice in front of others and recognize them publicly for a job well done.
This tactic not only solidifies the good behaviors for your manager, but it also boosts how his/her direct reports view them. A great manager has the ability to build trust, communicate honestly and figure out what makes their team members tick. But from time to time, they'll need your help to brand them as a superhero.
A team that respects their manager will move mountains for them.
[ 4 ] Work on their Goat
Crossfit workouts are made up of a series of different movements strung together (think a circuit made up of pullups, squats, rows, burpees, etc). A “Goat”, short for scapegoat, is a movement that you blame for a poor workout or performance.
Working on our Goat is difficult because it’s our greatest weakness but it also provides the best ROI. The same can be applied to our professional life. I partner with my managers to understand their areas of weakness, develop solutions to overcome them, then assign projects that will allow them to put those theories into practice.
[ 5 ] Culture of Accountability
Accountability was explained to me using a popular children's book "The Wizard of Oz". It is a very easy concept to understand but difficult to master.
I regularly go over the “See It, Own It, Solve It, Do It” concepts with my managers as both a mentor and a student. This allows us all to learn from each other and continually build this culture of accountability together. Seeing scenarios unfold thru our activities will give them the knowledge and confidence to run these accountability sessions with their teams.
[ 6 ] Apprenticeship Model
Buddy up on real projects together. By doing so, you’re showing them the process behind your actions - they get to see how you think, react and implement solutions. The best part about an apprenticeship model is you get to see them in action.
Rule of thumb: always give immediate feedback; positive in front of others and critiques privately.
[ 7 ] Focused Feedback
Create an environment that promotes feedback and collect them regularly from your managers (who in turn does the same for their direct reports). Ask “What feedback do you have for me on xyz” in a private setting but make it casual. Then just sit back and listen.
If you want people to continue giving you feedback over and over again, then close up with a “Thanks for the feedback.” This simple response avoids the impression that you’re evaluating whether the feedback was useful to you and instead emphasizes that you want them to keep it coming.
I wrote a guide on how to provide constructive focused feedback and roleplay with my managers until it becomes second nature.
[ 8 ] Focused Storytelling
People tell work-related stories everyday throughout the organization. Stories are just someone's experience at work, and it shapes their belief about what's important and how work should be done. They come in many forms; could be gossip, venting, seemingly innocent chatter, reminiscing war stories, congratulatory emails, etc.
Regardless of whether they are good or bad, stories resonate and travel fast because it's personal, relatable and told by someone you know. They are one of the strongest influencers on a company's culture.
Educate your direct reports to recognize what stories people are telling each other, what stories are they themselves are sharing, the impact of the collective stories, and how to go about changing the narrative to focus on stories that improve our culture.
[ 9 ] Problem Solving
Of all the accountability tools, the LIFT method is pretty high up on my list and may very well be an all-time favorite. There are many techniques out there, but I find most to be too complex in theory and even harder to execute. The LIFT concept is simple (doesn't require a PhD to understand) and with a little bit of training, it's an extremely powerful ally by our side.
The LIFT method is mainly utilize as a course correction technique. Have an employee that's not performing up to standard? Sure we can utilize this technique for that, but it's so much more. I find myself reaching for LIFT to inspire ideas, remove roadblocks and give someone that extra little push to greatness. The versatility of this tool is limitless and can be harnessed as a self-aid tool.
[ 10 ] Praise vs Recognition
I don't think I've ever met someone that doesn't appreciate sincere recognition for their efforts. Even folks that outwardly proclaim they don't need it will secretly bask in its light when well-deserved praises are offered.
Researchers have found that receiving positive feedback actually triggers the release of dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter that plays a major role in the motivational component of reward-motivated behaviors.
Teach your managers how to differentiate between praise vs. recognition and how to promote good behaviors thru focused recognition.
[ 11 ] One-On-Ones
I’m going to go out on a limb and proclaim one-on-ones to be one of the most important productivity tools for a manager (if not the most).
It’s awesome for building rapport with our staff, a way to show we value them and a platform to double-down on our commitment in helping them develop and grow. It’s got a nifty pulse check mechanism to track progress and opportunity to course correct if necessary. Frankly, I can’t think of a better way to earn my stripes than working side-by-side with my folks to solution out scenarios.
I roleplay with my managers on how to conduct them, questions to ask and what it means to be a coach. We go over tips and tricks to make meetings more productive and collaborative. Go to my one-on-one article for more info.
[ 12 ] Start | Stop | Continue
Looking for a method to gather feedback from your colleagues on current or past projects? How about something for finding structure in a messy situation? Maybe a platform to brainstorm ideas, document changes and track progression? And… would it be too much to ask if one specific technique can do it all?
Then step right up and check out this very powerful yet versatile method called Start/Stop/Continue (SSC). The premise of SSC is simple. First it’s a productivity hack that will help you and your team get more done. Second, it’s a way to get you to know your team members and how they are doing. It’s a check-in activity.
The SSC retrospective offers up a simple and effective way to reflect on recent experiences so we can use it to decide what to change moving forward. This bad boy is so flexible that you can use it with a group (e.g. improving a master sourcing strategy) or on an individual level (e.g. closing candidates).
[ 13 ] Pave the Way
People typically learn how to lead from their bosses, so if you want your managers to act a certain way, then exhibit those traits/behaviors yourself.
For example, if you want your direct reports to solicit feedback from their team members, then be sure that you’re doing the same with them. By developing an apprenticeship model with your direct report, they will replicate that with theirs.
The way I coach my managers sets an example and provides guidance for how my managers can coach their direct reports (the style can be different but the method the same). This is a reoccuring theme in all my lessons. Management theories are sometimes hard in application, so show them how it’s done by utilizing them yourself.