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Leading Your Managers - 5 Big Differences To Managing Employees · Enhance.training

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: How to lead and motivate managers in your team is different from how you manage employees.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: These differences are very important to be successful when going from junior manager into middle management and even more so when going into senior management.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm explaining five big differences to managing employees that you must be aware of.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: I will explain how to adapt your management approach so that you can be very successful in leading and motivating the managers in your team.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: The five big differences in leadership approach are firstly, give managers a lot more space.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: I share five very effective ways to do this.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Second, delegate problems, not tasks.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: Third, focus on developing specific leadership skills.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, push them to think strategically, and fifth, help them build relationships outside of the team.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: For each, I'm sharing practical ways to do each of these really well so that you have a very motivated, happy and high-performing managers in your team who love working with you.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: The first difference when leading your managers is give them a lot more space.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Managers have different ranges of skills to employees.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: They are better problem solvers, they are proactive, they have good people skills, they communicate better, and they are essential for you to get great results and outcomes from the teams you manage.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: To get the best from your managers, to utilize all these great skills, they are building, you need to give them space.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: The more important questions are how much space and how do I keep control of what they're doing?
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, what not to do.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Don't micromanage your managers.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Avoid giving them too many detailed instructions of what to do.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Don't keep asking them about their progress.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: Don't expect a loss of questions from them or a loss of contact points necessarily.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, do take these five approaches.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, together set and define their direction and goals that they need to achieve.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: Set and define the goals and targets of the team and ask them how are they going to contribute to the team achieving these goals.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Ask them to plan their tasks and activities and then present their plans to you.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: You then know what they are doing, how credible their plans are, and you get a chance to input, guide and coach them.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: They get to use their skills and get support useful to them.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Two happy parties.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, focus on results, not tasks and activities.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Ask them to deliver clear, measurable results.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: Focus on progress towards those results.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: Don't focus on the tasks and activities until your manager's progress starts falling behind their plans.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Then you can dive into help.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Managing the tasks and activities is their job.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Ensuring the team delivers the results is your job.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Thirdly, define clear areas of responsibility.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Provide a clear framework in which your managers can work within.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: You won't step on their toes, nor will they step on each other's toes.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Plus, they will have the space to use their skills and independently solve problems.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Give your managers clear authority to support their responsibilities.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, carefully manage your actions and behaviours so your managers keep ownership of the results that they need to deliver.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: Ask questions and coach rather than giving instructions and making decisions for them.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: Treat them like your partner and solve problems with them when they ask for support.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: Fifth, develop relevant and sufficiently detailed KPIs to track progress towards the results needed for each manager.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Visibility and tracking results replaces the more hands-on and involved approach you might have taken when managing employees.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: KPIs and visibility give you an early warning system for potential problems and enable you to ask the right questions at a much earlier point.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: When leading your managers, always give them plenty of space and adapt to a more hands-off way of managing and keeping track of their progress.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: Never be afraid to jump in to help the minute you become concerned they might be struggling.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Flex how much space you give each manager based on how they're progressing and how they're delivering results.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Visibility gives you hands-off control.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Give your managers space.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Jess Coles.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: If you're new to this podcast, Enhanced.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: I've included links to additional resources in the podcast description to help you get the most from the managers that you lead.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Please do take a look at these.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, when leading your managers, focus on delegating problems rather than tasks.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: Individuals are promoted into the management ranks because they show good promise in problem solving, decision making, and managing relationships as a minimum.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: Managers should be good at building solutions.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: The minute you delegate tasks to managers, that is telling them what steps to take to implement a solution, you take away their opportunity to solve problems and you give yourself a lot more work than you need to.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: Spend time defining the problem you want solved and be clear what an acceptable result looks like.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: Be light on how to solve the problem.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: Leave that up to them.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: Be on hand to help them if they get stuck.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: Treat your managers like important partners, delegate problems, and you'll have motivated problem solvers eager to take problems away from you.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: There are different types of problems that you should delegate.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Start by delegating common, straightforward problems which have known solutions.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: Then start delegating less common problems and those problems which have partially known solutions.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: Finally, work with your managers to solve new problems that don't have a known solution.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Strengthen the problem-solving skills of your managers by periodically pushing them out of their comfort zones while being on hand to help and support.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Thirdly, a big difference to managing employees is to focus on developing specific leadership skills in your managers during your one-on-one meetings.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: When you meet you with your managers, the most valuable use of your time is likely to be on developing their skills, jointly solving problems and making decisions together.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Try to use automated reporting and KPIs to keep track of updates.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: This keeps the basic information sharing portion of the one-on-one meetings to a minimum.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: Dedicate a portion of your one-on-one meetings to developing the following skills.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: Problem solving skills, decision-making skills, people management skills, and fourth, communication skills.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: Each of these are essential skills for all managers, and the sooner you start helping your managers improve these leadership skills, the better off you and they will be.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: Ask questions to get them thinking.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: Provide scenarios to talk through.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: Undertake role plays to see them in action.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: Add to this problems and projects which will give them the opportunity to practice their skills within the team each week.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: Skills need practice to improve, so give them as much opportunity as you can while still being on hand to help support and guide.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: Give them plenty of detailed and specific feedback so they know exactly where they are and what they should be working on to improve further.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: I will include links in the description to guides on how to get the absolute most from one-on-one meetings with your team members.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: The fourth approach for how to lead and motivate the managers in your team is to push your managers to think strategically.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: Strategic thinking or big picture thinking is an easy area to ignore developing in junior managers.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Middle management should be thinking about the function or business unit that they work in, senior managers should be thinking at the company level.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: Starting earlier makes the transition into more senior leadership roles easier, quicker, and usually a lot more successful.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: Ask your managers to give you their opinion on the direction and goals of the functional business unit.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: Or ask them to explain the pros and cons of the company's strategy to you.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: Give them regular strategic level updates and ask them what the updates mean for the company.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: Use what if scenarios to develop discussions, ideas and planning.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: Set your manager's homework to look into the marketplace and competitors.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: Ask them how these factors impact your company's approach and positioning.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: In short, ask questions and create regular discussions to get them thinking about the issues at a higher, broader level than they need to for their day job.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: This work will provide them great context and help them align their work more closely with what is needed to achieve company goals.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: Better alignment helps the business reach its goals quicker while using less resources, plus makes each sub-team's work more valuable.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: Push your managers to think strategically.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: The fifth approach for how to lead and motivate the managers in your team is to help them build relationships outside of the team.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: Managers help their teams become more effective and deliver better results when they're able to coordinate activities within the team and with other teams in the business, and when they're able to get resources and the work output of others in place exactly when needed.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: The better the relationships managers have with those they depend on, the more likely they will be able to achieve great outcomes.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: As a team member and as a junior manager, you are primarily focused on building and maintaining relationships within your team.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: Enter middle management and your sphere of relationships expands.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: You need to work with a greater number and a greater range of people inside and outside of the business.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: As you climb the management ranks, your relationship sphere needs to keep getting bigger for you to increase your effectiveness and success.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: Help this process by introducing your managers to your peers and other managers within the business.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: Invite them to participate in or lead cross-functional projects.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: Ask them to attend cross-functional training sessions, meetings, and social events.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: Give them the opportunity to meet as many senior team members as practical.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: Coach them on how to start building professional and personal relationships with these senior managers.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: Help them build positive, strong, professional relationships across the business.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: Better relationships will make them more effective and able to deliver more, which is great news for you, your team, and the business.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: So, in summary, how to lead and motivate managers in your team is different from how you manage employees.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: Adapting your management style ensures you remain very successful and get the best from your managers.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: The differences in successfully leading managers are firstly, give managers a lot more space using the five very effective actions we've discussed.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, delegate problems, not tasks.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: Third, focus on developing specific leadership skills.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, push them to think strategically, and then fifth, help them build relationships outside of the team.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: Don't forget to visit us at enhance.training to get the tools to build your management expertise as quickly as possible so you can lead your team to their best performance.training and I'll get back to you.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks very much for listening, and I look forward to speaking to you again soon.