Latest / New Manager Conversations with Fexingo: First 90 Days, Managing Former Peers, and Leadership Basics / How New Managers Can Handle the Spotlight of High Visibility Projects
Transcript
- Lucas: So, Luna, have you ever been handed a project where you could feel the eyes of the executive floor on you before you even opened the kickoff deck? That's the scenario today: the high-visibility project that every new manager gets at some point, and it's a whole different beast from your regular workload. Luna: Oh yeah, I remember my first one. The VP of product literally sat in on our first status meeting, and I could feel my heart rate spike. But what made it worse was the team knew it too. Lucas: Right, and that's the core tension. You're not just managing the work. You're managing the optics, the stakeholders, and your team's anxiety all at once. So let's start with a concrete example. I was reading about a first-time manager at a mid-sized software firm late last year. She was two months into the role when her boss asked her to lead a cross-functional launch with a hard deadline tied to a big industry conference. Luna: Two months in, that's brutal. But also, kind of a compliment, right? They trust you with something that could make or break the quarter. Lucas: Exactly, it's a signal of trust, but it's also a test. The problem was, she had three direct reports, all of whom had been there longer than she had, and the project required coordination with engineering, marketing, and sales. She was the youngest person in the room, and everyone knew it. Luna: So how did she handle it? I'm guessing she didn't just wing it and hope for the best. Lucas: No, and this is the key move. The first thing she did was go back to her boss and ask for a very specific brief. Not just 'here's the project, go do it.' She wanted to know: what does success look like in measurable terms? Who are the real decision-makers? And how much authority did she actually have over resources and timelines? Luna: That's smart. Because if you don't nail down those expectations upfront, you're basically setting yourself up to get blindsided later. Lucas: Exactly. And her boss gave her clear answers: success meant a demo that worked end to end, the decision-makers were the VP of product and the chief revenue officer, and she had authority to pull engineering time up to ten hours a week per person. That clarity became her anchor through the whole project. Luna: It also protects you from the wandering target. I've seen new managers get pulled in a dozen directions because they didn't define the boundaries at the start. Lucas: Yes, and that leads to the second piece: managing up without losing your team. She set a weekly thirty-minute check-in with her boss, but it wasn't just a status update. She used it to flag risks early and to ask for help when she needed to unblock something. That built her credibility with leadership while keeping the team focused on execution. Luna: But there's a fine line between managing up and looking like you're always running to the boss. How do you keep the team from feeling like you're not in the trenches with them? Lucas: That's a great question, and this is where she was really thoughtful. She made it a rule never to bring back a decision from her boss without explaining the 'why' to the team. And whenever she had to escalate a blocker, she told the team exactly what she said and what she was hoping for. It's about transparency, not just reporting. Luna: That builds trust. Your team feels like they're on the journey with you, not just being dragged along. Lucas: Right. And the other thing she did was to protect the team from the spotlight. She would take the heat when things got tough, but she'd shine the light on them when things went well. In the weekly status update that went to the VP, she listed specific contributions from each person. She never once said 'I did this.' Luna: I love that. It's the classic 'praise in public, criticize in private' but applied to the hierarchy. The team feels seen, and you look like a leader who's building others up. Lucas: And that's exactly what senior leadership wants to see. They're not just evaluating the project's success, they're evaluating whether you can lead people. And when the project hit a snag — a third-party API integration kept breaking in the final week — she didn't hide it. She brought the issue to her boss with a proposed solution, not just a problem. Luna: So she was proactive, not reactive. That's a huge trust builder with her boss. Lucas: Exactly. And the project launched on time, the demo worked, and the conference went well. But here's the part that stuck with me: she told me that the real win wasn't the launch itself. It was that her boss started giving her even more responsibility afterward, and her team actually asked her to lead the next big thing. Luna: That's the ultimate stamp of approval, from both directions. But let's be honest, not every high-visibility project goes that smoothly. What if you're stuck with a project that's doomed from the start? Lucas: That's a fair point, and it's something we haven't really touched on. One of the traps new managers fall into is assuming that if a project is high-visibility, it's a golden opportunity. But sometimes it's a poisoned chalice — the scope is unrealistic, the stakeholders have conflicting interests, or the timeline is simply impossible. Luna: Right, and you need to diagnose that early. If you smell something off, you need to say something before you're in too deep. Lucas: And that's where the upfront brief becomes even more important. In that same situation, if your boss hands you a project with a vague goal and no clear authority, that's a red flag. You have to push back, politely but firmly, to get the clarity you need. And if the project is genuinely unrealistic, part of your job is to say so early — with data, not just gut feel. Luna: But what if you're in a situation where you can't push back? Like, the boss is adamant, and you have to make it work? Lucas: Then you do what she did when the API kept failing: you document everything. You keep a running log of decisions, risks, and requests for help. That log becomes your evidence if things go wrong, and it also helps you identify patterns early. The goal isn't to cover your tracks, it's to manage the risk transparently. Luna: And you can also use that log to show your team what you're doing to protect them. It's a visible sign that you're on their side. Lucas: Exactly. And that's a good segue to something we haven't talked about enough: the emotional toll. High-visibility projects can be exhausting, and as a new manager, you're still figuring out your own resilience. The stress can trickle down to your team, so you have to be intentional about your own self-care. Luna: Yeah, because if you're a mess, your team will be a mess. You're the emotional thermostat in the room. Lucas: One thing that helped this manager was to set boundaries with her own time. She blocked off thirty minutes every morning to review the project plan and prioritize the day's top three tasks. That small ritual gave her a sense of control, which kept her calm in the chaos. And she made a point to leave the office at a reasonable hour at least a couple nights a week, even when there was more to do. Luna: That's so hard, especially when you feel like everyone's watching. But you're right, you can't pour from an empty cup. Lucas: And the final piece is what you do after the project ends. A lot of new managers just breathe a sigh of relief and move on, but this is the moment where you can turn visibility into a long-term career asset. She scheduled a retrospective with her boss, not just to review the project, but to talk about her own development. What went well, what she'd do differently, and what she wanted to tackle next. Luna: That's the move. You're not just closing a chapter, you're writing the next one. Lucas: Exactly. And in that conversation, she made sure to name the specific skills she wanted to build next — like leading a bigger team or owning a full product line — so her boss saw her as someone with a trajectory, not just a project manager. Luna: And that's the thing about visibility. It's not just about surviving the spotlight. It's about using it to illuminate where you want to go next. Lucas: Right. And before we wrap up, I want to take a quick second to mention something that matters a lot to us. You know, this show — and all the shows on the Fexingo network — are ad-free, and that's a choice we've made because we want to give you honest, useful advice without commercial pressure. But that also means listener support is what keeps these conversations going. If you've gotten something out of this episode, or any of the other three hundred shows we make, a couple of dollars a month makes a real difference. You can buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, all lowercase, and it genuinely goes toward keeping the lights on. No perks, no rewards, just the good feeling of knowing you're helping us help other new managers like you. Luna: Yeah, and every little bit counts. We really do appreciate every single listener, whether you chip in or not. Now, back to the topic — we were talking about using that post-project retrospective to set up your next move. Lucas: Right. And one more thing on that: when you're in that meeting, bring a one-page summary of what the project achieved, in numbers. Your boss might not remember all the details, but they'll remember that you came prepared. That's a small thing that sets you apart. Luna: That's a great tip. It's like leaving a breadcrumb trail for your career. Lucas: Exactly. So if you're a new manager facing a high-visibility project, remember: get a clear brief, manage up with transparency, protect your team, document everything, take care of yourself, and use the end of the project to plan your next move. It's a lot, but it's doable. Luna: And if you've got a story about a high-visibility project that went sideways, we'd love to hear it. Maybe we'll do a follow-up. Lucas: That's a great idea. In the meantime, thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next time.