What is your best managing people advice?
 

Everyone who has become a supervisor or manager of people at any organization usually learns a lot of lessons pretty quickly.

What is wisdom you deem fit to pass along?

I told a relatively famous streamer kid that worked for me, "I don't care. "

Talked to HR for 2 hours.
Shut up if you don't like paperwork.

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The best managers steer a group meeting to the manager’s desired outcome, but makes the group feel it’s their idea.

Listen. Adjust to what works for people.

Firm, consistent, well known boundaries are a must.

When a situation is over, it’s over. Don’t let things get awkward after having a difficult discussion.

don't try to be people's buddy and treat everyone exactly the same, according to company policy.

Don't be a bossy prick. Be respectful and work through mistakes in a kind and communicative manner. Low morale is a killer in any work environment. People that work under you should feel happy and loose coming to work. Yet, at the same time, respect their workplace enough to do the work they get paid to do.
Never ever micromanage your subordinates.

Start by hiring good people. Attracting quality candidates and vetting them thoroughly and finding qualities that will fit the position well will avoid a lot of troubles later

Information. Pass it along as to why decisions are made. Very helpful as a managing tool. Don't keep employees in dark as best you can.

The most successful way to manage people is - how you treat them. Show them you care about them and relate to them. You can’t relate to everyone the same, there is no black and white clear cut way. That doesn’t mean become a pushover. You can be stearn and confident yet still show people that you care.

Develop a skill/value as an individual contributor that gets you paid like a people leader

If you can’t, then encourage autonomy and accept the role of clearing obstacles for those who know more about the day to day than you

Openly give credit to them when others are around.

Always have an open door.

Actively meet with each person every week to see how they are doing.

Whenever a mistake is made, work to help them fix it. People make mistakes all the time, I get pissed in private, get it out of my system, bring them in to figure out solutions.

Always move forward, don't bring up the past unless it's used to teach.

If you're going to bang your underlings remember to rubber up and not get caught.

Antifreeze for alll those that try to challenge your authority.

Give clear directions and timelines, trust them to complete the work, and hold them accountable if they don't. Micromanaging will destroy a team faster than anything. When your are disappointed with a result from the team, hold those accountable that didn't pull their weight, not the entire team. Many times, words of encouragement and hand written notes of thank you mean more than extra money, although if it's available, pay it to those that deserve it. Last, tell your folks it's your job to try to prepare them to be promoted. It's a win win as your team gets better so does your opportunities to advance.

Don’t act like what you think a “boss” is supposed to act like. Be genuine in your approach with your employees and actively listen when they are speaking. Your ultimate goal is to facilitate their growth and success within the company.

If you have someone that’s underperforming, only speak about the performance, and don’t deviate.

Be genuinely interested in their lives

Thank them often

Spent years on various teams over my professional career. Best leaders I worked with were those who embraced the strengths and weaknesses of their people and tailored their leadership style accordingly by honing their focus on maximization of potential. Everyone’s different.

If you manage people that are on an on-call schedule include yourself in the normal rotation. It lets your employees know you want to feel their pain and it keeps you up to speed with what is going on.

Had a mentor give me this piece of advice...

Always train your team so that any one of them is prepared to take your place.

And keep reinventing yourself to ensure your value.

When I was a retail supervisor I ****ed way to many of my cashiers so dont do that either

Never ask your team to do anything you aren't prepared to do yourself.

Decisions are made by those who show up.

The worst managers IMO are the ones who don't show up to meetings or respond to emails or are engaged in shit, then get pissy or act like everyone should have already known their expectations or ways of doing something.

And that goes for policy/expectations/etc. If you haven't shown up in terms of setting expectations, your folks are going to decide for you. If there's no policy, decisions will be made by those who show up and do the work.

Empower your people by showing you always have their back

If shit hits the fan, be quick to take the blame. Hell, if someone has a hard time telling someone else no, tell them to blame it on you.

Set expectations, be engaged where needed, and then trust your people to do the right thing.

Learn to move on (if you've been directly promoted to managing what you once did)

Let go of your previous responsibilities... make a clean cut when needed. People generally work at least one level below their title (another way of describing the Peter Principle) and if anything, should be striving to work above it. If you aren't supposed to be in the weeds, then find ways to stay out of them.

Be honest, listen and treat people how you want to be treated.

Remember that you WILL make mistakes...when you do make sure you own it. If your team sees that it will make them respect you.

Never be a "boss"....always be a leader.

There are always going to be those on the team that will try to do as little work as possible...and the other team members notice it. How you handle that will be how your team measures you as a leader.

One of the tougher tasks is when to realize someone is just not right for the job. Never try to spend an inordinate amount of time prolonging the inevitable.

This ...
and this

As a manager, you have to know every working part of every individual's job. You're not only the Captain of this Starship you're also the engineer. Be prepared to step in, at a moment's notice, and seamlessly keep the ship out of dry dock.

This will go a long way towards getting the best out of your people.

Watch the movie office space and don’t be that guy. Really, watch the movie for a lot of reasons.
Had a lot of bosses in my 34 years as a teacher. The best ever is the one I have now. Cares about people on a personal level and trusts you to do your job.

I try to be flexible on things that matter to the employee.

Maintain professionalism at all times.

Treat everyone with respect.

Try to get everyone a holistic picture of their job and how it fits into the system.

Over-communicate.

As far as lessons:

You'll never manage a shithead into a good employee. If they don't want to be there, you'll never get them to want to. Don't waste the time.

Be up front about the job and expectations. That way you don't have to try to fix bad habits.

This is very important. Admit your mistakes and have a remedy ready to explain how the situation won't happen again. But that is really advice for anyone in the work force. Everyone can spot someone looking for a scapegoat.

One of the biggest challenges these days is the inability of companies to communicate properly. The company will make it one of the key goals for you but in practice they normally do a poor job of it.

Sometimes ...even if I do not make the mistake myself I will accept the responsibility myself in a meeting. I am the leader of my team and if that person makes a mistake I am just as responsible when I report the error up the ladder.

Lots of good stuff here it is appreciated.

I disagree with this part, but I'm sure it varies quite a bit depending on the job, skill level across a team, etc.

A lot of times in IT there are relatively few people who complete a large percentage of the work, and not going to bat for the most driven/most productive people because it's not fair across the group can be more damaging than the shitheads calling you a bad manager because you seem to play favorites.

For example... say your best employee who puts in 50-60/hrs per week and is a rockstar needs to work from home one day per week or needs to start coming in at 9am but will surely still get their hours in....

Do you say "well, if you did that, I'd have to say yes to everyone" while thinking you really can't trust a few on your team to work remotely because they don't seem to do much in the office.

...or do you say, of course you can, and then be transparent to others if anyone asks.

Read the "1 Minute Manager" by Ken Blanchard. Simple thoughts, not sure if it works in todays market.

Go deep with the "Art of War" by Sun Tsu. The last chapter is key.

Very solid advice from everyone....to lighten up a bit let me offer this humorous piece of advice...

Never trust the Mute button on your phone, especially if HR is on the line. Evidently yelling "get that sniveling weasel in my office " to the Supervisor on my team about an associate who was causing trouble doesn't sit well with HR.

Wasn't one of my more shining moments in my early managing career. 😁

I do work in a pretty unique industry and office setting but a lot of this stuff is human nature and universal.

Remember this , Your employees are you most valuable asset. Treat them with respect

Was in a CIO Corner Teams meeting a few weeks back with 800 people and someone accidentally pasted an obvious password into the chat. Hilarity ensued and the CIO wasn't amused.

Maybe you didn’t **** enough of them?

Wow....had a person say his password as he was typing it during a training demo. That one made everyone laugh.

Alternative perspective, just because you were good at the position alone won’t make you a good people leader. So many poor people leaders are in that position because they were good at the job and it becomes the logical next step in a career path. Then you wind up with a tier of shit leaders

Know yourself. If you’re not passionate about leading and developing others, then recognize it and move on. It’s okay

I hated every minute of being a people leader and once I recognized it a huge weight was lifted off me

Manage individuals, not teams.

Every person is different. That means their motivations, ambitions, abilities, etc.

Management cannot effectively be done with a one size fits all approach.

Good luck. Today's "workforce" doesn't. Whiny entitled and worthless.

Cut/paste isn't always your friend.

Well, that's showing an interest in their lives.

1. Everyone has had good and bad bosses before. Do the things that you liked when your good bosses did and don't do the thing that you hated that your bad bosses did. Example, I hated when I had a boss that would see something that looked like it was messed up and just assume I was wrong and jacked up. He never would take the time to just ask "What's going on here?" and let me either explain or just own my mistake. I appreciate that my current boss will see something and just ask me what the deal is and let me talk. Always hated getting reamed out for literally no reason.

2. You can be friendly with your subordinates, but you can't be friends with them. See #3

3. You'll eventually have to do something they don't like. Don't ever give them anything they can use against you, because they will lash out and shaft you if they can. Don't be exchanging jokes or memes or anything.

4.Treat them like you would treat your children, assuming you're a good parent. Look out for their interests, help them grow and learn and flourish. Love them, as ghey as that might sound.

5. Understand they have a life outside work just like you do and that might sometimes impact them at work. Be as understanding as you can, to a point. Eventually work is work, but if you can help them through a tough time, they will love you for it.

6. People quit bosses, not jobs. Don't be a dick. Read "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie.

7. People show up to work for money. Duh. Try and get them as much as you can if they are a good employee. Turnover is expensive not only in cost, but knowledge and efficiency lost.

8. When people **** up, perform counseling sessions. Show them what was done wrong, what's the right way, and document everything. Continue documenting everything, that way when you get to the point where you want to get rid of them, you can. You already have all the evidence you need to fire them for cause. HR will appreciate it. We called it "building a packet" in my unit in the Army.

9. Set and enforce the standards. Employees HATE when they see someone ****ing off and nothing happens to that person. It kills morale. They ask "why should I bother doing things the right way when BillyJoeJimBob doesn't and nothing happens?". Things will turn to shiat ASAP if you just let the standards slide. Hold people accountable, just frame it positively when people mess up. Let them know, let them learn, and let them do it right next time.

Hear them but do not listen to them.
Let them complain while you act as if you care when you know there is nothing you can do to change their complaint.

Respect above all else, even when your employees are wrong. Professionalism at all times, even when you're angry.

As the leader you must be able and willing to do any job. You must also know every job. If they see you doing the lowest job on the totem pole because it was needed, they know you respect the worth of their job. If an employee feels worth, they will do their job to the best of their ability.

Always seek the input of your team members. When a decision is made, explain why that decision was made. This allows buy-in to the decision made. I honestly can't say I've ever made a decision where there wasn't at least someone on the team that agreed with me. They won't all agree but as long as someone below you owns it, it won't create hostility for you.

Admit when you're wrong and pivot to a better idea, many times an idea from someone else. Thank them for their thinking and praise their idea in front of others. You must always work towards buy-in from your team. This is how you achieve excellence, with open communication and honesty.

Sniff out toxic gossip and meet with that person(s) quickly. Have an open and honest conversation and allow them to vent. Correct misinformation and seek to address their needs. Allowing employees to create a toxic work environment because you don't want someone to ask you the tough questions breeds complacency and turnover. You cannot hire and retain good staff if you work culture is toxic. You many times will only know if your work place is toxic by "leadership by walking around." Humans always want to talk and if you're out with your employees, you'll hear it from somewhere.

Lastly, be ethical. If you don't have integrity, you don't have anything.

The one that poops in the diaper is preferable to the one that poops on the rug. No more politics need to be discussed on the job

Hold everyone accountable. Including yourself.

Praise publicly, reprimand privately.

Don’t hold grudges…but don’t forget either.

Don’t wait for a subordinate to completely fail before you step in. You are not doing the subordinate or organization any favors.

Let your team see you go to bat for them.

If you are higher up the food chain, make sure your ‘worker bees’ know that their team leaders were looking out for them.

When things go south, don’t immediately assume ill will or incompetence. Misunderstanding or unclear task and purpose are much more common causes of failure.

Make a point to be seen. Ask person doing the most mundane task how things can be improved. It might not be in your control to make the changes, but at least you will understand the challenges they face, and they will know you care.

To the extent possible and appropriate, explain the ‘why’.

That you tell them there no favoritism here. Work hard and I'll will reward you. Don't work hard there the door. I will not look over your shoulders or get mad if you taking a small rest. But I expect you to be on the ready answer calls and do your assignments you need something fixed write it out and I'll get someone to fix it. I'll will help a little but I expect you to do your job without needing to hold your hand.

1. Never ask the people under you to do something you wont. Let them see you tske out the trash or clean a toilet or whatever once in a while.

2. Hire people smarter than you, give them tools to be successful, help the, do thay and theyll make you look good

3. Give credit, take the blame. Give the credit to your tesm ehen things go well, tske the bullet for them when needed…

4. Tell them why when you can, dont accept excuses.

Avoid people

Lot of good advice here already so I'll just keep it short.


Don't lie to your people. They'll figure it out, sometimes as you're lying to them. And they'll never forget it.


Don't take from your people. That is pretty vague, but one example is don't take credit from them; give them the credit whenever possible. That breeds loyalty like you wouldn't believe.


Someone earlier mentioned taking the blame for your people, and I 100% concur. Shit rolls downhill, and part of your job as their manager is to shield them from the higher ups when necessary. That also will go a long way towards building trust/loyalty.


Remember everything is a test and everything is a teaching moment. How you handle adversity, and it will happen, can make/break you as a manager. I used to call those types of situations 'challenges to be met.'


That's it for me. Carry on.

I always recommend The One Minute Manager to all new managers.

Praise in public, and discipline in private.

I also tell new managers that they are only as good as their people, so make their people as good as possible. Coach everyone up, and save nothing.

So many managers are afraid of more talented or qualified people taking their jobs, but if you keep having people under you promoted, that's a good thing.

That's a great one. Never dress anyone down in public, if possible.

In my defense, I really didn't care and he was fired.

My favorite. ❤️

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Set high expectations and reward those who achieve goals.

Never reward unproductive behavior

Managers are rewarded for their peoples performance. Help them be the best. Thoose who are not able to perform need a different opportunity elsewhere.

You will notice many here provide the same advice....that tells you something...

Know that as a Manager you need to grow too...if Managers stagnate it's hard to encourage your team to grow too...(this does not apply if you 3 months from retirement)

There you go. Less barking - more sheep dog.

You actually do want them to be the best employees they can be. That may mean compliments, jokes, confidence, or taking 10 minutes out of your day to talk about how doing "bla bla bla" was exactly what was needed.

Nothing ruins a workplace quite as fast as not being appreciated.

And nothing will create loyalty as fast as going up to someone and apologizing for being wrong. Look for as many opportunities as possible to do that. Not only does it show how important being correct is to you but it shows that vanity is not. It's free, costs no money or resources, and frankly you don't really care what most employees think about you anyway...

Honesty. Good, bad or indifferent, be honest with your people and don’t ever lie to them

I have always heard you do not manage employees; you should lead employees.

Try-hard simp...

The comments are disturbing, and give me flashbacks dealing with a department of crybabies. I’m retired from government and management after 42 years of service. It’s no longer about the service to your constituents, it’s about the whiny ass employee wanting to know what’s in it for them. The unions encourage that behavior. My entire career wasn’t like this current workplace environment, I remember the old days when you went to work to get shit done. Anyway carry on folks, I feel better.

My biggest issue is trying to be mindful of the "woke culture" and the too many letters front.

I honestly don't give a **** what their preferred pronouns are, and I never will. I'll call someone by whatever name they prefer but that's about as far as it goes. With that, I try to use language that removes the "pronoun" component. I use the person's name and neutral words like they/them/their whenever possible.

If you have a large workforce and you start catering to pronouns, you not only have to try to remember hundreds of names and faces but also the words that won't get people's feelings all hurt.

So, maybe that's something future managers can find useful...

Plenty of great advice already in this thread otherwise.

I am retiring at the end of this month after 48 years...

There will always be the 1 or 2 associates that challenge you as a manager and want the most amount of money for the least amount of work done.

But honestly I have been lucky that I have had some really great team members and some even call me their mentor.

Boomers reading this thread with their morning coffee...


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LMAO

I put myself down on my employee's level and helped them do their job if they needed the assistance, to show them a better way to do their work, more efficient, and shows them that you're able to relate to, help and assist when necessary. It sucks for you if you want a cushy manager spot to make everyone do the work to make you look good, and your bosses won't like you not following protocol, but they won't doubt your dedication and empathy for your employees and will respond favorably when evaluations and raises come down the line. Always worked for me even if I couldn't sit back in an office and relax and attend meetings all the time. That disconnect between management and workers is a pretty noticeable gap, when you see your manager not caring that you're struggling, and won't lift a finger to help you, makes it seem that they don't respect you as much as someone who will roll up their sleeves and work with you instead of just giving orders and attending Teams meetings all day. It also shows them that you're interested in their work and makes you more knowledgeable to the work that makes you successful. Always worked for me to go above and beyond and helped me in my career by doubling my salary over the last 8 years, being an overall better leader and teaching incoming employees a better way to go about business that they didn't see with their previous companies.

Oh, do NOT bother them when they are off the clock or on vacation.

It blows my mind how many employers/managers don’t understand the animosity that creates.

Be Yourself through it all. Employees or team members or crew members can smell bullshit a mile a way and if you're putting out a false persona they will see it and you'll never gain their trust or respect. The smarter the group of employees the less specific the instruction needed. If you're working with a group of college educated or highly trained individuals in their field, tell them the end result needed and stand back. They appreciate the freedom and will often do better than if given more. If you're working with a bunch of 1st job teens/early twenty-somethings then be ready to step-by-step it.

When you see a female crying.

Can I help?
Do you want to be alone?
Who should I kill?

That's it.

I don't drink coffee...

I am a tea snob thank you!😁

Empower your team members so that they are highly sought after, but create an environment where they don't want to leave.

Serious question. Why do women bosses never seem to get along with their female employees? I've seen it in different field, businesses and offices where I've worked and/or called on as a client. Many times its just toxic for no real reason.

These are not mine, but a lot of these principles I have incorporated into my life when I was leading people. You can pick and choose which ones are relevant or not.

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-...rgeants-major/

1. Also I believe that everyone is different and leading/managing them has to be done with that in mind. It does not mean you should not expect similar results from them, just that how you approach them might vary some.

2. Even strong dogs eventually wear down. Be cognizant of that. Leaders/managers tend to default to those who consistently perform at a high level. While this shows confidence in that individual(s), they could eventually wear down as more and more stuff gets put on them.

3. Develop your people. Never seek out things that will make you and you alone look good. Leaders/managers should be looked at and evaluated based on what their teams do, not what they themselves do.

These are just a few, but I don't want to have too large of a wall of text here.

Her sobbing: "I recently had a miscarriage"

Me: "I can relate my fantasy team got bounced but my someone starting Alex Smith over the weekend"

But seriously thats when I was like just put me back in the basement with my stapler and spreadsheets, this isn't for me

dont micromanage

we are being micromanaged in teaching-by many that have never been in the classroom

“Do as I say, not as I do”…this will take you far and capture the respect of all your underlings.