The 3 Most Incredible, Magical Tenets of Managing People
A coffee meeting in Minneapolis with an industry colleague of mine revealed that he recently found himself thrust into a more demanding management position, a move he didn't expect and one that left him wondering how to best approach the opportunity. When he admitted he hadn't had much past managerial responsibilities, I shared with him my three basic tenets of management. And that inspired me to share them with you.
After several decades of managing people, I have found these three principles to be absolutely essential in the quest to be a successful leader. At the same time, I also must admit that I was not always successful in my various management roles. I'm certain that an analysis of those darker times would uncover the fact that I wasn't following my own prescribed tenets. Some rules, unfortunately, are made not to be broken. Follow these three tenets of leadership."
While simple in nature, these simple principles can be the hardest to uphold.
Be Fair. It's that simple. Treat your people like you'd like to be treated, even if your own boss doesn't treat you that way. Understand and appreciate that your team has lives outside of the office. Give them a wide berth. Loyalty will build faster if you give them lots of room to live their lives while performing well for you. The ones who take advantage of your good graces and goof off, go AWOL or characteristically disengage will be exposed and ferreted out eventually. Above all, avoid playing favorites, as it's poison. It's tough for many managers, but applying the exact same disciplines, rewards and approaches to everyone on the team are the keys to getting a crown for fairness, not to mention keeping you out of HR jail.
Be Transparent. You are who you are. Managers who try to be someone else by being difficult when they're really docile, hard-nosed when they're actually meek, or an expert on something when they're definitely not, do not survive long in corporate environments. You have strengths and weaknesses just like everyone else. Admitting to your staff that you don't know everything, and acknowledging that your team's skill sets are pillars where gaps exist, are akin to hydraulics in an engine: Not all pistons fire at once, but they eventually generate the same power as a single integrated unit.
Be Predictable. Managers who are up and down emotionally, fly off the handle on foolish things, are in one mood in the morning but completely opposite in the afternoon, or are otherwise connoisseurs of disarray, accomplish only one thing: They create destructive environments. The key to effective people management is being even-keeled. And while predictable behavior is one thing, predictable ideals are another. If your staff can accurately forecast what kind of opinion you may have on any given topic, and they know where you stand even if you're not in the room, it means that you've done a good job of communicating your expectations and vision to them. And that kind of predictability is an unqualified leadership success.
Mark Luis Foster is an executive marketer with more than 25 years of experience working with Fortune 500 companies and startups.