If You're A Manager, Be The Supporting Character
(#016)
A significant number of ideas featured in the articles of this newsletter originate from case studies and statistics I've come across during my weekly reading. In my most recent review, I stumbled upon an article that truly captivated my attention. The piece was from CEB Global Research, recently acquired by Gartner (one of the best in the business in market research), and it focused on management, especially new managers.
According to the study, 60% of new managers fail within the first 2 years. How they defined failure was around meeting the goals set out for them over a consistent period of time. The main reason for failure? The lack of training and development.
While I agree that the absence of consistent training and growth is a crucial focus area in the development of new managers, I believe the problem lies a little deeper at the core. While training and development do tell the right story, we must also ensure that we are training and developing the right things.
Management, more than almost any other role, requires a different perspective on the world and the employees under their direct management and influence.
Instead of viewing the world from the inside out, the best managers see themselves as exceptional supporting characters, guiding the true stars—their team members—toward achieving their goals.
Not at all what most new managers think when jumping into the position. Consistently putting others and their goals first may create a picture that is less glamorous than they envisioned. If this is the immediate feeling you get from reading the above, it's a clear-cut indicator that management may not be the right fit for you, or at least not yet.
If what you've read so far sounds exciting, inspiring, and evokes a warm, fuzzy feeling inside, you may have management in your blood.
Now, to be a great supporting character, it’s important to understand who the main character is. First, let’s look towards the manager as the main character (this is not ideal), followed by your employees as the main characters of their own unique stories (this is a much better).
The Bad - The Manager is the Main Character
Managers come in various flavours and have diverse backgrounds. This diversity gives rise to some exceptional managers, but unfortunately, it also results in some extremely poor ones.
I can spend an entire article detailing how bad managers are bred and you would be right in thinking lack of experience, poor training and moving up the ladder too quickly would be key factors in my argument. All of these things, however, are surface level and easy to identify, fix or avoid altogether (i.e. don’t promote someone to a management position who isn’t ready).
Under performing managers, are instead, being plagued by a silent killer, stifling their own growth and productivity along with their teams they have direct influence over, whether they like it or not. This silent killer is much harder to identify (especially self identify!) and even more challenging to correct.
Managers that place themselves as the main character, instead of their teams is the first step on the downward trajectory to underperformance.
This outdated, hierarchical view, doesn’t work in the corporate world today, let alone where the future of work is headed.
Managers that make it all about themselves, whether they realize it or not, face an uphill battle right from the beginning. The reason being, is their output will always be focused on the power of one instead of the power of n, with n representing the individuals they lead.
So, managers that consider themselves as the main character are actually hurting their performance just as much as their teams. If there ever was a lose-lose situation, this is it.
It’s sometimes easy to spot managers who think it’s all about themselves, and in other instances, it can be tricky. Here is a list of actions and/or behaviours I’ve seen in the past. Let me know if you can spot any that you’ve seen in the wild and (gasp) maybe even from yourself.
They Create & Encourage Scenarios That Solely Benefit Them - From taking in the most important or highly visible projects to unloading tedious work, main character managers look to create favourable situations that benefit them at the expense of everyone else, even their teams.
They Become Defensive When Questioned - The main character manager can be a conscious individual. Taking offence to even the most kind form of constructive criticism. There is no objectivity for the main character manager.
They Go Out Of The Way To Take Credit, Earned or Not - Main character managers know the political game well and, in a way, abuse it. They make sure every success of theirs is broadcasted to the masses, even if they aren't the sole contributors. What's worse, these managers are so focused on themselves that they're completely blind to the great work their teams are doing in parallel, whether it's intentional or not.
They Are Anything But Transparent - They Are Anything But Transparent - Main character managers love to be in the spotlight and to be recognized as the most knowledgeable person in the room. In maintaining this reputation, these bad managers hoard information from their teams, leaving minimal growth opportunities for them. Even more remarkably, out of fear of being placed in a less than stellar light, this group is known to sugarcoat information to stakeholders far and wide. They paint a rosy picture, even if it doesn't reflect reality at all.
Looking at this list, it's easy to pass judgment on these bad managers as being horrible people. And I would caution you not to judge too quickly. It's worth noting that our very nature as human beings is to be the centre of the universe. In reality, it's all we know. When looking at yourself, everything you touch, feel, hear, and experience is through your eyes, ears, nose, and brain. So, why wouldn’t you consider yourself the main character?
The absolute best managers are able to grasp this very fact. If humans, by nature, treat themselves as the main character in all aspects of their life, including work, managers can tap into this powerful tool to foster a hyper engine of productivity and high morale throughout their teams, which has long-lasting and deep impacts.
This is the power of the supporting character manager, which we will discuss next.
The Good - The Manager is the Supporting Character
The best managers I’ve worked with act as an enabler, guiding and facilitating their teams to new heights through proper mentorship, facilitation and guidance. In other words, the best managers first and foremost are supporting characters to their teams. Instead of looking to benefit themselves in the majority of instances, the supporting character manager places the emphasis where it should be, on the growth and productivity of their teams.
Supporting character managers are not as easy to spot on the surface level as their counterpart, the main character manager. Instead, you will have to look between the lines to spot them. Here are a couple of examples.
They Encourage Peer-2-Peer Feedback - Great managers don’t always default to a top-down approach for changes and improvements. In fact, the very best managers involve their teams early and often. From process optimization initiatives to discussions on strategies and tactics, managers rely on their teams to provide feedback and shape the direction based on their unique ideas, skills, and experiences. This approach tends to significantly boost creativity, productivity, and morale within the entire team. It also accomplishes something truly special, leading us to our second point.
Their Teams Are Fully Unified - There’s nothing that creates a multiplier effect quite like a fully aligned team. Supporting character managers who allow their teams to play a part in even the most ambiguous obstacles and take ownership of their solutions help foster a workforce that is passionate about the work they do and aspires to keep getting better. Employees under the umbrella of a supporting character manager are more aligned with the company's goals, ensuring that what they work on directly contributes value.
Their Teams Are Experimental - In order to be truly creative and, ultimately, truly productive, you need to explore what's possible. Not every improvement you try to implement will work, and that's okay, especially for the supporting character manager. Their teams are encouraged to put their ideas together, try new things, and learn from both their successes and failures.
This approach will yield many more "big wins" as the ideas that come to fruition will have been battle-tested along the way.
Individual Contributors Are Visible - Great managers do what they can to highlight the great accomplishments of their teams. From launching transformation initiatives to building an entirely new process that has saved the company millions, the supportive manager knows how to distinguish great work from good work and broadcast this to the right audiences. Supporting character managers also don’t hog all the most important and valuable projects that come their way; instead, they offer the right opportunities to the right candidates on the team—those who are looking for their next challenge or trying to close the gap on a weaker skill.
As you can see, it's not so much about what the supporting character manager does but rather how their teams behave and approach their day-to-day work. This makes perfect sense, given that they are the true stars of the show. Continuously building their own skill set while benefiting the company along the way, they ultimately contribute to a healthy pipeline of future leaders, creating an exponential effect. As a leader, who wouldn't want an outcome like that?
3 Ways To Become A Supporting Character Manager
By this point, I hope you can confidently assert that managers assuming the role of supporting characters, rather than being the main characters themselves, is a much more viable business decision and an overall more attractive choice. For those of you who are managers and feel that you have a ways to go to fully become someone who supports and guides their teams in reaching their true potential, this next part is for you.
I like to frame weaknesses, or at least areas of improvement, as a series of questions. This approach allows me to properly define the problem, and the answer to each question should ultimately take me one step closer to achieving what I want.
The three questions I challenge you to reflect on and eventually gain clarity on are displayed below. Remember, be honest with yourself. You want to uncover the cold, hard truth above all else.
Question #1: Do I fully grasp the goals, aspirations, and ways of working of each individual team member? - Everything starts with a deep understanding of your employees as individuals and key contributors to your company. Do you know their strengths and weaknesses? Do you understand their role within the team and where they stand in relation to other team members? Furthermore, try to comprehend what excites them, how they handle stress, and what they value. Managers who haven't undertaken this, at least on a surface level, exhibit symptoms of main character syndrome.
If you want a rundown on how to evaluate and manage performance, check out this article I penned a while ago.
Question #2: Do I have a proper grading of talent within my team? - Whether you like it or not, every team comprises A, B, and C players. A players are your superstars who require less support and crave more challenges. They are on a trajectory of growth towards new or improved roles. B players are meeting their job expectations but might benefit from additional mentorship and support to propel them to the next level, provided it aligns with their goals. On the other hand, C players may be struggling to meet team standards or lagging behind for various reasons, such as a lack of cultural fit. It's crucial to assess whether these team members can become a net positive for the team or if cutting losses is necessary for both the team and the employee. Where am I going with this? Consistently evaluating and grading your employees behind the scenes is a form of investing in them. It places you in the mindset of understanding where they currently stand and figuring out how to guide them toward their desired goals and where you need them to be.
Question #3 - What’s the ratio of time and effort I spend on my own growth compared to that of my team? - The best managers aim for an even split, or slightly more heavily weighted towards their teams. When reaching the manager level, you’re definitely measured by how capable your team is and how well they can grow into future leaders. So, investing in them is also investing in your career. A true win-win.
When you begin closing the gaps that separate you from becoming a supportive character manager, you will start seeing the positive symptoms we talked about earlier show up. Through experimentation, higher productivity, and much more, the results will begin to speak for themselves, and you will be well on your way to being the manager you are supposed to be.
Conclusion
As you can see, great managers are truly built from the ground up. The thinking and skills that brought you to a managerial position are unlikely to be as effective moving forward. My recommendation is to address the toughest challenge first: your mindset. Before going too far into surface-level improvements, it's crucial to establish a solid foundation. Having a strong foundation will serve as a supporting pillar, providing the necessary grounding to build and lead high-performing teams that consistently adds value and enjoys the process.