How do you like to be managed?

Question

I've read about teams that create user manuals for themselves and must say I love this idea. I like to be managed by given clear goals and fixed deadlines and opportunities to raise blockers. 

I operate well with autonomy and get demotivated when faced with micro management, and lack of clarity around decisions and motivations. I also prefer direct communications and find passive aggressiveness really distracting and unproductive.

I'd love to hear from you - how do you like to be managed?

Jim Canto · Accepted Answer

Provide clear, meaningful objectives aligned with a clear purpose. Embrace me for who I am while fostering my personal growth. But above all, INSPIRE and EMPOWER me. 
(THAT will call my warrior spirit to your fight.)

Abadesi · Answer

@lotts @shannon_maloney really helpful insights! When I'm worried about results is when I tend to micro manage, too. A huge part of that stems from inadequate communication in my experience.

Abadesi · Answer

@lotts Hmm I am yet to meet anyone who claims to like being micro managed so I am doubtful.

If I found myself in a situation where someone only did their work when they were micro managed I'd be asking questions like, is this person right for the team? Does this person have all the experience and skills required to succeed in this role without me needing to nudge them? etc

Shannon Maloney · Answer

@lotts I can definitely relate to this! In a previous role, I had a couple reports that I felt I needed to micro-manage, for fear that if I didn't then nothing would get done. It was a huge time-suck for me and ultimately tanked both mine and my team's productivity. I ended up forcing myself to take a more hands off approach and shockingly they stepped up.

What I learned is that micro-management tends to happen out of fear or performance issues (mine the former). And when you're caught up in the most minute details because you're afraid your team won't perform, you have to give them the opportunity to fail you first. I hope that's helpful!

Alex Devero · Answer

Agree with you @abadesi, autonomy, freedom to make decisions or at least to be heard, clear goals, clear metric to measure progress on tasks, clear deadlines direct communication and regular feedback.

Dhruv Bhatia · Answer

I think it's important to be treated as an adult and an "owner" of a certain product / vertical / area. I've observed very different styles of management across cultures (US / India), and types of companies (fortune 500 / startup) from giving total ownership to thinking reportees are "beneath you". There should be a "don't be a jerk" motto in every manager's office similar to Google's "Don't be evil" haha.

Dhruv Bhatia · Answer

@abadesi Definitely. I think toxic cultures also exist because managers are insecure. They know deep down that they don't deserve to be at the position they're at, so to maintain that position they intimidate people who report to them. A lot of startups nowadays try really hard to flatten hierarchy as far as possible, and it's a great trend. Would be interesting to see how companies operate in 10 years.

Abadesi · Answer

@jimcanto I love that! Inspire and empower me. It even rhymes.

Alex Devero · Answer

@abadesi It sounds relatively simple. Nonetheless, as you mention, managers often struggle with that. They are still trying to go "by the book" and apply the latest research. Instead, they could ask: "What would help me stay motivated and get the job done?"

Abadesi · Answer

@dhruv_bhatia Yes! I wonder if we'll see more flat structures ... I also wonder if we'll see more people bringing EQ and personality testing into the recruitment process. Or even investing in therapy as a benefit for staff to bring about better self awareness and more productive working relationships.

Abadesi · Answer

@dhruv_bhatia A friend works at Stripe and gets free therapy. I think its clever because not only does it help them on a personal level, it helps the company because they have a healthy employee who can have fruitful rapport with team mates.

Behzad Behrouzi · Answer

My thought: The only difference between micromanagement and coaching is intention.

Dhruv Bhatia · Answer

@abadesi Absolutely! I know of companies where they devote time every week on wellness (free yoga, zumba, dance classes, and counselling etc.). As for the recruitment process, EQ and personality testing are very important factors, but I do see a lot of irrelevant behavioural questions in interviews, which people just end up faking. For example, recent graduates are asked questions like "tell me a time when you faced a conflict with stakeholders and how you resolved it to ship your product". IMO, a timeline of a person's behaviour is the best way to measure EQ and personality. If there was a map of how a person did when faced with certain situations rather than just asking these questions 😛

Lotanna Ezeike · Answer

@shannon_maloney @abadesi totally agree with you. I just need to take a chill pill and communicate better

Jim Canto · Answer

@abadesi The trick is finding it. Very rare, unfortunately.

How do you like to be managed?

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