I Want to Be a Manager but Not Manage People

Written by: Jodi Flynn

Published: June 2015

If you oversee or give guidance to another human being you are a manager.

And it’s no easy feat to be an effective manager. By “effective” I mean your people are motivated, conflicts are handled quickly and directly, and everyone is giving their best.

I’ve known intelligent, ambitious people who’ve decided to step down from their management position because they could never get a handle on how to manage well. It was a stumbling block for them, and an enormous energy drain.

Worse are the cases where they stay in their positions and throw up invisible defensive walls to keep people from pointing out the flaws in their strategy.

It was disheartening to watch these people who were once super stars in their previous roles suddenly look like rookies who couldn’t find the ball.

You may at times feel like you don’t have it all managed. People may be saying “yes” in the meeting but at check-ins they’ve got great excuses for why they couldn’t deliver on their commitment.

Or, you’re sure everyone knows what they need to do but when a crisis comes about, or heaven forbid you should go on vacation, there is very little progress, your team seems to have lost sight of the goal, or infighting has cropped up.

What it comes down to is the way in which you communicate…or miscommunicate.

• Do you convey the values of the company? Can everyone name them and point out the daily tasks and behaviors that exemplify those values.
• Do you convey the values of your team? Does everyone respect the other members of the team?
• Do you honor people as individuals or lump them in categories such as rank, job function or tenure?
• Can everyone on your team articulate how their duties directly affect the strategic vision of the company?
• Would your team say unequivocally that you are open and eager for their ideas and feedback?

These seem like easy questions to answer but take some time to mull them over. It’s worth the extra time you take today because, when your people are happy and motivated, your life gets a whole lot better.

You can read more in the blog post I wrote for Luma Coaching, Simple Communication Techniques for Managers. In this post I share some simple techniques with you to help increase your ability to build a cohesive team, motivate those around you and resolve conflicts as they arise.

Jodi Flynn

Jodi Flynn of Luma Coaching coaches entrepreneurs and small business owners around their mindset for success. She helps them to identify the default tendencies that are getting in the way of growing their business and/or their enjoyment of their business.
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