

Ask HN: How to become a better manager? - bndr

Hello everyone, So I recently got my own team to manage and it seems to me that I&#x27;m doing a bad job at it.<p>So I would like to ask you: are there any books&#x2F;articles you can recommend for me to read? So I could better manage the team? Any advice?
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jacquesm
A very quick one sentence hint: be the person that _you_ would like to work
for. And ask your team what you could do to improve.

I've worked for a variety of managers over the years and the styles varied
from 'management by fear' to 'no management that I could detect' and
everything in between. What helped me most to grow when managing others was to
observe what did not work elsewhere and which traits I appreciated in the
people that managed me (in so far as I'm 'manageable' :) ).

It's not something that I ever managed to get out of a book though I'm sure
there may be such books. This is a thing that you'll probably only really grow
into over time.

The biggest change for me was when I finally learned to _really_ listen to
what people say, both in plaintext and 'between the lines'.

One question you can ask yourself since you are saying that you are doing a
bad job at it is _why_ you think that and then to use that as a starting point
for a list of points on which you can improve.

Best of luck!

~~~
Bahamut
This is the most important advice.

Some tips that can help towards this:

Don't micromanage your employees. Nobody likes being micromanaged, and if you
have to micromanage, something is broken. It indicates a lack of trust, and
people are inherently resistant towards micromanagement.

Look out for your employees. Praise your employees first before yourself, and
praise the team for its successes. Keep an eye out for the morale of the team,
and talk honestly to the team as much as you can - this doesn't mean tell all
bad news immediately, but at the appropriate time. You're in charge of
everyone's productivity, so you must act in an optimal fashion.

Also look to develop your employees. People want to keep progressing in their
careers, so help with that end.

Set the example - you should be working the longest hours for the most part.
This is not a hard and fast rule, but nobody respects someone who is not at
least willing to do what they say.

~~~
bndr
Thanks for advice!

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ian_s
Establish regular 1:1 with your directs.

\- These are not project status updates! talk about career / growth / skills

\- Listen, Take notes, Send out Action Items

\- At the end, ask if there is any thing you could do to improve. Ask for
feedback.

The benefit to having incremental documentation with your directs makes end of
year reviews much easier, as you have a bunch of documentation at the ready.
Makes promotions easier (and terminations as well -- welcome to management!)

------
hkarthik
I would recommend Leading Snowflakes as a great read for first time
engineering managers:
[http://leadingsnowflakes.com/](http://leadingsnowflakes.com/)

And subscribe to the author's weekly email list. Great set of reads and links
here: [http://softwareleadweekly.com/](http://softwareleadweekly.com/)

~~~
bndr
Thanks! I will definitely take a look at those.

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ASquare
The biggest reason many managers are bad managers is because they haven't
defined measurable goals and outcomes for the individuals on the team and for
the team as a whole.

This leads them to micromanage, be stressed and every other characteristic
associated with the stereotype.

If you are able to define measurable outcomes/goals - then how those are
achieved really should be left in the hands of the individuals/team.

This is what makes you (imo) a capable manager.

If you want to take it up a notch, learn how to motivate them.

I highly suggest watching

a) Dan Pink's talk on Motivation for this (and perhaps also picking up his
book "Drive"):
[http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation](http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation)
and

b) Simon Sinek's talk on leadership (and also picking up his book) on starting
with why:
[http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspi...](http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspi..).

I think this will give you a strong foundation to build off of.

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JSeymourATL
Here's a solid book with 5,000+ management tips, that will lead to even more
reading and professional development. This is a Must Have if you're serious
about becoming a good manager >
[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/847538.FYI](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/847538.FYI)

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panjaro
How to win friends and influence people - Dale Carnegie

