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The transition from IC to manager can be disorienting. For one thing, feedback loops are much longer & so is any payoff. No more PR-based dopamine hits for you. Things you set in motion can take days, or weeks to pay off & it's not always easy to tell if something is going awry
There's a sense of 'otherness' when you become a manager. People that were your peers treat you differently. It's usually subtle, but there nonetheless. Positional power is a thing, & it affects how everything you say and do is perceived. You are now part of 'The Establishment'
This is natural. You now have an amount of (perceived if not actual) power over their careers opportunities, remuneration, how they work, what they work on etc. You can't be best mates anymore because at some point you might need to have a 'difficult conversation' with them.
For your team, you're the face of the company now. Of course you have a duty to shield them from unreasonable requests, but be very clear on the difference between unreasonable and unpopular. There is overlap in that Venn diagram, but it's not a perfect union.
Unreasonable requests are things that
* can cause people psychological or physical harm to the team or others
* are unethical or ethically dubious
* create a chronic imbalance in sustainability
* violate legal or compliance practices
* ...
(clearly not an exhaustive list)
* can cause people psychological or physical harm to the team or others
* are unethical or ethically dubious
* create a chronic imbalance in sustainability
* violate legal or compliance practices
* ...
(clearly not an exhaustive list)
Unpopular requests might be a messy refactoring job when the neighbouring team gets some new greenfields hotness. It might be something that falls outside someone's area of expertise. Play to your team's strengths, but where that's not possible, you still need to get it done
If in doubt - mission first, then your people, then you.
Pete Blaber wrote an excellent book 'The Mission, The Men and Me' which I highly recommend.
Pete Blaber wrote an excellent book 'The Mission, The Men and Me' which I highly recommend.
Deliver unpopular orders straight. It's a mistake to try and ingratiate yourself with the team by saying 'I have no say in this, It's not up to me, I'm in the same boat as you'. It may make you popular in the short term, but you're telling the team you are an empty chair.
You're also showing your boss that you'd rather foment discontent in the team than be unpopular. Sometimes known in the biz as a career limiting move.
If you're 'just following orders' & incapable of aligning the team around an unpopular mission, you're in for a bad time.
If you're 'just following orders' & incapable of aligning the team around an unpopular mission, you're in for a bad time.
Better to tell the team 'You don't have to like it, but it's what the business needs from us, so let's get it done'
If you have to eat shit, don't nibble.
If you have to eat shit, don't nibble.
