Careers are deeply personal; most executive career advice isn’t. Crux is here to help.
Ask a Career Coach
I was recently promoted to a VP role managing three directors. I had been advocating for this promotion for a while, so I was excited to get it. But now that I’m in it, I’m realizing that I have no idea how to manage other managers at this level.
I’m quickly learning that their style is very different from mine (for example, one insists that his compliment sandwich strategy works well every time), so I’m struggling to help them coach their own direct reports.
The catch is that this team has been underperforming for a while now, so I’m expected to get them all to hit their goals on a short timeline. What strategies can I utilize for managing this team of managers?
In the midst of a career turning point or crisis? Crux wants to help. Send us your question to be answered (anonymously) by a career coach in an upcoming newsletter.
A Career Coach Says
This is a great question, but not an easy one, and there is a lot to unpack!
First, you mention that the team is underperforming. Do you have a clear understanding of what is driving that underperformance? Here are a few steps to help you gain more insight.
Do a mini-review on your managers. Get 360-degree feedback from their peers and cross-functional team members they work with. What are their perspectives on what your managers do well and where they struggle? You can also have them take the Zone of Genius Quiz so that you can understand their Genius and Purpose—in other words, what they’re best at and what drives intrinsic motivation.
Book a performance and career meeting to talk to them about their career goals and struggles. Reference the feedback trends you received and their Zone of Genius quiz and talk through the results together. Is the feedback fair? Are they leveraging what they’re best at in their roles? Do they feel engaged and motivated?
Establish whether their performance barriers are a quick fix or whether they may require more heavy lifting. A temporary drop in motivation when someone’s dealing with a personal issue is quite different than someone who’s in a completely unaligned role. If you’re dealing with the latter, you may want to bring in your leader or professional support (more on this in a bit).
Second, you say that your style is different. In this case, I would reference your company's values and cultural norms. Are these individuals' management tactics in line with the organization’s values? Are yours?
You may need to work with other leaders at your company to get clear on this. In a situation like yours, where there are different approaches, having the same foundation and cultural direction can help you find common ground and come together.
To do this, consider the following:
Reflect on the organization’s values and the behavioral norms that are associated with them. Are other people in the organization modeling these behavioral norms? For example, what type of feedback is most common—direct or more compliment-infused? Your team could take the lead in being a great example of the values coming alive in your behavior and how you operate.
How are these behavioral norms in line with how your managers are operating? Do you see the CEO and executive team modeling these behaviors? If not, it would be a great idea to give them this feedback and suggest that they document these behavioral norms and start shifting their approach. This, of course, assumes that you work for an organization that is value-driven and makes this a priority. If not, you can create values and a common foundation of behavioral norms for your team.
Meet with your managers to discuss the values and the behavioral norms associated with them. Set the stage as this being a way for everyone to get aligned on what kinds of behaviors are expected. Compare them to the behavioral norms, what’s working, and what needs to be changed.
Third, you mentioned that you needed to coach your managers. While your intentions are good, feeling the weight of this expectation is a problem I see time and time again.
Your job as a leader is to deliver on your business goals and support your team in delivering theirs—expecting that you have the power to change their behavior on your own isn't realistic. They have to take the lead in managing their performance and their career planning. Your job is to ensure they have the feedback, tools, and information to do that. If you have helped them remove roadblocks to their goals and they are struggling to meet expectations, it’s your job to flag the need for additional support.
Ideally, you work for a manager you can have a candid conversation with, in a company with an HR team you trust, or company access to professional coaching resources (if you’re not sure, it never hurts to ask if there is a budget for coaching support in your benefits package). If not, remember that you can't control the choices other people make and that, at the director level, that's not the expectation. As long as you are being direct and honest with your reports, you're fulfilling your role as a manager.
I hope the above suggestions help you feel more in control of and energized by your situation. You have a huge job, and what you’re trying to do isn’t easy. It’s important to know your limits and know when extra support is needed. It could be the difference between succeeding and being completely burned out.
Meet the Coach of the Week: Laura Garnett
In her own words:
Laura Garnett is a performance strategist, mother, TEDx speaker, and author of “The Genius Habit” and “Find Your Zone of Genius.” She helps CEOs, executives, founders and teams fast-track their path to greatness in half the time they expect. She does this by teaching them the habit of being who they are, transforming the way they work and live.
She has consulted for organizations such as Google, Pandora, LinkedIn, and Splunk. Prior to launching her own company, New York City-based Garnett Consulting, she honed her marketing, strategy, and career skills at companies like Capital One, American Express, IAC, and Google.
Crux Subscribers: Get a 15% discount on a single Zone of Genius session or book a free consult with Laura to see if her coaching packages are right for you.
Laura’s Go-to Resources
Quiz: The Zone of Genius Quiz
Books: The Genius Habit and Find Your Zone of Genius
Courses:
Newsletter: The Fast Track
What We’re Thinking About This Week
(Besides figuring out where Kate is)
Why you should be considering your emotional salary as a benefit
What to do when your new job isn’t what you were told it would be
When you can identify red flags in a new job: before you even apply
How rich we are… if bookshelf wealth is a thing
And the fact that it’s never too late to start your own business
In the midst of a career turning point or crisis? Crux wants to help. Send us your question to be answered (anonymously) by a career coach in an upcoming newsletter.