Evaluating Your Management Style

Being a good manager means understanding what your team needs from you, and adapting your style to those needs.  Although you may have been appointed to a team management role because of your ability to apply your technical skills, the tools that honed your career are not necessarily the tools you need to use as a manager.

Thinking back to your early career can provide insight into the tools you need to use now that you are a manager.  What did you want from your manager?  What didn’t you want from your manager?  That reflection can help you choose WHO you are as a manager and WHAT you do when serving in a managerial role.

Here are some management approaches you can consider as you evaluate your management style:

Stick to guiding and directing, not doing. I once worked for a technical manager who was a genuinely nice guy and loved to be helpful.  He thought he was doing a fantastic job of supporting his technical team.  But whenever anyone on the team had a problem, they would not approach him for one simple reason.  He took over.  When somebody just needed a little guidance, he would step in and help them design the entire solution.  The team members hated this approach because they felt that he was telling them what to do and how to do it.  Sometimes, you must step in and provide extra guidance to your team members as a technical team manager.  But this should be the exception, rather than the rule.

Focus on the best way to facilitate team communication. Ask your team about their support needs.  What do they want?  And just as importantly, what do they not want?  Discover the ways your team likes to communicate and adapt your communication style to suit your team.  Share your expectations for your team’s work and keep your team updated on your perception of their progress.

Select and grow the right team. Ensure you have the people with the right skills to perform the work. If you find gaps in your team members’ skills, address them. Nurture those skills with your current team members whenever possible. Note: You need to consider more than just skills; it can also be style. For instance, some people work well together, while others do not. Find the best fit for your team whenever you can.

Seek to motivate and delegate. Discover what motivates people on your team and use this information to build enthusiasm and commitment to work.  As part of this, ensure you empower your technical team members to make appropriate decisions.  As the manager, don’t perform tasks that are no longer your responsibility.

Get a mentor. Find somebody you respect and trust to be your management mentor. Making the leap to management is a big change, so it is okay to seek help.

Finally, take it one step at a time. – Don’t try to learn everything about managing a Technical Team all at once.  Learn and master one new skill at a time.