January 21, 2019: Question Series #8
Written By: Marc Moskowitz
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I’ve been a people manager for more than twenty years now, and I have learned a lot about the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to people management. The teams that I have managed have been the highlights of my career and each one of them has a special place in my hall of memories. This is my first #QuestionSeries article specific to being a people manager, but I plan to write a few more, hereafter, exploring this topic, as I believe I can help many people with my experiences. To kick things off, I wanted to share and explore what I believe is the most important responsibility you have once you become a people manager. It is one of the key ways I measure myself, when I look back upon my career and how I performed as a manager.
Before I tell you what the #1 responsibility is, I want to share one more specific thing I’ve learned about managing people and teams. The vast majority of people managing teams are ill-prepared for it, have little training around it, and often times don’t really want to do it. That is the sad reality and the reason why I want to explore this topic over the next few articles. I thank my lucky stars every day that I had several great mentors/managers to learn from early on and throughout my career. I also had a great organization where I first got my feet wet. I learned from and observed some very bad people managers, too. This is almost as important in your growth as a people leader, as formal training and examples of good leadership.
Without further ado, the most import responsibility you have as a people manager is:
your support and help when things go wrong, and one or more of your employees is out of their job
This can happen because of layoffs, acquisitions, bankruptcies, project endings, and the like. I’ve had each one of these scenarios happen to me in my career while managing teams. It’s never fun to deal with, but I believe that it is my role as a people manager to do everything I can to ensure my people land back on their feet as quickly as possible. Not only that, but if I’ve earned my money as a manager, they’ll end up not only on their feet, but in a better situation than what they just had. This goes for any kind of employee: high performers, low performers, entry level, senior level, most favorite and least favorite. If you are a people manager, I truly believe it is your responsibility to look after your people. After all, they were just looking after you and helping you earn your living.
Is it ironic that the most important responsibility you have as a people manager is after you might not be their manager anymore? Yes, I suppose it is, but nonetheless, it will truly show not only what kind of people manager you are, but what kind of human being you are as well.
I was raised to believe that the kindest gift you can give another human being is the gift of a job…
It really is true. I know I’ll never forget those people who have helped me secure each and every one of my jobs. To this day, I still talk to all of them, including the college recruiter who unilaterally decided that I was worthy of a Big 6 (now Big 4) management consulting job right out of school. I’ll never forget that interview. I can still remember the small, musty room in the Florida State University – College of Business, what was discussed, and how it all unfolded.
Now that you know what your number one responsibility is, here are the top five ways that you help your employees out (in no particular order):
Lend an ear and let them know that these kinds of things always work out for the better: Yes, they always do. This doesn’t mean that things will be easy in the short term, but in my experience, people tend to end up in better situations, making more money in the long run, working at a job they like more, and happier overall. You, as a manager, have likely been through these situations before and were picked to be a manager because of your demeanor and listening skills. Use them markedly during this trying time. Your team members will appreciate it and benefit from it immensely. Many of them will be uneasy about the situation and looking for guidance and a reassuring word.
Help them network with recruiters, other executive level contacts, and each other; get them out of their house: Networking is the gateway to seventy plus percent of high paying jobs according to many different career sources (PayScale.Com, BusinessInsider.Com, USNews.Com, and others). Encourage and help your team find and attend networking events, career nights, and other corporate activities. Give them the names of your trusted recruiting contacts and truly think through people you know at various places that could help each and every one of your employees. You never know what event or person will change the trajectory of a job search and make that magical connection happen. I’ve seen this work over and over again for my former employees and for myself. Just about every job I’ve had has been because of networking both while on the job and after I have lost one.
As a side note, one of the most creative things I’ve done in this regard was throwing a happy hour party a few days after a big layoff had happened. I invited those who had been laid off, those who weren’t, recruiters, and other people I thought could help out. Not only did most everyone enjoy the one last chance to be together, but several connections were made that helped out my team moving forward.
Write online recommendations for them and offer to be a great reference (regardless of their performance level): People hire people that their friends and former colleagues trust. It’s that simple. When you write a genuine, specific, and public recommendation for someone, it goes a long way with hiring managers. When they have multiple recommendations it goes even further, so encourage your team to write recommendations for each other, too. Do this before bad things happen! It takes very little effort to allow someone to use your name and phone number as a reference. When you get a call, answer it and talk to the strengths of the person in question. Even your lowest performer has something they are good at (most of the time anyway). I don’t like to stretch the truth for anyone, but I do like to say what is positive about everyone. Being nice in life goes a long way and brings you good karma later on.
Review their resumes and LinkedIn profiles. Offer to do mock interviews with them, if it’s been a long time since their last job search or they struggle in this regard: It is more important than ever to have a good resume and a matching online presence. Between automatic scanning software and hiring managers that are deluged with resumes, a good set of documents is key. Take the time to review everyone’s resume and LinkedIn profile and provide good, common sense feedback. Remind them of the two page rule and to keep things simple. Finally, you’d be surprised by how many people struggle during the live interview process. Not everyone is as smooth as you are. Practice makes perfect, so do mock interviews with those that might need assistance. It goes a long, long way.
Walk them through corporate policies and paperwork, as needed, especially during a layoff, acquisition, or bankruptcy: Losing a job in any of these manners can be confusing, filled with legal documentation, and sometimes unequal treatment. You, as a leader, manager, and good human being, should help to reduce the confusion as much as possible. You’re likely to have more knowledge about typical corporate policies and the types of paperwork that are common. If you don’t, you might know who they can talk to (besides HR) or refer them to good counsel outside of the company. Do the best you can in this area and it will be appreciated tenfold. You might even learn something about these processes, too. I know I learned something each time I went through these things as a people manager.
Obviously, there are many more things you can do to help out your former team and employees. Do as much as you can and be a champion for them. As I mentioned earlier, the good karma will come around later on, and you’ll be fulfilling one of your essential responsibilities as a people manager.
What do you think? What else should people managers do to help support their current and former teams? Thanks for reading!
Be on the lookout for more upcoming #QuestionSeries articles on the topics of Program Management, Leadership, Technology, and Careers.
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