Musings on traits of good managers

It’s been a little more than a decade since I started my first real job. I’ve had a lot of managers along the way, some of them I’m thankful for to this day and still maintain relationships with (one of them I still hang out with him a lot of times), others I don’t want to think about and even secretly curse them (lol).

Over the years, I’ve noticed common traits across all the good managers I had. They’re like a parent, a coach, a gardner and a movie director.

• Like a parent: They show care and nurture their direct report’s growing up to (ie. promote to) become more experienced individual contributor (IC). They understand ICs sometimes need emotional support and they’re there for them. Like great parents, they know how to be in the background and chime in whenever necessary instead of hovering over their kids all the time.
• Like a coach: They have a clear objective. They know ICs play a role as a part of the team and to achieve the team’s goal. They give more opportunities to ICs who are better positioned to shine at certain occasions. They also make sure training the ICs skillset so they can knock it out of the park at big stages at crucial moments. They’re also brave because they have a clear strategy and principles they operate under. They maintain composure at all times since they know their team will look to them in pressing times. They don’t Crack under pressure. Providing this stability in times of uncertainty matters to ICs a lot. Picture Jose Mourinho as a manager.
• Like a gardener: They nurture growth, removes obstacles like weeds or pests. They also understand they can’t make the plants grow faster by their own might (There’s a Chinese cautionary tale, that a hasty farmer tried helping his plants grow faster by pulling them upward each day. He ended up killing all of them). They have to influence growth indirectly by making sure the plants get enough sunlight, water and nutrition via good soil and fertilizer.
• Like a movie director: They have a story to tell, and they utilize their team members to tell it. They understand the optics are important in any organization, so they create visibility for their direct reports to shine. They know what to highlight and what to edit out, and also package everything into a cohesive and compelling story.

I’m not a manager myself and I don’t think I will ever become one because I love hands-on work much more than managing others. Also I’m dreadful of potentially getting negative upward feedback (eek!). But never say never, who knows I’ll be managing people someday.

Regardless, I want to take in all these great traits of respectable managers and utilize them when managing my own time, intellect and temper.

Ps. I’m so glad today’s writing sprint is completed 10 minutes before the cutoff time (30-minute mark)! I definitely experienced the “flow state” today. Go me!