Tips for millennial and Gen-Z managers
Congratulations you made manager!! hooray
As much as generations change, some things remain the same. The majority of people in their careers and the workplace are focused on working smart and working hard towards getting promoted to higher levels but every opportunity comes with its own challenges that may not be crystal clear at the point of appointment or promotion.
As you progress in your career, if lucky, you will be coached however, nobody will ever coach you or tell you some of the somethings but will eventually encounter them in your role as a manager.
The majority when promoted are excited of the new title! -of course however what I have learnt about leadership especially being a manager is learning how to manage people and making tough decisions. Sounds easy but …….
To millennial managers, Gen-Z managers, aspiring managers and newly appointed managers, these tips are for you to reflect on and adopt to help you excel in your role
- Invest in improving on your soft skills
- Avoiding people-pleasing traits, just be professional
- Seek candid feedback for growth and give your team members factual feedback
- Learn to protect your team. Avoid throwing others under the bus for you to look good
- Managing pressure from upwards and cushion your teams
- Be authentic to your teams
- Shine the light of a team member who exceptionally does their work, advocate for them.
- Be patience, if you cant, TRY
- Give grace to your team members when they make a mistake – nobody starts out as an expert
- Allow people to invent new ways of doing the work as long as it gets done and of quality. Yes I know, every organization has its own methodologies and procedures.
- Become self-aware for you to be a transformational leader. – Your personality is your business card
- Drop the overly introverted traits and become extroverted
- Be an active listener and communicate deliverables clearly.
- Be an advocate for your team
- Checkin on your team members often
- Be honest with yourself, the more you know, the more you may not know. It doesn’t hurt to admit that you don’t know something. The hard truth is – you cant know everything. Even ChatGPT is still learning….
- Delegate – yes you are technical, yes you have a particular way in which you want your deliverables to look like however, when you become a manager, its no longer a one man’s show, its a TEAM’S SHOW. You need to learn to delegate, the best you can do is to coach your team members to allow them to grow and do the tasks as your create time to make strategic/important decisions. Your team should be able to work perfectly well in your absence.
- Be ready to speak your mind even when your mouth shakes especially in management meetings
- Avoid being toxic, your team will quit on you. Avoid treating others bad just because you went through the same/ had a bad manager. Avoid breaking your teams. The way you leave others feeling after having an experience with you becomes your trademark.
- Work on your confidence levels continuously
- Find something outside of work to keep you sane i.e. any hobby that fulfills you
- Spill the beans to your teams.
- Avoid the temptation of wanting to control people, rather control yourself on how you approach situation. Yes, when you become manager, you are given some authority, don’t misuse it as a way of getting back at your team. Your happiness and success depend on your working relationships with the people you manage not the people you control.
We tend to leave the fate of these relationships to chance. We cross our fingers… and hope for the best.
There’s a better way. - Practice anger management and avoid victimizing your team members
- Pay attention to your stakeholder’s needs i.e. your boss, your juniors, key collaborators, and clients.
- Spend much team planning for projects – this eases execution and implementation
- I encourage therapy sessions on managing yourself with emotions that may be triggered through various interactions with your teams
- Pay attention to your deliverables by reviewing before signoff
- Allowing smart people shine without deeming their light
- Be a full time coach and part-time mentor to many. Transfer knowledge and experience to your teams. Nurture commendable managers after you.
- Understand your supervisors leadership style
- Understand other people’s communication styles
- Be empathetic not sympathetic
- Make difficult factual decisions
- Support your team members whether junior or senior – You become a true success when you help others to be successful
- Avoid being the dinosaur in the team
- Invest in your career, attend management trainings, take a management course, be committed to continuous learning
- Seek mentorship, you can avoid making costly mistakes through mentorship. Avoid learning the hard way.
Remember, its not a competition. Prioritize collaboration
