Background
It is most ideal when a manager gets to build a product from scratch. When this happens a manager knows the vision, hires the team and it a might a little bit easier to lead as compared to inheriting a team. I had a similar experiences where I got a chance to build teams. However at LinkedIn, I inherited a team. To ensure that I am prepared for this challenge, I went about reading a articles and used some of my previous experience to transition into this new role. Below are some of things which I kept in mind when I joined the team at LinkedIn. This is not an exhaustive list, but some things which may help when you inherit a team.
Mission, Vision and Value
One of the most important aspects of leading a team is to understand the mission, vision and value of the product. This allows the manager to understand and set the road map. You may be able to provide valuable inputs based on your previous experience.
Understand the dynamics of the team and the operational model
Understand how the team operates, who are the cross functional partners, who are the stakeholders, etc. Do not try to replicate exactly what you did your previous teams immediately. Changing processes without knowing the entire picture will not lead to good results. Ultimately do not hesitate to bring new processes which may help the team. Of course not everything will work, so you may need to iterate and improve upon the new processes you introduced.
Build relationship and trust
Develop relationship with everyone in the team. Genuinely care and look out for your team members. I always try to place myself in the employee’s’ shoes and think what I would expect from my manager. Of course you need to use your judgement to do the right thing for the product and the employees. Important to note that you should not try to fake concern as people can see right through when the concerns are not genuine. Ultimately try to help professionally and personally.
Develop employees’ careers
Whenever a new engineers/managers join my team, I concentrate my few 1-1s understanding what the short term, mid term and long term aspirations are of the individual. This helps me set a path for them and set clear expectations for the next steps and timeline. Also it allows me to set a learning plan that ultimately help achieve their goals.
Align team needs with strengths of the team members
Align the product needs and assign team members to tasks which is or can be their strength. There may be cases where the engineer/manager do not have the right skills yet, but you believe that they are motivated and they can gain those skills. In that case you should back your gut feeling and support them. Ultimately ensure that you provide the talent in your team with the right projects as per their career aspiration.
Communicate
You should always communicate with the team and you should know care about the well being of the people reporting to you. 1-1s help and I generally tend to have 1-1s which follow a pattern. This helps me ensure the happiness of the team while looking out for their career:
- Ad hoc discussions: I start my 1-1 asking about any topics which they have on top of their mind. I follow that with anything specific I would like to discuss.
- Happiness: Then I check if they are happy in their current role and with the team. I also check on their personal well being. I take steps if I feel something is bothering the employee and take steps accordingly.
- Learning: After aligning when an employee on their future plans, it’s our job as managers to ensure that they are progressing towards that. So I tend to ask if they are taking steps in that direction. I also try and set an example by sharing my learning plans. It could be developing better skills to manage projects or growing as an IC.
- Feedback: feedback is a gift. You should ask for feedback and give it when you think it’s necessary.
Also if you are a managing managers, it is a very good idea to have skip level meetings and gauge everything is alright. However you should be very careful in not undermining the authority of the managers reporting to you.
Execute on the vision
When you know the mission, vision and value, then the time comes to start executing on it. It is very important to execute and deliver incrementally. Incremental value is the key, as it also helps you correct your course if you did not foresee unknown problems.
Recognize the team
Try and find ways how you could appreciate all the good work that is being done by the team. I make it a point to appreciate the good work at least once a month. Once a quarter, I ensure that I recognize my team members by sending a newsletter to a much broader group. This way you create visibility for the team members performing quite well.
In the regular sprints, ensure that you keep time for retro and give your team members a chance to appreciate each other. With the completion of milestones/projects, do ensure that you celebrate success with the team.
Motivate the team
Share the mission & vision with the team, maintain transparency on the key decisions being taken. Be open to creative ideas and pursue them if it makes sense for the product and the team. The opportunity to grow and learn is another important factor to the team remaining motivated.
Manage conflicts
Ensure that the conflicts are handled smoothly and quickly. I tend to first guide team members to solve conflicts by talking with each other and providing feedback. However the manager should get involved if the conflict is not getting resolved. There is a standard way to resolve conflicts, see here for details.
General principles to note for manager
- Do not micromanage
- Be assertive
- Praise in public and give feedback in private
- Soak up the pressure
- Build a culture of trust in the team
Nihit Purwar 