Great Performers Don't Become Great Managers
Great performers often struggle when they become managers. They fall into the trap of believing that more expertise will help them, when universal management skills is what they should be focusing on.
A question from a reader: "I'm going to be managing a designer. I don’t have design expertise. How do I challenge someone who comes from another field?"
In my opinion, the best performers don't become great managers. It doesn’t mean it’s impossible, but I believe there is little correlation.
To explain why, let’s start by a personal theory about people management:
The quality of your team
=
The expertise of your team members
x
Your ability to get the most out of someone
If your approach to management is to rely mainly on being a domain expert, your impact as a manager will reach a ceiling.
Why ?
Either you only hire people who are less expert than you, and your own expertise will therefore be the ceiling for the quality of your team members. Or you hire people who are more expert than you, and your inability to get the most out of them will be your ceiling.
To avoid this ceiling, you have to get out of the trap of wanting to be a manager-expert — a manager who relies on expertise to provide value. And the best way to do that is to… manage someone who has an expertise that you do not master.
You become an excellent manager more quickly when you are deprived of the possibility of relying on your expertise, because you are forced to develop versatile skills that allow you to effectively manage any expert.
Here are some examples of those universal management skills:
Untangling problems. An individual contributor is often confronted with several intertwined problems. Solving them all is often impossible. Discussing which ones to choose can be liberating.
Providing perspective. Anyone in charge of carrying out a task can tend to get lost in the details. It's always easier to take a step back when you're not that person. A manager is in an ideal position for this.
Asking questions. “Why did you make this choice?”, “Have you considered other solutions?”, “What is your level of confidence in this idea?”, “I didn't understand, could you explain it to me again?”. Inquisitive and kind questions help tremendously.
Being demanding. Sometimes, people know they are not doing a great job. It can be hard to kick oneself in the butt, so having someone else do it can come as a relief. Being demanding of others is a sign of the esteem we have for them.
Connecting people. Help individuals understand one another. Some conflicts emerge because people don’t see how they have complementary strengths. Pointing out a collaboration model can unlock a relationship.
What do these skills have in common?
First, they do not require managers to have a greater expertise than the person they are trying to help.
Second, they require patience. “To be a leader, you have to be patient. You can’t talk to everyone the same way and expect to get the most out of them, because every personality is different. This is where the patience comes in: you have to learn what triggers each person to be their best.” 1
Third, these skills require the manager to not be the savior. When you have tons of expertise and someone comes out to you with a problem, your expertise instantly throws at you ideas of solutions. It becomes hard to fight the temptation of jumping in and solving the problem.
Now, does it mean that domain expertise is useless to a manager? No, but it’s a much more limited asset than most people think. The more you associate your managerial role to your expertise, the less you will invest in the other skills described above. Those universal management skills help experts grow more, because they give them space. So it's good to start with that.
And then, if you can, complement them with expertise to guide, unblock, inspire.
These words come from Lebron James, playing in the US National Basketball Association. He is regularly opposed to Michael Jordan in the never-ending debate about who is the greatest basketball player of all time. Michael Jordan admitted he never had the patience required to be a coach. Considering Lebron James’ rare emotional intelligence, I’m curious to see whether he becomes a coach, potentially proving to be an exception to the theory I just developed.