Managers, be explicit about what you need from your team

Sometimes you want to let your team figure things out via trial and error, and other times, it’s faster and better for everyone if you point out what you're looking for.

👋 Hey, it’s Wes. Welcome to my weekly newsletter on managing up, career growth, and standing out as a leader in tech.

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This week, you’ll learn why it’s extremely valuable to be explicit with your direct reports. We’ll cover a case study from my own work and principles to keep in mind.

Read time: 6 minutes

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Managing a team of junior or mid-career individual contributors (ICs) has some pros and cons. 

The advantages are: junior talent is often eager, more within your budget, and isn’t burdened by bad habits they learned from other organizations.

But one of the biggest downsides?

You often have to spell things out for them. Because they’ve had fewer years in the workplace, they often have fewer data points on what excellence looks like. They haven’t gotten as much feedback from previous managers. They also might not know what “normal” expectations are for someone in their role.

This is why it’s extremely valuable to be explicit.

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Early on at Maven, when we planned marketing events, it felt a bit ad hoc because we were building the plane while flying it.

Not knowing whether things were going to be taken care of created unnecessary stress. I wanted my team to be more organized. 

One day, my direct report said:

Hey Wes! [Name redacted] and I would love if you could host the panel on July 20th with [guest speaker] and [guest speaker]. I see on your cal that you're open at 4pm ET. Would you be willing to host, and does this time work for you? We can provide a list of questions to you and the panelists.

They were running the events relatively well, but I had specific things in mind for what else I wanted them to do. I realized I needed to be explicit about these additions.

Here’s my reply, with color-coding:

For sure. Added a hold in my calendar.

The best way to utilize me in these situations is assume I'm the talent & you're the producers. This is how my dynamic was with Seth Godin and it worked well for who was accountable for what. Basically, I organized and managed up so all Seth had to do was show up.

Your goal is to create a successful event, which includes making sure the speakers look good in front of the audience and feel confident going in.

• Share the agenda/run of show (and share when you'll have it)

• Share by what date you'll provide the list of questions

• Please add a dry run a week in advance. The guests don't have to be there, but you both can pretend to be [redacted name] and [redacted name].

• As the host, I have more responsibility and more public embarrassment if things go wrong. Thus doing a dry run so we're all confident in what to do.

• If I'm presenting content and it's not content l've already approved, bake in at least 2-3 rounds of iterations. Based on historical data points, that's how many iterations it takes. By being realistic, we can avoid last minute rushing.

• Assume the talent is task-switching the day of and in the weeks leading up to the event. Err on the side of overcommunicating.

^ These are some ideas off the top of my head, but there are other aspects you'll want to consider as the producers.

Why this works:

• “The best way to utilize me in these situations is to…” This is signposting in action. Every direct report wants to know how to best engage with their manager in various situations. They’ll appreciate it if you tell them directly.

• “....assume I'm the talent & you're the producers.” This analogy helps my team get oriented quickly. It helps them see the role they should play vs the role I’ll play.

• “This is how my dynamic was with Seth Godin and it worked well for who was accountable for what.” Did I pull this out of thin air? No, this was the set up I had with Seth, so I have lived experience and historical data that this works well.

• “Basically, I organized and managed up so all Seth had to do was show up.” I’m not asking them to do anything I haven’t done myself. This sells the idea, and builds credibility. 

• “Your goal is to create a successful event, which includes making sure the speakers look good in front of the audience and feel confident going in.” I start by signposting about the goal, then share what that entails.

• List of tactics: These were the most highly-leveraged tactics that gave me confidence that we were increasing the likelihood of a successful outcome. Sometimes you want to let folks figure things out via trial and error, and other times, it’s faster and better for everyone if you point out areas of risk. Sharing specific tactics is especially valuable if your team member has low task-relevant maturity, or you have higher standards than what they’re used to.

• Sharing my rationale, logic, and thought process helps my team understand the “why” behind what I’m saying. This is powerful because it enables them to pattern match beyond a specific use case.

• “These are some ideas off the top of my head, but there are other aspects you'll want to consider as the producers.” This is important. Even though I shared ideas, I end by putting ownership back on them.

Considerations when being explicit

The breakdown above is about a specific situation, so here are general considerations to keep in mind when you try this yourself.

• Don’t dive straight into details. You might share dozens of reminders that feel obviously connected in your mind, but are not obvious to others. Your team might miss the throughline.

• Share the overarching goal. Sharing the end goal allows your team to keep their eyes on the prize. It helps them separate out the end vs the means to an end. It allows them to use their judgment and get creative despite roadblocks. More on how to explain your ideas when delegating.

• Signpost. Use keywords that help your team perk up and easily make sense of what you’re saying. Phrases like “The goal is…” are helpful for focusing their attention. More on signposting and emotional signposting.

• Use an analogy. One good analogy is worth a hundred items on a checklist. If your direct report understands the role they should play, they will have a frame of reference for how to think about the problem themselves.

• Explain your thought process. As always, this is the biggest one to keep in mind. Share your first principles, logic, evidence, assumptions, examples, rationale, data points, etc. A yes or no without context is a missed opportunity for learning.

• Reinforce that they are the project owners. Your role is not to do their job for them. Don’t let the monkey jump onto your back.

• Be more specific than you think you have to be. If you only say “get better at project management,” that could mean a lot of things. But when you say “add a dry run a week in advance,” you’re giving them an example of what project management means in this specific scenario.

With my Slack response above, I could have only said, “For sure. Added a hold in my calendar.” Then I could have silently wished my team would show more ownership, or work with me in a different way.

Hoping for these things or feeling resentful doesn’t help.

You’re the manager. You’re the leader. It’s up to you to frame the conversation, and be explicit about what you want to see and why.

I bet most folks on your team are eager to do right by you. Give them a chance by being upfront and concrete with what you want from them.

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My questions for you: When have you been explicit with a team member, and what was the result? When have you appreciated when your manager was explicit with you?

Hit reply because I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for being here, and I’ll see you next Wednesday at 8am ET.

Wes

PS Here are more ways to connect:

1. Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn for insights during the week (free).

2. Check my availability to do a keynote talk for your team.

3. Work with me for 1:1 executive coaching. I find it extremely rewarding to give personalized guidance to ambitious operators. My current clients include leaders at startups funded by Sequoia, Accel, Bessemer, SV Angel, Kleiner Perkins, etc.