The technology industry was built on amazing products, but many principles of product development correlate to smart management principles. Successful product managers know that customers respond best to simplicity, when the only features available are ones they want. Otherwise, complexity will creep in and cloud your offering. For example, between 1984 and 2003, Microsoft Word went from 40 features to more than 1,500—and many overwhelmed users turned to simpler alternatives. Simplicity is also a feature of great management. Employees in flat organizations are empowered to gather insights and pursue ideas, but they’re also overwhelmed by choices: how to prioritize their days, whether to go to a particular meeting, which emails to read. To be a superior manager, simplify. Draw a clear mission for your team, articulate group goals, and get out of the way to enable your people to make day-to-day decisions.
Adapted from "Can Building Great Products Help You Build Great Teams?" by Deep Nishar.
Adapted from "Can Building Great Products Help You Build Great Teams?" by Deep Nishar.
No matter how effective you are, you can’t fit 100 hours of work into 40 or even 60 hours a week. Rather than letting a vague sense of fear drive your decisions, take an objective approach. Gather your facts: a concise list of projects, an estimate of how long each task will take, and a visual to show the incongruence between the available time and the requested activities. This visual can be as simple as a printout of your weekly calendar or as complex as a full-scale project plan. Then ask for a strategic planning session with the people who are asking for the most work from you. Discuss which tasks might be delegated or simplified so that you can invest more time in the highest priorities. When done in this manner, asking for direction can lead to a joint effort to prioritize and work within the reality of your schedule.
Adapted from "Stop Work Overload By Setting These Boundaries" by Elizabeth Grace Saunders.
Adapted from "Stop Work Overload By Setting These Boundaries" by Elizabeth Grace Saunders.
As much as 90% of learning and development takes place on the job – which makes sense since continuous learning is a key strategy for a sustainable career. In fact, employees’ direct managers are often their most important developers. Help your team members flourish with these tips:
Adapted from "If You're Not Helping People Develop, You're Not Management Material" by Monique Valcour.
- Instead of a yearly conversation about career goals during performance reviews, talk frequently. Regular discussions about your employees’ objectives and interests help them to refine goals and spot opportunities for development.
- When planning a group project, ask team members to identify both how they can contribute and what they would like to learn. This avoids their volunteering to perform only tasks that they already know they can do.
- Ask employees to report back periodically to you and fellow team members on what they have been learning and how they are using their new skills and knowledge.
Adapted from "If You're Not Helping People Develop, You're Not Management Material" by Monique Valcour.