Your team needs a coach, not a hero
As an IC you did it your way, now you’ve got to help your team find their way.
One of bigger changes from Individual Contributor (IC) to Manager is need to coach those in your team. Coaching takes time, a lot of it. Check you calendar (See my previous blog on coaching time) to see if you’re investing enough in your team.
I was a badminton and cricket coach from a young age. My parents had wanted me to get a weekend job, my sister had been working for years, but I just wanted to play sport. So, I started coaching badminton and cricket to earn a little, but continue playing as well! I thought I had it sorted, I could coach. I would walk down to the player, show them how I did it and then walk away thinking that was it. The players improved a little, but it was never clear to me if it was due to my coaching.
I had been coaching about 10 years and I was helping coach the girls junior county cricket teams. I couldn’t make their matches due to clashes with my own matches. All I could do was coach in training and then hear how they got on. I listened to each player every week, what they thought of the game, what they enjoyed and how they thought they could improve. I started listening so much more, and it made a difference. I changed from saying what to do and walking away, to caring about the players. I would listen, observe and then guide in the direction for grooving technique in training and approaches that gave better outcomes in matches.
Coaching should to be like that, grooving technique for maybe hours and weeks before playing games. In the games, the outcome, not the technique, is important. In fact, when you are young, big changes can be adapted to quickly and applied to games. As you get older, things take longer and waiting until the off-season to make big changes for the next year is often best.
In a match the outcome, not the technique, is important.
During my time as an IC, mentoring was familiar territory; I'd share my opinions, offer advice, and move on. "If it were me, I'd do x." However, coaching is a different ballgame. It's not a quick exchange in an open office; it's a continuous commitment to the growth and development of your team. There’s a lot written about mentoring, coaching and the difference between the two.
As you move into the Management track, the performance of your team reflects on your performance. You might hear others say “your career is your responsibility” to their team, but it is also your responsibility to help them grow. Whether it is right or fair, it is human nature that the worst performer in the team will have the biggest reflection on your performance. You are the coach, now it is time to start acting like it.
You are the coach, now it is time to start acting like it.
I’ll go into more details over the coming weeks around my coaching assessment and plan and some examples of coaching that I do to grow my team. In the meantime, there are plenty of other examples online already such as ones by Petra Wille or Marty Cagan.
Conclusion
As you move into the Management track, the performance of your team reflects on your performance. That means you take on responsibility of the performance of the people in the team. Encourage your Senior and Principal Product Managers to mentor others in the team (and their product teams) on areas they are most experienced in. In 121s work through challenges with them, and use them as a coaching points to grow. Treat each team member like you would a product, caring about getting them to the next step in their career. If the manager track is new for you like it was me, you’re probably underestimating how much time this will take. Be the coach your team needs, not the hero.
As always, enjoy the journey!