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🤝 When They Win, You Win

Intro

This page is simply my notes and journaling while [When They Win, You Win]. Over time content in this page may be grown and integrated into other parts of my site.

The "Big 3"

  1. Direction - Good managers ensure that every member of their them understands exactly what is expected and when it is expected.
  2. Coaching - Good managers coach their people toward both short- and long-term success, helping them understand what they should continue to do and how they can improve.
  3. Career - Good managers invest in their people's careers in a way that considers their long-term goals and aspirations beyond the four walls of the current company and certainly beyond their next promotion.

My Mentor Vibe: Ramblings

Im not their therapist. Im not their parent. Im like a best friend, supportive and curious. Im not a drill sergeant coach. In fact, the word "coach" brings up an image of a big guy with a whistle barking commands, thats not me. Honestly, maybe I should re-watch Ted Lasso, from what I remember, Im much happier considering that style of coaching than the one I just described. Other flavors of the vibe, Im thinking wild gardener, helping cultivate but in conversation with what already exists. Im thinking like a host of a great party, sets expectations, some structure, but all in the goal of the guests feeling comfortable, excited, and free. I setup the space and structure and its their time. (Allowing anything to happen is not calming. We want certain structure and expectations.)

Big 3 + Rambilings = My Big 3

There are 3 elements to being a good manager

All employees need (from past readings)

  1. The time to seek mastery, improve, grow, challenge, and learn
  2. The space to regularly be autonomous, set their own goals, set their own priorities, and make their own decisions
  3. The environment to regularly enter flow, to be fully engaged, to be fully present

Engagement

  • it translates to higher productivity and higher profitability (source Gallup, pg 11)

  • it can be measure like "this" - see page 12

  • the book gives more support to the productivity/profitability link

  • what affects engagement?

  • manager quality is responsible for (50%-)70% of engagement (source Gallup, pg 14)

  • the book gives more support to this link between managers and employee engagement/experience

1. Restoring dignity to the office manager

here we see the thesis of the book as its cute little equation:

Big 3 → Engagement ↔ Results

job description for a manager, at any company, at any level, in two bullet points:

first try:

  • unblock and empower your team
  • deliver results aligned with the company's goals

even simpler:

  • enable the team
  • deliver aigned results

we are going to deliver on those two bullet points by working the big 3: direction, coaching, career

direction

  • not always setting, but making sure it is set
  • long term: pupose and vision
  • short term: okrs and ruthless prioritization

coaching

  • feedback on whats not working, handled humanly
  • feedback on whats working

career

  • help discover long term vision
  • show them what they can do now to get there

interesting theory that General Magic failed and collapsed partly for lacking good managers

story of the fire-fighter who didnt communicate the why of any of his actions and his team died

2. Big 3 → Engagement ↔ Results

References

There are 3 elements to being a good manager

Direction, Hosting, and Life

Managing

Inspired by When They Win, You Win.