Career

Some observations on ICs transitioning to managers during periods of rapid growth (we're going through this at Leland and I've seen it a few other times): When someone becomes a manager, their job shifts from maximizing their own output to maximizing their team's output. If they’ve done it well, their direct reports own specific outcomes and can execute without the manager's constant involvement. This is the hinge point that determines whether someone becomes a 10x manager or a worthless middle manager. 10x managers... - Keep their feet on the gas at all times - Zoom out to ensure the team is rowing in the right direction - Zoom in to make individuals more effective - Take on high-leverage projects that only they can do - Are a player-coach that is actively involved and fills in gaps where needed - Take full accountability for results, but help their team feel empowered to own their specific outputs - Build and lead winning teams Bad managers... - Slow their pace down because they believe their job is to delegate - Tell their teams to figure out what they should do with minimal support - Fill their time with meetings to feel busy - Confuse ownership of execution with ownership of results (they may not be executing, but they definitely still own the results) - Blame their team when things don't go well - Are above rolling up their sleeves and filling in when their team needs added bandwidth - Measure their success by the size of their team, not by the impact - Worry more about managing up than building a winning team Ultimately, these people become a worthless layer of management. And unfortunately, that layer can actually be 2-6 layers depending on the size of company. If you are a manager: DO NOT fall asleep at the wheel. You may not be executing directly on everything, but you are still responsible for the success of everything. Use your new capacity to increase team leverage and lead at a higher level. If you've navigated this transition or seen others navigate this transition well, I’d love to hear what you’ve seen work best.

5 important lessons for first-time people managers: (based on lessons learned as a former manager at Prezi and LinkedIn): ✅ Build Trust Early Your team needs to believe in your leadership and feel confident in your decisions. Start by being approachable, transparent, and consistent. Show your team that you’re there to support them, not just to supervise. ✅ Delegate Wisely Trust your team with responsibilities that match their skills and aspirations. Delegating effectively not only empowers your team but also frees you up to focus on strategic tasks. Remember, delegating isn’t just about handing off tasks—it's about guiding and mentoring. ✅ Manage Conflicts with Empathy Conflicts are inevitable, but how you handle them can make a big difference. Approach conflicts with empathy and seek to understand different perspectives. Address issues promptly and fairly to maintain a positive team dynamic. ✅ Communicate Clearly and Often Misunderstandings can derail projects and morale. Make it a habit to communicate your expectations, provide regular feedback, and keep the lines of communication open. Regular check-ins help keep everyone aligned and engaged. ✅ Prioritize Development and Growth Invest in your team's growth by offering opportunities for learning and development. Encourage them to set and pursue career goals, and provide constructive feedback to help them improve. Your team's success is a reflection of your leadership. 💬 What would you add to the list? Let’s exchange notes in the comments. And for more insights in becoming more flexible and adaptable at work, check out my LinkedIn Learning course “Nano Tips for Adaptability and Flexibility”: https://lnkd.in/gxzM3TmC

New managers often expect authority to come with the title. But it rarely works that way. When you move from being an individual contributor to managing others, you quickly realize that formal authority is a limited source of power. In fact, the people who most shape your success, your boss, your peers, even external stakeholders, are usually the very ones you can’t “tell” what to do. This means that being an effective manager is about learning to build trust, credibility, and influence without authority. It is not about leaning on your title. When I advise new managers, I often refer to Linda Hill's research on new managers. To me, it highlights some important lessons: (1) Organizations are inherently political. Politics isn’t necessarily bad. It reflects real differences in priorities, pressures, and perspectives. Your job is to manage those tensions productively, not wish them away. (2) Power comes from more than your role. Yes, authority matters. But credibility, expertise, effort, relationships, and visibility often matter more. (3) Credibility is the glue. People ask: Do you want to do the right thing? Do you know what the right thing is? Can you get it done? Until the answer is “yes,” influence will be elusive. (4) Map your interdependencies. Ask yourself: Whose cooperation do I need? Whose opposition could derail me? Who depends on me? Then invest in those relationships. (5) Step into others’ shoes. Understanding their goals, pressures, and incentives is the foundation of trust and influence. In practice: If you’re a new manager, focus less on asserting authority and more on cultivating credibility and networks of mutual expectation. Your real power lies in navigating interdependencies with empathy, clarity, and consistency. That’s how you move from “manager by title” to leader by influence. You can take this a step further. What I’ve seen in my own work is that the most effective managers go beyond managing politics and relationships: they use them as opportunities to create value. Instead of seeing influence as a way to “get what you need,” they frame it as a way to generate shared wins. This shift from a self-protective stance to a generative one builds stronger trust and accelerates innovation and collaboration across the organization. #collaboration #influence #manager #managing #leading #value #learning #leadership #coaching #advising #innovation

Don't #translate your resume (it rarely goes well) #Tailor it to the specific role for which you are applying #quinnsights I know for many it seems like semantics But when you start your transition - you are often told by people (that may not be the most experienced) to translate or civilianize your resume The problem(s)? 1 - you don't know industry language 2 - not everything translates (SGM sure doesn't) 3 - you are only looking backwards Instead... Learn about industry and the specific career paths that interest you Read the job description - identifying key knowledge, skills & experience that can be quantified on your resume Then... A - make your opening paragraph speak to the exact qualification of the description B - add those key words to your "skills list" C - make sure every listed skill has a corresponding bullet accomplishment aligned with it somewhere on the resume D - When you save it, title the dang thing with your name + THAT job title You want to make it JUMP OFF THE PAGE CLEAR that you are a best candidate for this job Questions? Anything you would add?

“This is my sixth manager in two years.” Sound familiar? That’s why the worst thing a new manager can do is take over the helm of the ship too quickly before they know what direction their team wants to go. Then, wonder why they’re experiencing disengagement, coaching resistance, missed quotas, team conflict and trust issues.   Making changes before understanding the current team landscape and dynamics will set you and your team up for failure.   Instead of assuming what would help, start by having a level-setting conversation so you can learn about each person’s goals, work-style, strengths, opportunities for coaching,  and how they want to be managed, motivated even held accountable. Here are several questions to open up the conversation. Remember, the questions flow both ways.   1-Let's start by sharing a little about ourselves, our background, current role.   2-How have you been managed before? 3-What worked? What didn't work? 4-How often did you meet with your manager for one-to-one coaching sessions that focused solely on your agenda? What was your experience? 5-What did you find most valuable in terms of how your manager supported you around achieving your goals? Least valuable? 6-What can I do that would make me your ideal manager?   7-How can I be your accountability partner so I’m supporting you around your goals and commitments in a way that sounds supportive and not like I’m micromanaging you? 8-Can you please share your expectations around how you want to (be managed, coached, work together, collaborate, communicate, handle problems, create mutual accountability, build a trusted relationship, etc.)? #leadership #salesmanagement #coaching

I’ve seen it too many times—someone gets promoted to manager, and then... nothing. No support, no training, just expectations. But new managers need more than a promotion; they need guidance. New managers need a few key skills to succeed.   These can make or break their leadership journey. ▶️  𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 → Be clear, concise, and direct. → Actively listen and give feedback that builds, not breaks. ▶️  𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 → A strong team doesn’t happen by chance. → Create a culture of trust and collaboration. → Invest time in building connections within your team. → It pays off in the long run. ▶️  𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 → No workplace is without conflict. → Learn how to handle disputes calmly and professionally. → Mediation skills are a must. → A good manager resolves issues before they escalate. ▶️  𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 → Juggling multiple priorities is part of the job. → Develop strong time management skills. → Learn to prioritize and delegate effectively. → It will save you and your team a lot of stress. ▶️  𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 → Leadership is more than a title. → It’s about inspiring and guiding your team. → Find your leadership style and work on it every day. These core skills will set any new manager up for success. They aren't optional—they're essential. ♻️ If you’ve got a new manager in your circle, help them out by sharing this post. Need help with a project?  Set up a call 📞 #Adamshr #Hrprofessionals #humanresources #HR Stephanie Adams, SPHR

New managers think they need to have all the answers. The smart ones ask all the right questions. The pressure is real:  - You just got promoted and everyone's watching.  - Your old peers are now your direct reports.  - Your boss expects immediate results. So you do what feels natural:  - You try to outwork everyone.  - You try not to let your impostor syndrome show. - You try to be the smartest person in every meeting. But what if what got you promoted is what's holding you back? The 8 skills that separate great managers from everyone else: Active Listening  ❌ Wait for your turn to talk  ✅ Summarize their points before replying  → Builds trust and surfaces hidden issues Clear Communication  ❌ Assume people understand your vision  ✅ Use video updates for important messages  → Drives alignment and prevents confusion Explicit Expectations  ❌ Hope people figure out what you want  ✅ Involve your team in planning commitments  → Prevents guesswork and misalignment Productive Feedback  ❌ Save feedback for performance reviews  ✅ Ask "What do you think?" to encourage self-correction  → Builds performance and accelerates improvement Compelling Selling  ❌ Focus on what the company needs  ✅ Focus on selling the "WHY" behind the mission  → Employees commit to purpose over paychecks Continuous Improvement  ❌ Accept "that's how we've always done it"  ✅ Regularly prune unnecessary work  → Reduces waste and increases efficiency Confident Vulnerability  ❌ Pretend you have all the answers  ✅ Admit mistakes and demonstrate corrective actions  → Builds psychological safety and trust Strategic Delegation  ❌ Tell people exactly how to do everything  ✅ Set clear criteria, then let them own the "HOW"  → Empowers employees and develops capability And here's the crazy thing:  Everyone of these skills can be learned. 60% of new managers fail.  But only 15% get any training. That's why we built MGMT Fundamentals.  It's a 2-week sprint focused on the 80/20 skills you need. One hour a day.  Live, group coaching.  Learn alongside 50+ other leaders. Our last cohort for 2025 starts September 9th. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eweNaiCz Remember:  → Leaders don't hoard information. They share it.  → Leaders don't make people dependent. They make them capable. → Leaders don't solve every problem. They teach others to solve them. Your job isn't to be the hero of every story.  Your job is to help others become heroes of their own. ♻️ Share this with a new manager ready to lead differently 🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more practical management insights

👩💼 Advice for new managers 👨💼 The hardest career transition for me was going from an individual contributor to a manager. Especially for high performing folks who transition to the manager role, switching gears from it being all about your own output to that of growing and scaling your team is a massive switch. Here's some traps I've seen... 😬 Trying to continue to do everything yourself - the common reaction for new managers is to just keep on taking on all the work and problems yourself. This gets old real fast - you burn out, your team gets pissed off, things start dropping. Your default question should be who on the team can take this on? 🙊 Making everyone do it the way you would do it - when delegating work, there's a reflex to tell everyone how exactly you'd do it. And maybe sometimes you already know how to get something done. That doesn't mean the people on your team need you to tell them how to solve a problem. Being open to letting people address challenges in their own way helps them grow, brings diversity of thought into the team, and frees you up for other work. 👺 Acting as the dreaded micromanager - new managers reflex is almost always to ask their team to report every little detail, join every meeting their team joins, set up meetings before the meetings to review presentations. The reason you have a team is so that you can scale. Trust your team members to do the right things, set up checkpoints along the way to help guide them, and then get out of their way. 🎤 Being the star of the show - as a manager, it's no longer about you. It's about your team. Making sure they get the space to present, be the decision makers, be the face of a project is critical for their growth and for your team's ability to scale. New managers often don't realize that if folks on your team do well, that's good for you as a manager - it doesn't take away from you! ❓ Not spending time coaching and talking career - having a supportive manager is critical to your career. Spending time with your reports learning about what they want to do in their career, coaching them by asking them lots of questions, and setting them up with the right opportunities is core to the job as a manager. It's so rewarding for me to coach new managers because I always remember how exhausting that first year felt for me. The thing I always tell people is to think about what they want (or don't want) in a manager and do that!

Trust doesn't come from your accomplishments. It comes from quiet moves like these: For years I thought I needed more experience, achievements, and wins to earn trust. But real trust isn't built through credentials. It's earned in small moments, consistent choices, and subtle behaviors that others notice - even when you think they don't. Here are 15 quiet moves that instantly build trust 👇🏼 1. You close open loops, catching details others miss ↳ Send 3-bullet wrap-ups after meetings. Reliability builds. 2. You name tension before it gets worse ↳ Name what you sense: "The energy feels different today" 3. You speak softly in tense moments ↳ Lower your tone slightly when making key points. Watch others lean in. 4. You stay calm when others panic, leading with stillness ↳ Take three slow breaths before responding. Let your calm spread. 5. You make space for quiet voices ↳ Ask "What perspective haven't we heard yet?", then wait. 6. You remember and reference what others share ↳ Keep a Key Details note for each relationship in your phone. 7. You replace "but" with "and" to keep doors open ↳ Practice "I hear you, and here's what's possible" 8. You show up early with presence and intention ↳ Close laptop, turn phone face down 2 minutes before others arrive. 9. You speak up for absent team members ↳ Start with "X made an important point about this last week" 10. You turn complaints into possibility ↳ Replace "That won't work" with "Let's experiment with..." 11. You build in space for what really matters ↳ Block 10 min buffers between meetings. Others will follow. 12. You keep small promises to build trust bit by bit ↳ Keep a "promises made" note in your phone. Track follow-through. 13. You protect everyone's time, not just your own ↳ End every meeting 5 minutes early. Set the standard. 14. You ask questions before jumping to fixes ↳ Lead with "What have you tried so far?" before suggesting solutions. 15. You share credit for wins and own responsibility for misses ↳ Use "we" for successes, "I" for challenges. Watch trust grow. Your presence speaks louder than your resume. Trust is earned in these quiet moments. Which move will you practice first? Share below 👇🏼 -- ♻️ Repost to help your network build authentic trust without the struggle 🔔 Follow me Dr. Carolyn Frost for more strategies on leading with quiet impact

I’ve revamped 216 resumes over the past 365 days. Most of the clients I worked with landed jobs in 4 months or less. Here’s what I’ve learned about what makes an executive resume WORK: 1) Keep it short. Even at the executive level, your resume should never be more than 2 pages. Anything longer, and you’ll lose the recruiter’s attention. 2) Clean design. Forget fancy designs, graphs, or color schemes. Nobody cares about that and it is super DISTRACTING for Recruiters. What matters is what you’ve done and the results you’ve delivered. 3) Tell a story. For each role, start with one bullet about your general scope (team size, portfolio, industries, etc.) and follow it up with 4–6 bullets that explain: ➜ What you did ➜ How you did it ➜ The results you achieved 4) Show your leadership. So many resumes focus only on tasks, and they forget to include leadership impact, talent development, or team management. If you’ve led people, OWN it. Recruiters want to see this! 5) Your resume is only the START. What you do after you apply (networking, reaching out to hiring managers, getting referrals) matters just as much as hitting “submit.” Here’s an example from one of my clients who just got hired at a Big 4 firm. She's worked in the data space for 20+ years, and her resume tells the story of her leadership AND results vs just listing out responsibilities and duties. SELL YOURSELF, SELL YOURSELF, SELL YOURSELF!! :) If you've got questions about your resume and job search feel free to book a call with me at csgexecutivecoaching.com #ResumeTips #ExecutiveCareers #JobSearch #Leadership #GetHired