I talk to managers every day as a part of my free mentoring program for managers (info in my profile, although I’m booked till the end July), and I’ve spoken to

I talk to managers every day as a part of my free mentoring program for managers (info in my profile, although I’m booked till the end July), and I’ve spoken to 60+ people from 12 countries since this past February when I launched. Many of whom are from right here on HN! A few thoughts. There’s no universal rule to “what makes a good manager” because that’s going to vary by team, company size, and culture. A flexible manager (but one need not be flexible to be great) can adapt to multiple situations where they need to be hands on with junior developers on one team, while simultaneously being the macro-manager for a senior team that requires blocking and tackling, not direct guidance. In other words, being a good fit for your team is an important place to start. Another “universal” truth is feedback. That means demonstrating appreciative feedback very often, delivering coaching feedback as needed, and giving effective evaluative feedback on a regular (quarterly, semi-annually?) basis. This is the most common issue most managers talk to me about in my program, as they don’t feel equipped to understand how to do each of those steps effectively. (Check out the book Thanks For The Feedback for more info on this) Another universal truth is trust. You and your manager need to build a trusting relationship (typically this starts in 1:1s, and is why they are so critical 99% or the time), and it needs to be bidirectional. The worst advice you’ll read on the internet re: 1:1s as a manager is that you should tell your team member “this meeting is for you, not me”. In fact, “this meeting is for us” is the correct statement. Think about any healthy relationship you’ve had in your life. They are always bi-directional relationships, where each party is putting in as much as they are taking out. One of the key things I also harp on is around being “energizing” as a manager. Jack Welch has his “4Es and a P” framework for what makes a great manager. One of which is “energizing”. Whether it’s by running a team meeting that helps you see your purpose, running a one on one that leaves you feel buzzing, giving you that spot on appreciative feedback that lets you know what you did matters... Each of these things helps to keep you engaged and energized as a team member. When everyone feels that way, and is in sync, great things can happen. Sometimes at a rocket ship company the progression of the business is enough to do this and mask bad managers. If you ever find yourself at a company that’s struggling to grow, but your manager still keeps you engaged despite this, that’s a great sign. If you’re a manager reading all of these posts and looking for help on how to build out these skills, my company runs a multi-week (2 hours every other week) remote cohort program to help you understand how to be an effective leader for your people. It’s a great way to network, learn from experts, and engage that desire to be a better manager. Hope you check it out: https://connect.eagerlabs.com https://connect.eagerlabs.com