Becoming a manager is a natural progression in a career journey. The role of a manager is appealing as it may lead to more influence, increased pay, and the opportunity to have more control over the direction of your career. However, the role may come with increased ambiguity, unclear expectations, and the need to manage various types of employees.  

However, sometimes a highly successful individual contributor when promoted to management may not end up being a talented manager.  Why is that?  Are there some people that are more suited for management?  

You might have a sense from working for past managers what the traits are that make a good manager. A good manager makes us feel appreciated, helps us to grow and develop, and provides clear expectations and feedback. In fact, more employees are looking for their manager to be more of a coach than a boss.  

Let’s consider the coaching analogy. A good coach knows their players. They observe and come to know their strengths and their weaknesses. A good coach is aware of what motivates and what frustrates their players and can guide and develop them. And a good coach knows the end goal and can clearly communicate their expectations.  

Source: https://www.smartwinnr.com/post/coach-or-manager-what-does-your-team-want/ 

So how do you successfully transition from being an individual contributor to being a successful manager –a manager that everyone wants to work for? 

At PeerSpectives Consulting we work with managers and high-performing leaders,  empowering them to first understand the strengths that they bring to their role and then provide them with tools to understand the strengths of their team players.  

As Gallup-Certified Strength Coaches, we use the Gallup CliftonStrengths® assessment to uncover each team member’s natural ways of thinking, behaving and feeling. This gives the manager valuable insights, enhancing their ability to coach their team members, and improving collaboration and productivity. This can be all brought together visually on a Team Strengths Grid. 

This information about their team provides the manager with an understanding of what motivates each team member and what each team member contributes. This information can form the basis of strength-based coaching conversations, allowing the manager to provide their employees with ongoing feedback, much more frequently than at the once-a-year performance review.  

If you are a new manager or an experienced manager that wishes to know more about your own strengths, consider taking the CliftonStrengths® assessment to empower your management style.  

Stephanie Koonar is a marketing professional, academic, career coach, and workshop facilitator. A Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach and Co-Founder of PeerSpectives Consulting. Stephanie and Co-Founder, Louann McCurdy offer private coaching for individuals and Managers and facilitate Team Building Workshops.  More information at www.PeerSpectives.ca or contact Stephanie at sk.PeerSpectives@gmail.com.