Three not so obvious duties of a manager

Giving everyone their due

There are charismatic people in your team. They know how to talk glibly and build a reputation in the organization. They excel at the art of self-promotion(intentionally or not). Senior leadership knows them. When you, their manager, makes a case for their raise or promotion, it smoothly goes through.

Then, there are those in your team who silently excel at work. They are fantastic; everyone on the team knows. They do not self-promote—people external to the team, and senior leadership have no clue about these quiet folks. When you, their manager, makes a case for their raise or promotion, it is not smooth—data is asked, and questions are raised; you need to put in the effort and persevere to make them get what they deserve.

As a manager, you must make sure that your team’s silent but deserving members get their due as much as those who excel at building visibility in the organization.

Promoting the right leaders

If you are an extrovert and know your way around people, everyone assumes that you are a natural leader. There are going to be people in your team who fit this bill. They usually self-select themselves as leaders in the team.

Then, there are those introverts who would make great leaders but do not self-select. As a manager, you must make sure that you promote the right people in your team for leadership roles—not only those who self-select.

Be the bad cop

If you want to make everyone happy, don’t be a leader; sell ice cream.
Steve Jobs

When you are a manager for long enough, there will be the occasional bad apple in your team—people who exhibit behavior that bring down the team’s efficiency. No one in the team will confront these people and ask them to fix their behavior—everyone avoids confrontation. As a manager, you must fish out the bad apples and ask them to do the right thing—be the team’s bad cop.

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