Manager mode: the mindset that maintains the alliance

Aligning company vision and individual vision is the start-up holy grail: a magical blend of purpose, identity, goals and motivation that constitute the perfect recipe for success. But, like with any good recipe, there’s no point in sourcing and mixing the right ingredients only to not cook it properly. After taking the effort to prepare and build a company-individual alliance, it’s crucial to manage it well if you want Michelin-starred performance. Here’s how you do it.

Understanding the three roles

It’s easy to think of the alliance in terms of just two parts – the company and the individual – but, in fact, there are three fundamental ‘roles’.

Individual – The ingredients. Individuals bring their unique capabilities and, given the right conditions, they flourish. They need to establish ‘what’s in it for me’ (WIFM), articulate ‘how to get the best out of me’ and drive their own career development.

Leader – The dish. Rooted in the perspective of what matters most for the company, leader mode involves setting a clear purpose and vision, and communicating this to individuals. As decision-makers and direction-givers, leaders take a far-sighted, aspirational lens to articulate the aims and goals of the company.

Manager – The chef. Manager mode is the role which helps the individual take baby steps towards the aims articulated by the leader. Managers handle each individual perspective with due care and respect in order to get the best out of them.

All three roles have distinctive responsibilities, which are vital for overarching team performance. Every company needs them all and, in the non-hierarchy of a start-up, these ‘roles’ have no bearing on job title. In fact, two of the roles are often played by the same person. For a founder, the ability to switch between leader and manager is key to building a long-lasting, high-performing team.

How to excel in manager mode

Being a great chef is part science and a lot of art. It’s the same in manager mode: use the science to create great manager ‘habits’ and, like all great artists, practise every day.

Great manager habits are those which enable individuals to realise their own career visions. These include developing effective ways to have a regular dialogue: give praise, recognition and feedback; listen, take on and share information; ask great coaching questions and have difficult conversations.

I truly believe the quality of an employee experience relates directly to how much managers encourage the individual throughout their time at the company. To do this successfully, managers should:

• Take the individual’s perspective. For each member of the team, work out what each person needs to fulfill their goals.
• Keep the company goals in mind. Find ways to bind individual and company motivations.
• Celebrate all the small steps. You can only get there one step at a time. Sign up for many hours in the kitchen.

The results

Manager mode is the mindset that makes the alliance flourish and doing it right will put the proverbial cherry on top of your perfectly-balanced meal.

If you are a founder, just make sure that you spend enough time practising both roles; at times leader and at others, manager. Your team will appreciate and respect your ability to set a clear direction for your company. Meanwhile, in manager mode, enabling individuals to optimise their own career development is a truly rewarding experience for all involved.

In one of our recent workshops, a tough-minded, highly-experienced woman cracked a broad – and rarely seen – smile after she realised that she not only held the keys to her own potential at work, but that her company wanted to help her be the very best version of herself. One small step for womankind, one giant leap for woman.