How to Step It Up As Manager 如何做个优秀经理

米尔科·赫林

What does a successful manager look like？ Here I dont mean specific practices but rather the more high-level behaviours. The below is what is in my head when I think of successful managers， with many years of managing managers it was well overdue to move this from the frequent coaching discussions into a blog post.

Servant leadership to set a positive example

A servant leader puts the team before her own interest. There are a number of behaviours that servant leaders show：

—External blame stops with her—if there is a problem with something that the team has done， a good manager never blames an individual on the team. To the outside world she absorbs the critique and takes it on herself.

—Praise gets spread liberally—When the team has achieved success， a good manager goes to extra length to make sure everyone in the team gets credit. A servant leader knows that credit multiplies and by giving credit to team members， she will also be getting credit for managing that team.

—Sets good examples by doing what she expects from the rest of team herself. For example， she also comes in when she asks the team to work weekends and makes sure the team has what it needs to be successful.

Ownership of the outcome

As a manager you own the outcome of your team and that includes any dependencies that the team has to manage. As a manager it is your job to get things done with the help of your team. You should consider any deliverable that your team produces as your own deliverable， so make sure you are comfortable with it. Trust the team to get it right， but check on it as you need to. You cannot claim ignorance if someone in your team produces sub-par deliverables.

Has financial and schedule control for the project

No matter whether it is explicitly stated， the expectation is that a manager knows what budget and schedule she has to work with and that at any point she knows how much of it has been consumed. Communicate the status of budget on a regular basis to make sure that people are aware when things change and can let you know when external factors change. It doesnt matter whether you run a small team or a large project this basic is important and the earlier you learn it the better. You might never get asked for it but when you are you are ready and have all the answers.

Communicates double as much as she thinks she should

As a manager you are likely not working on your own tasks anymore; a lot of the work is in stakeholder management. It does not matter what you think， and it is likely that you dont communicate enough. If you have to refer back to a memo from a while back when being questioned about a decision is bad news for you. You want to make sure your stakeholders are well informed and never surprised. That means over-communicate at all times and check whether you have been understood. If anything changes on the project， communicate this and the reason for it as early as possible even when its bad news. Bad news only get worse as time goes by.

Respects the basics and makes sure her team adheres to them

The manager feels responsible that her whole team adheres to the basics of professional behaviour and provides feedback when this is not the case：

—Meetings run efficiently， have agendas and notes are sent around in timely fashion.

—Actions are defined by “Who does What by When”.

—All major work products are documented at sufficient level.

—Commitments are being upheld and when things change it gets communicated early.

—Everyone in the team treats other people with respect and behaves professionally.

—Team members adhere to corporate policies.

Knows her team and herself

Besides delivery of the business outcome， a manager helps everyone to improve. This means she understands the ambitions of each person in the team and coaches them to achieve these ambitions. A good manager plays to the strength of the team members and does not focus on the weaknesses. She also knows her own limitations and is able to ask for help from her team. Last but not least she always knows who is doing what and is aware of the status in case someone asks.

Escalates early and transparently

A manager is careful when reporting status and risks， which means if in doubt she adds a risk or changes the status to something different than green. While many supervisors dont like additional risks or non-green status， the ethically correct and best thing to do for the company is to provide the status to the best of the knowledge of the manager. A good manager also never hides anything. While it is not strictly lying， omitting something relevant is pretty close to it， so similar to the earlier point you should rather over-communicate so that there are no surprises， ever！

I know that there is probably a lot more to be said， but the above are for me critical things I want to see from a manager. After all each project is different but the above characteristics create successful teams and winning cultures. Something we all aim for.

成功的经理是什么样的？这里我并非意指具体的习惯做法，而是指更高层次的行为素养。以下是我对成功经理的一些思考，做了多年对经理的管理工作，其實过去早该将这些频繁进行的培训讨论整理成一篇文章发博客了。

树立服务型领导的正面榜样

服务型领导将团队置于自身利益之上。服务型领导的行为表现包括：

——外界的责备止于经理。如果团队在某件事上出现问题，优秀的经理永远不会归咎于团队中的某个人。面对外界，经理会自己承受批评、承担责任。

——广泛赞扬。当团队取得成功时，优秀的经理会竭尽全力确保团队中每个人都得到赞誉。服务型领导知道一荣俱荣的道理，通过给予团队成员赞誉，经理本人也会因管理该团队而获得荣誉。

——想让团队成员做什么，须以身作则。比如，要求团队成员周末加班时，经理本人也会到场，并为团队完成任务创造必要的条件。

承担结果

作为经理，你要承担团队的工作结果，个中包括须由团队管理的任何附屬事项。作为经理，你的工作是在团队的帮助下完成任务。你应该将团队的任何应交付成果都视为自己的应交付成果，所以要确保自己对成果满意。相信团队会把任务完成好，但必要时也要检查。如果团队中有人工作不合格，你不能宣称不知情。

控制项目的资金和进度

不管是否明确要求，经理都应知道自己必须处理的预算和时间表，并且随时掌握进度。定期与团队成员沟通预算执行状况，以确保大家知道事态何时发生变化，自己也可以了解外部因素何时发生变化。无论管理小团队还是大项目，这一基本原则很重要，而且越早了解越好。或许你永远不会为此惹上麻烦，但一旦有了麻烦，你已准备好解决问题的答案。

尽己所能增加交流

作为经理，你可能不再是只做自己的任务，很多工作都涉及管理各方利益。你的想法无关紧要，很可能是你的沟通不够。如果在被问到某个决定时你不得不回查之前的备忘录，这对你来说可不是好事。你要确保你的利益相关者充分了解情况和不感到意外。这意味着始终保持充分沟通，并检查是否已被理解。如果项目发生任何变化，即使是坏消息，也应尽早传达并说明原因。随着时间的流逝，坏消息只会变得更糟。

本人和团队都要恪守基本准则

经理要对整个团队的基本职业操守负责，并在出现问题时提供反馈：

——高效开会，及时发送议程和记录。

——围绕“谁在何时做什么”确定行动方案。

——对所有主要工作产品做好充足的文档记录。

——恪尽职守，事态有变时尽早沟通。

——团队中每个成员都尊重他人并表现专业。

——团队成员遵守公司政策。

了解团队和自己

除交付业务成果外，经理还要帮助每个人提升自己。这意味着了解团队中每个成员的抱负，并指导他们实现这些抱负。优秀的经理会发挥团队成员的长处，而不是盯着他们的短处。经理还要知道自己的局限，能向团队寻求帮助。最后同等重要的一点是，经理始终知道谁在做什么，有人询问时可以做到对一切了如指掌。

有问题尽早无隐瞒上报

经理在报告工作状态和风险时要谨慎，这意味着如有疑问，会添加风险或将状态指示更改为绿色（正常状态）以外的其他颜色。尽管许多主管不喜欢额外的风险或非绿色状态，但对公司而言，经理尽己所知给出判断是符合职业道德也是最佳的处理方式。优秀的管理者也从不会隐藏什么。省略某些相关信息虽然不是严格意义上的说谎，但也相当接近了;因此，就像前面提到的，应该保持充分沟通，这样才能始终避免出现意外！

我知道可能还有很多问题可以讲，但对我来说，以上是我希望一个经理具备的至关重要的东西。毕竟每个项目各不相同，但具备以上特质就可以打造成功团队和制胜文化——这是我们共同追求的目标。

1埃森哲负责全球开发运维实践和亚太区敏捷实践的董事总经理，开发运维实践专家。