“I want to be a people manager, but I don’t want to manage people.”
We’ve never worked with anyone who has said this quite this clearly. Still, some managers we’ve worked with have been ambivalent about the work of management. They have been reluctant to use the authority that comes along with their role. This attitude is understandable, given how little emphasis we’ve seen in organizations on helping managers use it productively and humanely. It’s also problematic. When managers don’t fully inhabit their role, they struggle (and often fail) to set clear expectations, to give productive feedback, to communicate and sponsor effective change, and to support their managers.
We’re excited to share that the “we” at Helping Improve is no longer just Jake & Paul. Allison Pollard has joined us as the third member of the Helping Improve team.