The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You

by Julie Zhuo

we need both time to think alone (because our brains are most creative when we’re by ourselves) and time to engage with others (because hearing different perspectives creates sparks that lead to even better ideas).

“the curse of knowledge”—the cognitive bias that makes it difficult for them to remember what

it’s like to be a beginner seeing the content for the first time.

The change we made to our decision and review meetings was to ask the organizers to send out any presentations or documents the day before so that everyone got the chance to process the information in advance.

After the meeting, send out a recap to the attendees with a summary of the discussion, a list of specific action items and who is responsible for each,

Hard questions are good! Get them off your chest! I

give everyone a pad of Post-it notes and ask them to write down their thoughts on the topic.

By encouraging people to get their own thoughts down on paper before sharing them, the barrier to participation is lowered.

“Hang on, Ann wasn’t finished.”

“John looks like

he wants to say something.

strong signal that you believe better outcomes come from hearing a diversity of perspectives.

If you trust that the right outcomes will happen without you, then you don’t need to be there.

“good meetings can boost employee morale.”

not just smart but unusually dedicated and thoughtful.

even a single great hire can make a big difference in your team’s outcomes.

hiring is not a problem to be solved but an opportunity to build the future of your organization.

Which specific skills or strengths do we need in our team

What traits, past experiences, or personalities would strengthen the diversity of our team?

You’re also fundamentally a different person. You learn and grow, you think about things differently.”

to understand how they’ve done in the past on similar projects in similar environments.

what’s presented is a team effort, ask for clarification on which pieces the individual was responsible for.

Whenever we open up a new role, the first thing I do is make sure my entire team knows we’re hiring.

But ask your network of trusted colleagues if they can help put you in touch with a mutual connection that they also trust.

The first is that people typically improve their skills over time, so discount negative feedback that isn’t recent.

Having multiple interviewers can reduce bias and catch subtle red flags that any one person

might have missed.

don’t see a reason why we shouldn’t hire her

Since every hire is already a gamble, reject any weak hires.

when you show up with a clear sense of what you want to learn about the person.

Could he walk me through how he set goals on a particular project? Could he describe the most difficult challenge he’d encountered in his past job and how he tackled it? Could he honestly describe his strengths and weaknesses (and did he admit that one of those weaknesses was communication)?

Only you can decide what questions you should ask, because only you know what you’re looking for.

What kinds of challenges are interesting to you and why? Can you describe a favorite project? This tells me what a candidate

Imagine yourself in three years. What do you hope will be different about you then compared to

Prioritizing diversity isn’t just a poster or a slogan. It’s the belief that diversity in all aspects—from gender to race to work history to life experiences

to better ideas and better results.

from people who come with different perspectives?

Prioritizing diversity means that you actively seek out candidates who offer something different.

As a manager, one of the smartest ways to multiply your team’s impact is to hire the best people and empower them to do more and more until you stretch the limits of their capabilities.

But you trust in the process.

her team to understand what they think is important in a leader.

her assess a candidate’s technical skills.

bring in a variety of people to interview so she can become better calibrat...

Recruiting top talent is all about the relationships you build.

When they’re looking for their next role, they tend to choose opportunities that they already know to be great.

before. If you could get a job anywhere, why would you join a team where you don’t know a soul? That’s why attracting the best people is a long-term investment. Pay attention to the rising stars of your field and get to know them through conferences, mixers, and other events. Continuously

build your network.

Jobs may be short, but careers are long.

The path to success is never a straight line.

You do it quickly.