POLL: What's one thing founders can do to help managers engage teams?

Question

Employees leave bad bosses and not bad companies and there is nothing worse for companies or founders to lose incredible talent due to bad managers. What can founders do to build great managers that can build an engaged workforce.

Abadesi · Accepted Answer

There's definitely no one single thing that will do it, but having clear feedback loops in place is a must for everyone on a team to work well together! I'm also a big fan of user manuals and giving individuals space to say how they like to be managed.

Muhammad Harfoush ✨ · Answer

As a founder, I have always hesitated to hire a manager and even was afraid to become one.

I think, in a startup, one should always hire a people-detail-oriented person more than a technically gifted one. In startups, I believe it is more about empathy. That's why I made sure I chose my employees with the right culture fit and promote from within. If that's not what you want to do, then hire a better (or at least equal to) manager than you are.

Muhammad Harfoush ✨ · Answer

@abhi426 They definitely do. I try to make myself as invisible as possible as a middleman. I make sure the feedback is loud and clear while telling both parties that they're learning this new manager-employee relationship, so it is normal that we will struggle, but once we are open about it, we will learn and understand each other better.

Answer

@abadesi Last part is my favourite. Every one is different and wants different things, giving them space and asking them how they like to be managed has enabled a better relationship with the people I work with.

Abhinav Chugh · Answer

@7arfoush Thats a good approach Harfoush. Do you see people struggle in managerial roles when you promote them from individual contributor to a lead? What kind of support you provide or look to provide to help them build a high performing team?

POLL: What's one thing founders can do to help managers engage teams?

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