I’m an IT Line Manager in my real life. Some managers manage very loosely, some manage very tightly and there are others that fall in between. Regardless of a manager’s style, there is one important trait that I think all managers should have; being calm under pressure.
Things go wrong. Nine times out of ten, how you handle the situation is what you will be judged on. You will be judged by those who report to you and those you report to. The people reporting to you need to have faith that you can guide them out of troubles. The people you report to need to have confidence that you can steer your ship when needed. Here are some signs that will tell you if you are doing this well:
- Your employees are comfortable with bringing the issues up to you.
- Your employees follow what you discuss and plan with them.
- Your boss is not having to constantly step in and make decisions.
- Your boss communicates through you and not around you.
When problems arise you should follow a process that you use to find your way out. You should follow the same process each time to establish a pattern/comfort level with your team and management. For me it is always the following:
- Understand the problem – what is the real impact, what is really broke.
- Before acting, decide if you really do need to act. Nothing is worse than making matters worse. I like the first rule of holes; when you are stuck in a hole – stop digging.
- Establish a basic, bulleted list plan of what has to happen next. You don’t need to solve everything, just what will get you out of hot water.
- Communicate, execute, communicate, execute…
While having troubles or problems is never a great thing. Nothing is more satisfying than solving problems successfully. Be thankful and acknowledge the hard work people do to assist. Yes, you are the captain but they are the ones putting the puck in the net.