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What’s Your Best Management Advice? 13 Top Leaders Reply

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Management advice is everywhere. But how do you know which guidance to trust? To find truly useful answers, we asked business executives to answer this question:

If you could give your younger self one piece of advice for how to become a better manager, what would you say?

In response, we received excellent management advice from 13 experienced leaders — including company CEOs, founders, and C-level executives. And I’m sure you’ll agree, the collective wisdom they shared reads like a playbook for any aspiring manager who wants to level up:

  • Prioritize Leadership Skills and Embrace Vulnerability
  • Conduct Regular Check-ins and Learn from Errors
  • Practice Active Listening
  • Master the Art of Delegation
  • Respect Individual Ambitions
  • Create a Psychologically Safe Team Space
  • Seek Team Feedback
  • Plan for Contingencies and Create Transparency
  • Foster Open Communication and Employee Understanding
  • Uplift Others and Practice Humility
  • Listen More and Trust Your Team
  • Develop Strong Relationships and Set Clear Expectations
  • Understand Your Management Style

To dive deeper into these responses, read on…

13 Senior Leaders Share Their Best Management Advice 


1. Prioritize Leadership Skills and Embrace Vulnerability

Reflecting on my own professional journey, I would tell my younger self to prioritize the development of leadership skills over technical expertise. Through the years, as I ascended to the C-suite, I realized my role was less about nitty-gritty details and more about guiding the team toward our shared vision.

For instance, when I was a manager, I was deeply involved in the technical aspects of our projects. I prided myself on my ability to solve complex problems. However, as I moved up the ladder, I found that, although my technical skills remained important, they took a backseat to my leadership abilities. It’s essential to inspire my team, manage people through change, and build a strong, inclusive culture.

My unique advice to aspiring leaders is to embrace vulnerability. It might seem counterintuitive, but showing your human side can actually strengthen your leadership. When I started sharing my own challenges and failures with my team, I noticed a significant increase in their engagement and trust.

Johannes Larsson, Founder and CEO, Financer.com

2. Conduct Regular Check-ins and Learn from Errors

I would advise my younger self to become a better manager by checking in with my team. Humans commit mistakes. Smart humans learn from those errors.

I’ve learned that checking in regularly with each employee makes a difference in our business. Talking with people about their short-term and long-term plans and how to achieve them helps employees feel valued. It improves retention, for sure.

Regular conversations give you a chance to gauge employee satisfaction when it comes to workload. Then you can make adjustments if needed. Early on I failed to do that, which caused us to lose people with strong potential. However, I’ve learned from experience, and am doing better now.

Eli Pasternak, CEO, Liberty House Buying Group

3. Practice Active Listening

If I could go back in time, I would practice active listening. Initially, I focused on sharing my ideas more than understanding my team. Now I recognize the value of listening. It’s important to seek feedback and create an environment where people feel comfortable expressing themselves.

Regular one-on-one meetings and open forums encourage dialogue and collaboration. These practices improve engagement, productivity, and satisfaction.

That’s why I urge mid-level managers to prioritize communication and active listening. Encourage people to engage in meaningful conversations and open dialogue. This unlocks team potential and opens the door to innovation and overall success.

Josh Amishav, Founder and CEO, Breachsense

4. Master the Art of Delegation

I would tell my younger self to accept the fact that I can’t do everything myself. Delegation is a critical skill both for maturing as a team leader and growing a business.

When I was just starting to get the company off the ground, I had an intuitive desire to handle every process myself. Finance, marketing, client management — I spent half of my working time trying to touch areas where I lacked expertise.

Eventually, I saw how unproductive and ineffective that approach was, so I began handing off small tasks. But team members couldn’t see the big picture, so small-scale delegation didn’t help either.

Finally, I realized how important it was to trust my team and rely on their expertise without trying to interfere with their work. Today, I’m lucky to have a team of professionals by my side who let me focus on activities that will yield the highest returns and grow the company.

Tatsiana Kirimava, Co-Founder and CEO, Orangesoft

5. Respect Individual Ambitions

As a driven leader, I used to project my ambition onto my team, expecting everyone to have the same level of commitment and desire to progress professionally. But over time, I realized not everyone aspires to be a C-suite executive — and that’s okay.

It’s crucial to respect the unique ambitions of each team member instead of imposing your own aspirations on them. When I made this mental shift, I saw improved team dynamics and productivity. Moreover, it alleviated unnecessary frustration, allowing me to find greater satisfaction in my work.

Remember, demanding too much from your team can lead to dissonance. Ask people about their goals and ambitions, and you’ll unlock a more harmonious, effective working environment.

Rafael Sarim Öezdemir, Founder and CEO, Zendog Labs

6. Create a Psychologically Safe Team Space

If I could turn back time, I’d tell myself to create a safe space for the team. I never aimed for psychological safety, but it happened. Team members have confided they feel safer than at previous jobs.

Once, a member of our marketing team spotted a software issue. She spoke up without fear, and we fixed it together. Another time, a new guy from the UX team suggested that we add an automation process. Despite being new, he didn’t hesitate to share.

It’s hard to calculate the financial impact of this but I’m sure that psychological safety makes a difference between failure and a team that prospers.

Vladislav Podolyako, Founder and CEO, Folderly

7. Seek Team Feedback

If I could go back in time, I would actively seek more feedback from my team. I used to be close-minded. I believed I had all the answers. However, I soon realized that true growth and improvement come from embracing diverse perspectives and valuing input from others.

By creating an open, safe environment where my team feels comfortable sharing their ideas and concerns, I’ve been able to foster more collaboration and innovation. Also, I’ve gained valuable insights that help me make better decisions and ultimately become a more effective leader.

Chris Muller, Vice President, Money Under 30

8. Plan for Contingencies and Create Transparency

I would encourage myself to make contingency plans a priority. Although planning for success is obviously critical, having backup strategies in place can help address unexpected obstacles that arise.

Effective contingency plans help decision-makers recognize that their leader has fully evaluated the situation and taken appropriate measures to adjust and move forward.

By nature, I am an organized person, so I tend to anticipate potential obstacles and map out other options. But earlier in my career, I wasn’t always transparent about this.

Failing to communicate about contingencies sometimes made my staff uneasy, so I missed opportunities to gain their trust. However, over time, I learned to take proactive steps to support staff through change and reassure them that a Plan B was available.

Tasia Duske, CEO, Museum Hack

9. Foster Open Communication and Employee Understanding

In the past, I’ve seen many problems come from miscommunication and thoughts left unsaid. I know top talent left the company when they felt unheard and underappreciated because their opinions did not receive enough attention. This is why my management advice would be to foster more open communication and listen more closely to employees.

For example, it’s important to conduct satisfaction surveys so you can understand staff concerns and take action to make the work environment better. This reduces employee turnover, as well as the cost of training new hires. It also builds a positive company culture that attracts great people and keeps them on board.

Jeff Moore, CEO, Everyday Power

10. Uplift Others and Practice Humility

“Talent doesn’t give you license to be an a**hole.”

I was both blessed and cursed with many natural gifts and talents. I was creative, charismatic, a born salesman, and a spotlight hog.  When I got the chance to be “the boss,” I assumed I had a responsibility to share my awesomeness with everyone and prove that I could do their job as well or better than they could.

What a jerk I was!

Through the words and actions of various true leaders, I’ve come to realize that great leadership requires humility, patience, and the ability to lift others up to levels they never thought possible. I’m so grateful to those who were patient enough to give me the latitude to figure it out on my own. Today, as a sales and leadership trainer, I’m “paying it forward” by helping others avoid the mistakes I made.

Bill Guertin, Chief Learning Officer, ISBI 360, LLC

11. Listen More and Trust Your Team

When I think back, I remember times when stress was high. People on my team were feeling disconnected and lost trust in me because I communicated much more than I listened.

But leadership is not about being in the front of the team, always speaking or telling people to execute tasks and ideas. Effective leaders do just the opposite.

By practicing saying less and listening more, I stopped believing I needed to carry everything on my shoulders. I learned that people want to feel like they are heard and their contributions matter.

Listen first and believe that your team can add value and succeed. Nurture them so they feel you trust their decisions. Right or wrong, we can learn from our mistakes and create better solutions.

So speak less, inspire those you lead, and trust that your direct reports will rise and deliver great results.

Michele Delgado, CEO, Hartmetrics

12. Develop Strong Relationships and Set Clear Expectations

One piece of advice I would share with myself is to have the courage to step out of my comfort zone and take the time to develop strong relationships with my team.

Strong relationships are key to being a successful leader. Before taking any action, it’s important to understand the motivations and viewpoints of each team member, so you can make informed decisions based on their unique needs. So encourage people to express themselves openly. And when they share ideas, listen actively.

Also, make sure expectations are as clear as possible. Setting expectations up front makes it easier to develop an environment conducive to collaboration and innovation.

Leadership is about inspiring and encouraging your team to do great work. Ensure you acknowledge their efforts, offer guidance, and provide constructive feedback to help them grow. By providing reinforcement and support, you can foster a culture of respect, trust, and appreciation.

Nataliia Tomchyshyn, Marketing Manager, Relokia

13. Understand Your Management Style

Early in my career, I didn’t recognize my management style. Although this is not a necessity, it helps to know your style and how it works in a real-world environment.

For instance, if your approach is more participative, take time to understand the steps involved and their implications. For example, talk with managers who’ve used this approach and learn about its impact. This discovery process doesn’t need to be lengthy, but it can be revealing.

I planned to manage my team based on my predecessor’s advice. Although this helped, it took a long time to develop and test my approach. Fortunately, everything eventually worked out. But the sooner you can get a grasp of your style, the better.

Marco Andolfatto, Chief Underwriting Officer, Apollo Cover

 

Leading Through Change: What Have We Learned?

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Leaders, how are you doing? If you’re feeling weary, I get it. Leading through change is hard. Of course, no one promised it would be easy. But no one saw the pandemic coming, either. Suddenly, it just crashed into our lives and shook us to our collective core.

Covid disrupted everything everywhere all at once. And the virus was only the beginning. Three years later, shock waves continue to roll through the world of work, and we still feel massive reverb. In 2021, it was the Great Resignation. Last year, it was Quiet Quitting. Now, it’s about finding a viable path through the push-pull struggle between return-to-office policies vs. remote work preferences.

On that note, let’s take a brief pulse check. Employers, whatever your current remote work standards may be, how’s that working for you? Moreover, how’s it working for your people?

If you’re ambivalent, you’re not alone. Plenty of organizations are still unsure about committing to long-term flexible work options. But if you think remote work demand is just a passing phase, think again. Just check this chart from Google Trends:

Leading through change - remote work - search interest 5 years - google trends

In short, it means U.S. interest in remote work has never been stronger than today – as measured by the volume of Google searches people conduct each day. In fact, we’ve just reached peak historical interest – 100 on a scale of 0-100. And global interest is growing at a similar rate. Surprised?

But I digress. This really isn’t about remote work, per se. It’s about a deeper issue. Namely, how can we lead through change that’s beyond our control? How can we engage and motivate employees, even in the most difficult circumstances?

Recently, I hunted for some answers to these questions by rewinding the #WorkTrends podcast time machine to June 2020. Three years ago, the world seemed at a low ebb. We were living in isolation. Life seemed sad, volatile, and bleak. Change management felt more like crisis management. But that was the perfect time to compare notes with Doug Butler, who was CEO of Reward Gateway – an employee recognition platform provider.

Doug has seen firsthand how mission, values, and engagement can build or break businesses and work cultures. So I asked him to share some of his best advice. Looking back, his leadership suggestions are still just as useful today…

Leading Through Change: 5 Takeaways

1) Aim for a balance of caution and optimism

When things are tough and circumstances are changing rapidly, communication is everything. Remind yourself and others that you’ve been through serious challenges in the past, so you’ll find a way through this, as well.

Sometimes, the process may be painful. You need to be willing to make mistakes and keep going. But be sure people know that you’ll share what you know, when you know it. Then follow through on that promise.

2) Rebuild and reinforce connections

Be more visible. Show up regularly and be accessible to people, whether it’s virtually or in-person, or a combination. Encourage others to do the same. Video technology helps, but there are two kinds of video to consider:

Virtual meetings are common at Doug’s company. But more importantly, he writes a weekly blog for employees. And during the Covid lockdown, he started including a video summary with each update. People responded well to that personal touch. So all of the company’s leaders began adding a video to their written messages.

3) Make it your mission to sustain engagement

While you’re figuring out how to adjust, it’s important to prioritize team morale and emotional wellbeing. Change naturally takes a toll on people, especially when what’s ahead is unclear. This is another reason why open, honest communication and deliberate action are key.

Doug says this management style is actually very liberating. It’s also the best way to put trust at the center of your culture during difficult times.

4) Recognize the upside of change

Ironically, when things are changing, leaders often see new opportunities. It can open the door to doing things better or doing entirely different things. But Doug cautions leaders not to become distracted by too many opportunities.

You need to prioritize. That’s where listening to others helps. People need to feel like they’re part of the conversation. Listening is another aspect of communication that is essential for the health of your culture and your business.

5) Share your vision for the future

This isn’t about making unilateral decisions and delivering a roadmap. It’s about recognizing that people have a vested interest in the future and inviting them to participate in that discussion. That’s why Doug’s team continuously let people know what was in front of them and what they were considering.

Whatever you plan to do, always frame it with the organization’s mission and values. No one wants to change things just for the sake of change. But with the right context, change can become a powerful way to bring people together.

Leading Through Change: Top 10 “To Dos”

After revisiting that podcast with Doug, I found another source of leadership advice from 2020 that deserves renewed attention. Mark Zuppe, a serial business founder, shared a brilliant article on our blog about how to sustain employee experience during tough times.

In many ways, his advice echoes Doug’s. And I think his recommendations are just as relevant now as they were three years ago. Don’t you?

Tips to Stabilize Employee Experience During the Pandemic

  • Foster transparent communications
  • Keep communications positive and helpful
  • Offer employees ways to relieve stress
  • Adjust your internal processes to the “new normal”
  • Be empathetic and patient with your team
  • Proactively seek employee input
  • Expand inbound feedback channels
  • Promote new safety protocols
  • Help your team recalibrate expectations
  • Recognize the small things

Leading Through Change: What’s Next?

We’ve all had to find ways to keep moving through unrelenting change, for better or worse. We’ve made mistakes and we’ve learned some leadership lessons we never expected to have on our plate. It’s been overwhelming at times. But we’re all better prepared to navigate uncertainty in the future.

Now the question is, will we hold on to those lessons, or leave them behind with our supply of Covid masks? And when the time comes to demonstrate agility again, how will we apply that experience to whatever lies ahead? I hope you’ll share your leadership lessons with me on LinkedIn, or perhaps even in an article or podcast here at TalentCulture.

10 Acts of Humanity Standout Leaders Perform Daily

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Standout leadership doesn’t have to be complicated; it doesn’t have to conform to doctrine advocated by leadership gurus and HR pundits who advocate a more theoretical model.

In my experience, leadership that sets you apart from the crowd boils down to how well you practice a few basic human acts, not on how well you comply with text book principles.

  1. Help others. It’s a basic human instinct to come to the aid of someone in need. When refugees from another country needs help, many in the world respond in a caring way. In an organization, it doesn’t happen as much. When someone suffers a setback we seem to pounce on the opportunity to use their misfortune as a personal opportunity.
  1. Walk in their footsteps. It’s not all about the business; it’s more about the people IN the business. Decisions get implemented only if people are on board with them. Consider how individuals will be impacted before moving forward.
  1. Practice what you preach. ALWAYS show that you only ask others to do what you are prepared to do yourself. Loyal followers are created when they see you act on your own words.
  1. Keep your promises. If you say you will do something make sure you DO it. When you open your mouth others watch your follow up to see if your intent was honest.
  1. Leave the glory to others. Your glory comes only through the success of your employees. Lavish them with praise. Your ego will understand.
  1. Show your emotional side. Real people express their feelings; plastic people hide them. “Expose” yourself to others and watch the magic you create.
  1. Look in their eyes and take notes. Paying attention to and showing interest in what people have to say will ignite their passion. A simple act; an amazing impact.
  1. Say “thank you” a lot. It makes their hard work and pain endured worth it. And it provides fuel for them to do it again.
  1. Share your status in the hierarchy. Everyone understands the organizational pecking order. But if you share some of your special privileges, THEY get to feel important and will engage on a higher level.
  1. Call someone… everyday. It’s important to connect and engage with people in your organization. Make a point of reaching out to a different person daily and have a conversation about what’s going on with them. You will gain incredible insights into what is going on in your organization, and THEY will transformed into a loyal follower.

Common leaders have a good foundation of leadership theory. Standout leaders practice their art from their heart.

Photo Credit: michael mocatta Flickr via Compfight cc

Standout Leaders Covet These 12 Competencies in People

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Leaders don’t hire.

Yes, you hire to fill a job but you recruit to bring in the right “human essence” to your organization to ensure its long-term success.

Discover these competencies in people and gather them around you:

Lifelong learner: If you’re not learning, you bring little future value to an organization. Look for evidence that prospects are active learners. What areas are they interested in? Who have they learned from? What have they done to apply what they’ve learned and how can they be put to use in your organization?

Infection agent: The ability to infect others with the interest and excitement necessary to execute your strategic game plan is a priceless art. Some people have the innate passion and tenacity to get others on the bandwagon. Get ’em on board.

Apologizer: Loyalty building after you have screwed a customer over begins with “I’m sorry”. Find people who do this naturally and are believable. Some can’t. Some don’t want to. If there is no apology, there is zero service recovery.

Human being “lover”: Creating a “wow” factor for customers is about serving them in exemplary ways. Look for people with a natural desire to serve. Memorable customer moments are created by these people. Find them. Nurture them. Protect them. Reward them.

High pain tolerant: Greatness doesn’t come without disappointment and pain along the way. Resilience pays off. Look for the hard skin. Look for people who like to “get dirty”.

Successful failure: Success requires doing lots of imperfect stuff fast, which generally involves people failing along the way. Look for a track record of “tries” – shortfalls but forward motion nevertheless.

Raconteur: Stories bring everything to life, painting a picture of what it looks like when success happens. Bring people in who can skillfully light up someone’s eyes with a story about some aspect of your strategy. Talk the event. Talk the person. Talk the magic.

Descrambler: Execution is complex. An indispensable team member is one who can see through complexity and simplify it so everyone understands what has to be done. Elegance that can’t be implemented is worthless. Get the “dumb down artist”.

Connector: Deliverables to customers are produced through processes working across the organization, not in silos. Broken customer promises occur when a link in the internal supply chain breaks. Identify people who can connect with others and build effective relationships with them.

First responder: A huge aspect of surviving an unexpected tsunami is responding thoughtfully and quickly. Individuals who bring their “A” game when the unexpected happens add a ton of value and are critical to the organization’s continued success.

“Chillax-er”: You need people who react well under extreme pressure – stop, pause, think and respond thoughtfully. This is tough to teach. Covet the mellow ones.

Nano-inch seeker: There’s no such thing as a silver bullet. Progress is made by having executing a strategy flawlessly, inch by inch. Covet those who have the tenacity and perseverance to get an inch fast.

Do you have a “competencies to covet” plan?

Delegation of this critical task is not an option.

Do it yourself.

photo credit: No. 12 via photopin (license)

Do You Flit or Do You Lead?

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Many leaders don’t lead at all, they flit from this to that, from one crisis to another, from one priority to another.

They don’t land on anything.

They don’t spend too long on any one issue because they want to avoid being pinned down for an opinion or having to make a decision. As long as they are on the move, they can “be forgiven” for not clearly understanding an issue enough to have an informed view on it.

They are thinkers who are more comfortable with the rarefied air up high than the details where the devil lives. They tend to be more comfortable with the theory of something rather than practical application; how something sounds trumps whether it actually works.

Those who flit, chase. They are enthralled with busyness. They define the value they contribute by the hours they put in, by the number of calories they burn.

They run toward whatever their boss or executives say is important; they run away from critical issues that prevent front-line people from doing their jobs better. They like the comfort of elegant living rather than the messiness of what goes on in the trenches.

They give multiple-choice directions to others; a range of potential alternatives rather than a clear path to follow. Ever intent on avoiding personal risk, these leaders never want to make the call.

They live somewhere between the extremes of commanding and controlling people and serving them. They lack the conviction to both command the troops to go in a specific direction and the “How can I help?” desire to search for and solve the problems employees face every day.

They go missing in action regularly. Business lunches with colleagues, attending conferences and breakfast meetings account for a significant amount of their away time.

When a crisis happens, you can count on them to be “in their quiet place,” not wanting to get involved.

They hate conflict and will do almost anything to avoid it.

A vice-president of marketing I once reported to had really mastered how to flit. He was a nice enough person, but contributed little in terms of my development as a leader. He provided minimal direction, and always passed my proposals to the president for his opinion before approving me to take action. I liked operating with considerable freedom, but never in a vacuum.

Do you identify with any of these?

  1. You don’t feel comfortable making decisions on your own; you find ways to share the risk.
  1. You insist on more analysis to support most business proposals brought to you.
  1. You are a “consensus addict” and will insist upon support by the many before moving forward.
  1. You don’t directly answer a question from your boss; you always call in the subject matter expert.
  1. You love to network with people outside your company. You find it easier to honor an external obligation than an internal one.
  1. You avoid doing personal performance evaluations with your employees; you don’t set specific objectives for them either.
  1. You avoid contact with employees in other areas of the company. You are more comfortable on your own turf.
  1. You rarely engage in face-to-face employee communications events unless your boss insists you be there; you send lots of e-mails.
  1. You have a To-Do list with at least 10 items on it.
  1. You are generally not asked for your views on key strategic issues of the organization but people who report to you are.

If you answered yes to more than a couple of these questions, you may be flitting not leading.

 

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