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Amy B., remind me how long you've been a manager.
I have been a manager for about 30 years.
That's a long time.
28 years. Yeah.
And have you managed both people and projects-
Yeah
... that whole time?
Both, and they were inseparable. I mean, so projects, it was managing a section of a magazine, that sort of thing.
Right. Did you find one more challenging, being responsible for a project for the first time or being responsible for someone else?
Oh my God. Well, managing people is infinitely more challenging.
How so?
Getting a project done has a beginning, middle, and an end.
Mm.
And then it's over. But managing people is ongoing, and the sense of responsibility you feel for their well-being in the workplace, I really take it seriously that I want people on my team to want to be part of that team and to-
Mm
... wanna do the work every day, and to feel really proud of what they do, and for their development insofar as they need help with that.
Yeah.
You know?
Yeah. So when you first started out, though, did you have that same sense of purpose and vision about what you wanted to do?
Absolutely not. All those years ago, I don't recall anyone learning about management, thinking about management as a separate pursuit from getting a magazine out or getting a TV show produced, right?
Right. You were just focused on the end game-
Right
... not, not the process.
Exactly. It was all about the thing we were doing, not about how we were getting it done.
Yeah. I have one more question about this transition you made. In the early days of being a manager, what did you find most challenging?
You know, in the very early days, you're hit by so many new expectations that just getting them into focus and understanding what's going on here-
Mm
... is hard. But I do remember early on just having this realization that I had gone from, as a solo contributor, really having to fight for myself-
Mm-hmm
... to reorienting to the idea that I'm fighting for the people I work with-
Mm
... who work on my team, but also for the organization.
Mm.
Right? That my responsibilities extend way beyond me. [upbeat music] You're listening to Women at Work from Harvard Business Review. I'm Amy Bernstein.
And I'm Amy Gallo. Learning to lead other people is a stressful
Episode notes
Learning to lead other people is a stressful stretch assignment. Much of that stress stems from the misconceptions many people bring into the job. They think they know what the role will entail, and then they start doing the work and realize they don’t know what they’ve gotten themselves into. Gender bias often makes the transition more painful for women since a lot of people, unfortunately, still don’t see us as cut out for leadership, even if they’d never say so to our face.
Three women who’ve recently moved into management speak candidly about being newly in charge of other people: the surprises, the rewards, and recent challenges. If you’re a new manager yourself, we hope you’ll find comfort in knowing that you’re not alone in any struggles you might be facing— and that you’ll get some ideas for how to deal. And if you’re just curious about becoming a boss, we hope that you’ll come away more prepared for the job and confident that you can do it too.
Chapters:
00:00 – Intro
05:12 – How Did You Become a Manager?
09:06 – Challenges as a New Manager
15:09 – Getting Feedback from Direct Reports
20:00 – Managerial Mindsets/The Double Bind
24:36 – How to Handle Performance Reviews
29:14 – When to (Not) Take Your Predecessor’s Advice
32:55 – Measuring Your Success as a People Manager
39:45 – Outro
Resources:
- “Becoming the Boss,” by Linda A. Hill: