Develop a manager mindset | Google People Management Essentials

What's something that is often overlooked by new and experienced managers, but crucial when building high performing teams? Your mindset. Now, you might be wondering, why focus on mindset first? Well, your mindset can shape everything you do as a manager. It can influence your thoughts, your feelings, and your actions, all of which can directly impact the team. Managers who haven't fully adjusted their thinking patterns may struggle with parts of their roles. That's because being a manager can require a whole new way of thinking about how you work. Taking the time to examine your mindset could lead to some real aha moments. The good news is you can always shift your mindset. We'll go over three key mindset shifts that can set you up to be a more effective manager leading a high performing team. We'll explore helpful questions to ask yourself and common traps you can avoid. All right, let's dig in. Now, think about what you were responsible for before becoming a manager. You likely focused on just the work assigned to you, but now you're accountable for everyone's work on the team. That's the first important mindset shift. This changes your focus from my work to the team's results and how you make them great. Before you might have asked yourself, what do I need to do to achieve my goals and complete this project successfully? Now you need to understand what every team member is working on and ensure the team is on track to achieve its goals. This takes time and it means you'll have to think differently about the tasks you'll need to do yourself. Managers often fall into a trap of trying to do too much alone. This can prevent you from focusing on your most important work and hinder your team's growth. To make this mindset shift, ask yourself, what work should I delegate to team members and what should I handle myself? Are team members set up for success? Do they have the skills and resources they need to hit their goals? and what can I do to help team members work well together? Your success as a manager is no longer about your individual output, but about the collective output of your team. These questions will help make that shift and free up time to manage more effectively. So, what's the second key shift? As a manager, you're no longer focused on just your own career. You also have an enormous impact on the careers of everyone on the team. Before you probably thought carefully about what work you like doing and where you wanted your career to go. Now it's your responsibility to help team members grow, stay motivated, and progress in their careers.