How to Manage Managers: 5 Tips for Managing Managers

Managers who oversee the work of other managers can benefit from a few readily applicable tips:

1. 1. Set clear metrics. Give managers clear metrics to set them up for success. These key performance indicators (KPIs) will tell the managers what defines a job well done and can give them a roadmap toward leading their team members.
2. 2. Build relationships through check-ins. Check-ins are an effective way to build trust between managers and their higher-ups. These may be monthly or weekly and allow senior leadership to offer performance reviews and check in on progress.
   
3. 3. Know the required management skills. When hiring, be clear about the necessary competencies for the new management role. This will make for a smoother transition and a stronger management team.
4. 4. Hire new managers with unique management styles. Higher-ups and mid-level managers do not have to have the same perspectives. Varying outlooks can help diversify efforts, encourage collaboration, and increase creativity.
5. 5. https://www.masterclass.com/articles/employee-retention-guide. Managers will want their own space and supervising capacity. Giving them freedom and flexibility can improve employee satisfaction and yield better retention rates.

Managers and individual contributors fulfill different organizational roles, requiring slightly different management styles. An individual contributor is likely not on a management track and will not oversee other employees. Relationships between contributors and managers will be more one-on-one. Individual contributors need clear KPIs, a desire to collaborate toward other teams’ goals, and measured but not dramatic supervision.

Managers, however, will oversee a team of employees, which means when you manage these managers, you also indirectly oversee their lower-level staff. As with individual contributors, set metrics are essential to success with managers. You must also consider their employees' productivity, satisfaction, and team culture in supervising these managers.

Each organization will have its unique hierarchy, but in general, managers fall into four different groups:

1. 1. Top-level managers: These managers represent senior leadership. They may be CMOs, CEOs, or other members of the C-suite. They will be concerned with overarching brand strategy and rely on middle managers to oversee execution.
2. 2. Middle managers: Middle managers take the ideas and directives of top-level managers and ensure they are creatively, profitably, and punctually executed by lower-level managers. These middle-tier workers will straddle two critical parts of the pecking order: reporting to the top and overseeing the bottom.
3. 3. First-line managers: First-line managers are given specific tasks and help hire team members who are needed to accomplish said projects. They will be important in maintaining company culture and task supervision.
4. 4. Team leaders: Depending on the size of a company, team leaders may be in place to act as a captain of a specific team (such as for sales in a determined region or marketing for a defined demographic). These team leaders will take directives from the first-line managers and fulfill granular tasks with their team.

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