How do you spot a beginner manager?

It’s the hatching season again here at Google! People are incubating their precious self-performance evaluations, and soon new managers will hatch into the big world. While well-meaning and highly motivated, the newborns often find themselves wandering in wrong directions, as they make their first steps in this new world.

While doing, trying, and failing is the only way to learn (and no one ever listens to old wizards anyhow), I though to list here 10 characteristic behavioural patterns (not Google specific), I witnessed over the years, which… well… you are better off without.

I hope these will at least increase the self awareness for some, and hey — you can’t be angry at someone for tying to help!

1. Trying to be involved in everything that is happening in your team

2. Feels uncomfortable delegating

3. Over indexes project development over people development

4. Way too many answers and directives, and not enough genuine questions and challenges (to your team)

5. Often overwhelmed and defensive

6. Uncalibrated in people’s performance management - usually scoring all your people as strong performers

7. Overworking the team (often through setting an example), and being proud of it

8. Doesn’t know how to manage low performers, hesitant to provide constructive feedback

9. Says "I" and "my" instead of “we” when talking about the team

10. Way too focused on the layer below and layer above, and misses the bigger picture of the teams and organisation around, and how your team fits within the bigger picture

To end this on a positive and productive note — move on to 10 tips on how to be a better leader.

And don’t forget to have fun!