When They Win, You Win

Picture this: You've just been promoted to your first management role, and suddenly everyone expects you to have all the answers. Sound familiar? You're not alone. Across organizations worldwide, talented individual contributors are thrust into leadership positions with little more than a pat on the back and a "good luck." The result? A staggering 15% global employee engagement rate, with managers explaining 70% of that variance.

Here's the reality that no one talks about: becoming a great manager isn't about being the smartest person in the room or having all the technical skills. It's about mastering three fundamental elements that create what we call "happy results" – teams that do extraordinary work while being totally energized by it. When you focus on providing clear Direction, effective Coaching, and genuine Career investment for your people, something magical happens. They don't just succeed – they thrive. And when they win, you win too.

The foundation of great leadership begins with crystal-clear direction. Think of yourself as both cartographer and navigator, responsible not just for knowing the destination, but for creating the map that gets everyone there safely. Direction isn't about micromanaging every step – it's about establishing a framework so robust that your team can make smart decisions even when you're not in the room.

Consider the story of Ryan Smith at Qualtrics, who transformed how his company set direction through their "Big Bets" process. Each January, instead of executives dictating goals from the top down, Ryan gathered his entire global leadership team for an intensive collaborative planning session. Teams would break into working groups, dive deep into problems, and emerge with carefully crafted objectives that everyone had a hand in creating. The result? By the time goals were finalized, over a hundred leaders weren't just aware of the company's direction – they were personally invested in making it happen.

Effective direction operates on four levels, from longest-lasting to most immediate: Purpose defines why your team exists, Vision describes what success looks like in concrete terms, OKRs translate that vision into quarterly measurable outcomes, and Priorities ensure daily and weekly actions align with bigger goals. Start by working with your team to articulate your core purpose – not in isolation, but through collaborative discussion that honors everyone's perspective. Then paint a vivid picture of your envisioned future, making it tangible enough that team members can visualize exactly what achievement looks like.

When your people understand not just what they're doing but why it matters and where it's leading, they transform from task-completers into mission-driven contributors. Clear direction doesn't constrain creativity – it unleashes it by giving everyone the confidence to innovate within meaningful boundaries.

Great managers understand a fundamental truth: your most powerful tool for enabling success isn't budget allocation or resource planning – it's coaching. Every interaction becomes an opportunity to help someone get better, whether through improvement feedback or continue coaching that helps people understand what they should keep doing.

The transformation of one Qualtrics manager, Sylvie, perfectly illustrates coaching's power. Initially scoring among the lowest in manager effectiveness, Sylvie's first reaction to feedback was defensive – understandably so, given that criticism naturally triggers our threat response. But when she realized the assessment wasn't about punishment but partnership, everything changed. Working together to identify specific improvement areas and create an action plan, Sylvie went from one of the lowest-scoring managers to one of the highest in a single quarter. Her team's engagement soared, and they became known as the go-to team for the company's toughest challenges.

Effective coaching operates on two levels: helping people improve what isn't working, and helping them continue what is. The improvement side requires courage and skill – you must learn to challenge people directly while caring about them personally. Use the SBI framework: describe the Situation clearly, focus on observable Behavior, and explain the Impact. But don't forget continue coaching – specific praise that helps people understand exactly what they're doing well. Research suggests a five-to-one ratio of praise to criticism works best.

Remember, the best coaches assault the power differential between manager and employee. Ask for feedback regularly, listen with genuine curiosity, and always follow up on what you hear. When you create an environment where everyone's voice matters and tough conversations happen with care, you'll discover that coaching isn't just about making others better – it makes you better too.

The most overlooked element of great management is also the most transformative: genuinely investing in your people's long-term career aspirations. This isn't about promising promotions you can't deliver – it's about understanding who your people really are and what they dream of becoming, then helping them take concrete steps toward those dreams.

Larry's story demonstrates this perfectly. A high-performing director at Google, Larry felt stuck and frustrated, constantly worried about fairness and his career trajectory. Everything changed when his manager asked a simple question: "Where do you think this is all heading?" Through a series of conversations, Larry articulated his dream of becoming a CEO of a midsize consumer tech company, possibly in video. With this vision clear, they could identify the skills Larry needed – product management experience, global operations knowledge – and create a specific action plan. Larry eventually transitioned into product management at YouTube and continues progressing toward his ultimate vision.

Career conversations happen in three structured phases, ideally within three weeks. First, explore their life story to understand their core values – the pivots and choices that reveal what truly motivates them. Don't just ask what they value; dig into their decisions from childhood through career, looking for patterns. Second, help them articulate their dream job with specificity: What industry? What size company? What role? Finally, create a Career Action Plan with four components: changes to their current role, formal skill development, identifying the next job, and activating relevant networks.

The magic happens when you show people that you care about their success beyond your four walls and beyond their current role. You're not just their manager for the brief time they report to you – you're a catalyst in their much longer career journey. When people feel genuinely cared for as human beings, when they see you investing in their long-term dreams, engagement soars and performance follows.

The path from good intentions to great leadership requires systematic implementation. The STAC framework – Select, Teach, Assess, Coach – provides your roadmap for embedding these practices into your daily leadership routine. Too many organizations select managers based on technical excellence rather than leadership potential, then provide minimal training and even less ongoing support.

Start by honestly assessing your current approach to each element. Are you providing crystal-clear direction, or are people guessing at expectations? Do you coach regularly and specifically, or only during formal reviews? Have you invested time in understanding each person's career dreams? The twelve manager effectiveness questions throughout this framework give you concrete ways to measure progress and identify improvement opportunities.

Implementation begins with a single conversation, a single clearly defined expectation, or a single piece of specific feedback delivered with care. Choose one person on your team and begin their Life Story conversation – you'll be amazed how this single hour transforms your relationship and your understanding of what motivates them. Or implement a weekly fifteen-minute standup where everyone shares their top three priorities, ensuring alignment and focus.

Remember that becoming a great manager is a journey, not a destination. You'll make mistakes – we all do. What matters is your commitment to enabling other people's success, your willingness to challenge and care simultaneously, and your dedication to seeing each team member as a whole human being with dreams worth nurturing. When you consistently provide Direction, Coaching, and Career investment, you create the conditions where extraordinary things happen naturally.

Leadership isn't about having all the answers or being the smartest person in the room – it's about creating conditions where your people can do their best work while feeling genuinely energized by it. The three elements of Direction, Coaching, and Career form a simple yet powerful system that measurably improves both engagement and results. As the research clearly shows, better management equals better outcomes, and there's no more leveraged investment you can make than developing your ability to lead others well.

The most profound insight from years of studying great managers is this: "You are responsible for everything your team does or fails to do." This isn't a burden – it's an opportunity to be the catalyst that launches people into the far reaches of their careers. Start today with one conversation, one moment of clear direction, or one piece of caring feedback. Your people are watching, hoping, and waiting for leadership that recognizes their full humanity while challenging them to achieve more than they thought possible.