July 20, 2021

New Managers: Being "Productive" Means Something Different Now

16 minutes

Do you ever end your day wondering where all the hours went? Your to-do list is longer than it was in the morning, and it feels you got nothing important accomplished.

If you can relate to this, then you're not alone.

As an IC (individual contributor) your main job was to get "stuff" done. Your performance was measured based on how much you accomplished and how fast you achieved your goals.

So that's what you used to define a "productive" day... it was all about scratching things off your to-do list.

But now that you're leading a team, the days can feel so "unproductive." All you do is helping others move their work along and solving their problems while also spending more time than you like sitting in meetings.

So by the end of the day, there is not much to show for all the work you did all day.

I remember when I felt this way. I started to doubt what I really contributed at work and I worried that my team members would see me as a lazy manager because I didn't produce much myself.

What I didn't realize during that time was that I had this whole thing upside down. I changed my role but never updated my definition of what a "productive" or successful day would now look like.

I was stuck in my old definition of what used to make me successful as an IC.

This is a challenge that many of my clients face because it is one of the numerous shifts new managers have to go through.

In this week's episode of The Manager Track podcast, I'll walk you through the 3-step process to sail through this transition and redefine what a "productive" day might now look like for you.

-- RESOURCES MENTIONED --

Jeff Bezos Interview

The Pause Principle

Schedule a call with Ramona

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By Ramona Shaw

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