Managing Through Managers Without Losing the System
How To Manage Managers By Dr Riaan Steenberg Managing managers is different from managing individual contributors.
By Dr Riaan Steenberg
Managing managers is different from managing individual contributors.
A manager works through other people, so their performance is visible in
the clarity, confidence, and capability of the team they lead.
Manage the System
Managers need an operating system: decision rights, meeting rhythms,
performance standards, escalation rules, and coaching expectations.
Without that system, senior leaders either over-control managers or
leave them alone until something breaks.
Measure Leverage
Do not judge managers only by activity. Judge the leverage they
create. Did they make the team clearer, remove recurring friction,
develop people, and improve decision quality?
Management exists to multiply useful work, not to become a bottleneck
for it.
Coach the Pattern
When a manager struggles, look for the pattern beneath the incident.
Avoided conflict, unclear delegation, slow decisions, poor follow-up,
and weak standards each require different coaching.
The best managers are built through honest feedback attached to real
work.
To manage managers well, treat management as a discipline. Give
authority, demand clarity, coach patterns, and hold the standard that
teams should become stronger under their leadership.
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