What I’ve learned.

I hire managers for how they develop others.

Technical expertise matters. I also look at how someone supports colleagues and helps them take responsibility for their work.

I need managers who can disagree with me.

We agree on what each manager can decide. When a decision is sound, I let it stand even if I would have chosen differently.

People need to know why things change.

I explain why a change is happening and what it means for the team. That conversation needs to continue as people encounter it in their work.

I mistook patience for fairness.

If I find myself doing parts of a manager’s job, I need to ask whether the role is working. Avoiding that conversation can be unfair to the person as well as the team.

I want to see what supports the answer.

I ask how an answer was reached and what supports it, whether it came from a model, a colleague or a presentation.

I plan for what happens after launch.

Evaluation, monitoring, audit trails and cost control need an owner and a place in the delivery plan.