Let us face it! There are certain plain truths about being and becoming a People Manager. Let me begin with becoming one. Some tend to view this as position of power. Some others tend to regret this as an inadvertent blunder they invited. There are still others that consider this as an extra burden they have to contend with. And of course there are those that consider this as a great opportunity to contribute to their organizations in more ways than being an individual contributor. How you perceive your People Manager’s role determines how effective you will manage your ‘circle of influence and contribution.’


Smart and successful managers have believed and realized that being a People Manager is a great honor conferred on them by their organizations. They know that they can make a difference to the people they manage in ways that their team members appreciate and remember for long. Best People Managers also meet & answer one of what is globally known as the Gallup Q12 questions: Do you have a best friend at work? Great Managers are often viewed as the best friend at work by their team members.

Now, does it come easy to be a good People Manager? Far from it. It takes tremendous efforts and learning to become one. Experience tells us that

l. For some, it comes naturally and with training & efforts, they excel at being a People Manager;
2. For many others, it can be coached and they can do a pretty decent job as People Manager;
3. But for some, yes, it is a kind of Core Incompetence! Coaching does not help them, nor does preaching! They are just meant to be good individual contributors and thrusting them with People Management proves a futile exercise on one extreme and a disaster for the team on the other extreme.