Program Tactics #004 - Reputation

"The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.”

— Socrates

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Estimated reading time: 3.5 mins

Program managers are judged twice

Reputation: the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something.

It takes time for for your colleagues to hold a belief or opinion about you, but that's half the story.

If Bob the baker has a great reputation for baking cakes, it only tells us about his occupation and cakes. We cannot say the same about his ability to prepare sushi-- we just don't know.

The same is true at work.

Paul is an excellent program manager and he's developed a reputation about it. He knows how to run programs, create artifacts, communicate, resolve issues, etc.

Does that mean Paul also has a great reputation for leadership? Not necessarily. I know plenty of program managers that are excellent at program execution, but they're not the best at leadership (no offense, Paul).

Technical and leadership reputation

Your technical reputation is your program management ability. The tools, the sheets, the risks, the issues, the comm plan, the changes, stakeholder management, you name it. If you're a technical program manager, this also doubles as being technical enough to work with engineers.

Your leadership reputation is your ability to lead people both in single and group settings. Resolving conflict, building consensus, encouraging others, making people feel safe, fostering trust, investing in your people, etc.

As program managers we get all the responsibility of a manager and none of the authority like an individual contributor, so we must build both.

One of the big challenges of an individual contributor becoming a manager for the first time is realizing what got them there in the first place (technical reputation) doesn't work for skilling to the next level (leadership reputation). That's a post for another day.

The same is true for progressing to more senior program management positions. Program managers that get promoted aren't the ones that are better at change management plans and spreadsheets, they're the ones that are better at leadership-- full stop.

The Tactic

Check to see if you have the right balance of reputation.

Could someone that calls you an excellent program manager also call you an excellent leader, or vice versa?

Do a self assessment of where you think you're at, then invest in developing those skills. Invest in courses, trainings, books, certificates, podcasts, and lectures to support your weakness.

Okay but which books, podcasts, and trainings?

When it comes to leadership, it's simply not a check the box exercise.

Listen to Simon Sinek explain what leadership is in 5 minutes.

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Tactically speaking, you'll want to install a habit.

1 course a quarter, 1 book a month, 1 podcast a week, etc - whatever your system looks like, just develop a system and implement a new learning every week.

If you did this example system for 1 year, you will have completed 4 courses, 12 books, 52 podcasts and learned 52+ new skills. You'd be a completely different person at year's end.

Find the medium and subject you're interested in so that you'll actually complete it. Ask mentors you admire for their recommendations (bonus: it lets you speak the same language).

If you're still drawing a big blank and following Simon's work didn't convince you to start there, message me with where you think you need help and I'll send you one suggestion.

Questions to think about

• When you're leading your program, are you farming out tasks and disappearing until the next status meeting?
• Are taking the time to talk to people on the team to figure out how to best support them?
• Do you know how to motivate your team members in different ways?
• Do people want to work with you, or do they have to work with you?
• Are you making an effort to grow as a leader and develop new skills?
• What kind of example do you set for your team members?
• Do you give feedback to your team members?
• Are you good at resolving conflict?
• Do you have a leadership vision?

Reputation will open many doors.

Make sure you're known for it.

Then turn the knob.

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