A menu of questions to ask your future manager
Most people leave jobs due to their manager; why not take the time to assess whether they are a good fit for you upfront?
Hey, it’s 📣 Coach Erika! Welcome to a ✨ free edition✨ of The Career Whispers. Each week I tackle reader questions about tech careers: how to get one, how to navigate them, and how to grow and thrive in your role.
If you’ve found your way over by some miracle but are not yet subscribed, here, let me help you with that:
This week, I’ll serve up a menu of questions you can ask any potential future manager to understand more about their management style and assess mutual fit.
Let’s dive in.
Always interview your manager
It’s a bit of a cliche, but it’s true that “people don’t leave jobs, they leave managers.”
It’s also true that people stay in jobs that on the outside lack the perks, compensation, and prestige of other jobs—simply because they have an excellent manager who is investing in their growth and development.
Finding the right manager is like finding a great life partner. It’s worth the extra effort, and it pays a lifetime of dividends.
You would never marry someone on the first date, or even define the relationship on the spot. Even the people on Love is Blind date in the pods for over a week before they get engaged.
Yet, people often accept jobs without knowing much (or anything) about the most influential person in their work life: their future manager.
This baffles me. This person will have a major influence over 24% of your overall time and 36% of your waking life!
➗ math check:
40 hours of work in a 168 hour week = 24%.
40 hours of work in 112 hours of waking life per week = 36%.
You should definitely interview your potential future manager. It doesn’t have to be weird or awkward. You don’t have to put on a power posture or try to make them feel like they are in the hot seat. You just need to ask a few questions to understand what it would be like to work for them.
This post aims to provide you with some questions you grab and use to have an incisive but polite and respectful interview with your potential future manager.
A menu of questions to ask
Management style: How would you describe your management style? What are your expectations of your team members? How do you provide feedback? How often, and in what formats?
Team dynamics: What is the team culture like? Are you satisfied with the team dynamics? How do you foster collaboration and teamwork? How do you address conflict?
Professional development: What opportunities for professional development are available to your team members? How do you support them in achieving their career goals?
Work-life balance: How does the team manage work-life balance? What are your team's core work hours? What are your expectations outside of core work hours?
Challenges and opportunities: What are the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the team right now? How do you plan to address these? How would I contribute to addressing these challenges?
Company culture: What is the company culture like? How do you ensure that all employees feel valued and respected?
Decision-making: How are decisions made on the team? How do you involve your team members in the decision-making process?
Communication: How do you communicate with your team members? How often do you provide updates and feedback? How open are you to feedback from your team members? What format do you prefer for receiving feedback?
Recognition and rewards: How do you recognize and reward your team members for their accomplishments? Can you share a recent example?
Leadership: What are your leadership values? What do you think it takes to be a good leader?
Followership: Can you describe your ideal team member? What do they do that makes them an excellent part of your team?
BONUS (who are they?): If you weren’t working here, where would you be instead? If you weren’t working for any company, what would you do with your time?
What to do with the responses
If you get answers that feel like red flags (strong conflict with your values or goals), I encourage you to walk away and find another opportunity. You can even look at other opportunities within the same company, just ask your recruiter or HR contact. It’s ok to say that you’re still invested in the company, but that you are looking for a stronger manager, team, and role fit.
If you get answers that feel like yellow flags (questionable fit to your values or goals), I encourage you to get additional perspectives on the manager. Ask if you can have coffee chats with other people who report to this manager (“other members of the team”).
In the next post, I’ll put together a menu of questions you can ask those team members to dig a bit deeper and determine if these yellow flags are actually red flags, or perhaps simply a misunderstanding or miscommunication (which happens all the time, after all — you don’t actually know them yet).
Closing thoughts
We spend 36% of our waking hours at work, and no one has more influence over your success, comfort, and satisfaction at work than your manager.
Take the time to interview them. Ask them real, incisive questions that get at the root of what you value and need from a manager relationship.
It’s OK to walk away if there’s misalignment. Every manager can’t be a good fit for you, and having misalignment with your manager is an unnecessary source of pain and suffering in your life.
When in doubt, seek perspectives from others who work with them. Four more ways to get intel on a future manager.
Give it a try and let me know what you think.
🎉 That’s a wrap!
Check out coacherika.co for free resources, resume help, and coaching options, including my very popular TUYJS Workshop. Follow me on Substack, YouTube, and LinkedIn to stay in touch. Subscribe to this newsletter to receive a steady stream of tech career advice and experimentation ideas 💛