What will I learn about: the three-part compass of management—purpose, people, and process—to keep your leadership grounded and turn individual tasks into shared, meaningful progress?

Discover the three-part compass of management—purpose, people, and process—to keep your leadership grounded and turn individual tasks into shared, meaningful progress.

What will I learn about: the essential mindset shifts required for new managers, such as prioritizing team results over personal output and being prepared to deliver difficult information?

Understand the essential mindset shifts required for new managers, such as prioritizing team results over personal output and being prepared to deliver difficult information.

What will I learn about: the awkward transition from peer to manager by reframing constructive criticism and respectful clarity as vital forms of care for the entire group?

Master the awkward transition from peer to manager by reframing constructive criticism and respectful clarity as vital forms of care for the entire group.

What will I learn about: Explore the four distinct paths into management—apprentice, pioneer, new boss, and successor—and learn actionable ways to overcome the unique obstacles of each journey?

Explore the four distinct paths into management—apprentice, pioneer, new boss, and successor—and learn actionable ways to overcome the unique obstacles of each journey.

What will I learn about: how to cultivate a high-performing team by embracing your authentic leadership style and creating a psychologically safe environment where honesty is never punished?

Find out how to cultivate a high-performing team by embracing your authentic leadership style and creating a psychologically safe environment where honesty is never punished.

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The Making of a Manager

What to Do When Everyone Looks to You

Julie Zhuo

★ 4.2 / 5(274 ratings)

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Categories:

Management & Leadership

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

💡Did you know that the world’s most successful managers aren’t born with innate talent, but actually rely on a specific set of learned behaviors during their first three months?
💡Have you ever wondered why some meetings spark brilliant ideas while others feel like a total waste of time—and what’s the secret to ensuring yours always deliver results?
💡What if you could master the art of recruitment by looking past the resume and identifying the one hidden trait that predicts a candidate's true potential?

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Key Takeaways from The Making of a Manager

✓Discover the three-part compass of management—purpose, people, and process—to keep your leadership grounded and turn individual tasks into shared, meaningful progress.
✓Understand the essential mindset shifts required for new managers, such as prioritizing team results over personal output and being prepared to deliver difficult information.
✓Master the awkward transition from peer to manager by reframing constructive criticism and respectful clarity as vital forms of care for the entire group.
✓Explore the four distinct paths into management—apprentice, pioneer, new boss, and successor—and learn actionable ways to overcome the unique obstacles of each journey.
✓Find out how to cultivate a high-performing team by embracing your authentic leadership style and creating a psychologically safe environment where honesty is never punished.

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from The Making of a Manager

Mind Map

The Making of a Manager

The Core Role+

Routes to Management+

Mastering Feedback+

Purposeful Meetings+

Strategic Recruitment+

Managing Growing Teams+

Accountability in Delegation+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 7

According to Julie Zhuo, what is the true defining measure of a good manager?

A. Possessing essential traits like being hard-working, likable, and good at presentations.
B. Focusing diligently on daily activities like holding meetings and giving performance feedback.
C. Consistently achieving improved outcomes and great results from their team.
D. Ensuring that all team members are promoted within a specific timeframe.

Question 2 of 7

What is a common pitfall for someone entering management through the 'New Boss' route?

A. Struggling to establish authority because the team is used to seeing them as a peer.
B. Rushing to make changes without fully understanding the nuances of the new position.
C. Receiving little to no support because no one else understands the newly created team.
D. Spending too much time coaching direct reports instead of focusing on high-level strategy.

Question 3 of 7

How does Zhuo recommend delivering the most effective and straightforward feedback?

A. By making it activity-specific and focusing on a recently completed task.
B. By saving all critiques for a comprehensive annual performance review.
C. By focusing on the individual's personality traits to encourage personal growth.
D. By avoiding written feedback entirely and ensuring all critiques are delivered face-to-face.

Question 4 of 7

Why did Zhuo's early weekly team meetings fail, eventually leading her to cancel them?

A. She lacked an agenda and allowed the team to complain about mundane issues.
B. She focused too heavily on storytelling and not enough on objective data.
C. They had an explicit purpose but lacked a clear, actionable outcome like making a decision.
D. She only invited her direct reports instead of including the entire department.

Question 5 of 7

How can managers avoid the 'firefighter' approach to recruitment?

A. By hiring candidates as quickly as possible to prevent productivity drops.
B. By creating a one-year plan that analyzes the team's goals, skill gaps, and diversity needs.
C. By only hiring individuals who have the exact same strengths as current team members.
D. By delegating the hiring process entirely to the Human Resources department.

Question 6 of 7

What is a significant challenge managers face when their team grows large enough to require indirect management?

A. Spending more than half their week in one-on-one meetings with junior staff.
B. Finding that indirect reports become too informal and disregard professional boundaries.
C. Having to personally oversee every day-to-day decision made by the expanded team.
D. Discovering that team members are intimidated by their seniority and hesitant to share dissenting opinions.

Question 7 of 7

When delegating a task to a group, how can a manager ensure that decisions are actually made and progress isn't stalled?

A. By requiring the group to reach a unanimous consensus before moving forward.
B. By stepping in to evaluate and choose the best ideas themselves.
C. By clearly designating one specific person as the overall decision-maker.
D. By setting up a daily meeting to debate the merits of everyone's ideas.

The Making of a Manager — Full Chapter Overview

1Recommendation
2A good manager’s role focuses solely on outcomes, not activities.
3Every path into management has benefits and pitfalls.
4Great managers provide task-specific feedback beyond just their personal, individual perspective.
5Effective meetings have clear purposes and deliver equally clear outcomes.
6Make smarter hiring choices by creating a one-year plan.
7Leading an expanding team demands shifting to indirect management.

The Making of a Manager Summary & Overview

The Making of a Manager (2019) explores what new managers can do in their first three months and beyond to ensure their team gets excellent results. From meetings to recruitment and managing a growing team, these blinks examine the opportunities and pitfalls that all new managers face, and demonstrate that great managers are made, not born.

Who Should Listen to The Making of a Manager?

New managers looking for tips
Team members who want to improve their relationships with their colleagues
Recruiters looking for a fresh perspective

About the Author: Julie Zhuo

Julie Zhuo is the vice president of design at Facebook and holds a Computer Science degree from Stanford University. As well as exploring leadership, design and technology on her blog The Year of the Looking Glass, Zhuo also writes for publications such as the New York Times and Fast Company.