Great Managers Care more than Anything Else.
It's not about tools. Great managers care. It is that simple.
Excuses are tempting.
“If only I had better tools.”
“If that guide was clearer, I’d get started.”
“If the quality was better, I’d use it.”
But here’s the truth: most of what you need as a manager is already out there.
Free. Easy to find.
Struggling with a performance conversation? There’s a guide.
Not sure how to set goals with your team? There’s a podcast. Or a video.
You’re not blocked by lack of resources. You’re blocked by something else.
Here are just a few solid examples:
All highly recommended reading. But they won’t make you a great manager.
Same way having a great camera on your phone in your pocket everyday doesn’t make you a great photographer.
So what does?
It starts with caring about your team
The best managers all have one thing in common:
They have the mindset that they want their team to succeed. Badly.
That’s it.
Not a certain personality type. Not decades of experience.
Just a strong desire to help their team grow and do good work.
You want to see your team hit their goals.
You want to help them through tough spots.
You want to challenge them, support them, believe in them.
If that doesn't light something up in you, ask yourself if you actually want to manage people. Because that’s the job.
You can learn to care. The more you do it, the easier it gets. You can learn to support and coach. It takes practice. It takes presence. But it’s a choice. And a belief.
And when you combine that mindset with the resources available today, the possibilities open up.
Pick one thing to improve.
Find something that helps.
Try it.
Apply it.
Learn.
Adjust.
Repeat.
Your team will notice. That effort builds trust. And progress.
But what about your value?
If you can find resources to be a great manager, so can your team to get better at doing their work. So if your team can Google their own help and tools, what do they need you for?
It’s a fair question. And it comes down to mindset. Again.
If you see things like AI or self-serve resources as threats to your role, you’re looking at it the wrong way. This happens with every wave of new tools or technology—people worry about being replaced. But our system doesn’t thrive on replacement. It thrives on growth.
AI isn’t a threat. It can help your team work faster, better, and with more impact. It can raise the bar for quality. It can expand what’s possible. The same goes for playbooks, handbooks, and guides. They’re not there to make you irrelevant. They’re there to help you and your team get better. But only if you lean into it.
Think in a mindset of growth for your whole team. Not just you as a manager. You would have reached this conclusion simply by following your now deep desire to want your team to do well.
Because it is not about you. Let me rephrase, it is as much about you as it is about every single person on your team. AI represents an opportunity for all to grow. Your task is just slightly different. You get to lead the way.
Mindset matters. Managers matter.