Who can replace you?
Important Manager Question #1!
The intent here is to post the question somewhere, allow for discussion at that location, and leave my own opinions here so as not to influence the discussion.
SO! One of the most important questions every manager should be asking themselves is…
Who on my team can replace me?
Why is this important?
First and foremost:
Do you like taking vacations?
Are you, like most of the population, in need of sick days?
Do you want be promoted someday?
If you answered yes to any of these, then knowing who on your team can replace you is worth your time.
Time off
This is the most important of the items on that list since it covers two of the bullet points and a lot more.
You have to take time off.
To get the obvious reasons why you should out of the way, humans need extended time away from work. Take time off, don’t burn yourself out.
For a less obvious reason; as a manager, you are watched, all the time, everyday, by your team. If you do not take time off, your team notices. When your team notices, it will negatively affect their ability to take time off. Folks will question whether they should because their leader doesn’t.
This is EVEN WORSE if you are the type of manager that still stays on chat when you are taking time off. Now you are showing the team that, “Oh, even though I take time off, I am still around.” This will unintentionally create an expectation of your team that, even if you are not working, you should still be available. This is bad. Don’t do it.
You have to take time off.
So, how do you feel confident enough to take time off? How do you make it so you don’t feel like you need to be available even if you are on vacation? Ensure that the team can function without you.
What is the easiest way to ensure the team can function without you? Knowing who can replace you so they can temporarily take over.
Getting promoted
This can apply to both being promoted up or laterally. The crux of this is that you would be leaving the team in some form to a more exciting opportunity!
Sometimes, promotions can’t happen if your team is left without someone managing them… It happens. Not every company is as accepting of change, or resilient enough to ensure that their employee’s growth is unblocked.
On the other end of this, it can help you with your promotion. Recognizing talent on your team and fostering their growth so that person could replace you is a huge part of any manager’s job description. It’s even more of a flex if that person is on another team. Now you are engaging in mentorship outside of your team, which means you are evangelizing best practices to the whole company, cross-team collaboration, etc. etc.
In short, want to be promoted? It’s good to know who can replace you, be they on your team or on another team.
In conclusion…
Want to confidently take time off? Figure out who can replace you.
Want to get promoted? It’s good to know who can replace you.
Want to mentor someone? Figure out if they can replace you.
Other things that I missed (throw them in the comments!)? Figure out who can replace you.
There are a ton of advantages to figuring out who this person or persons could be. Try it!