Individual excellence

M1 - Team lead

Expectations: At this level, individual achievement focuses on gaining foundational people management skills and leading a small team. You should aim to grow and empower your team while effectively handling basic management challenges.

Examples:

• Proactively identify team members' strengths, motivations, or areas for development.
• Take the lead in resolving minor team conflicts or challenges.
• Start to provide constructive feedback to direct reports to aid their development.
• Begin to set clear expectations for team members' performance and tasks.

M2 - Manager

Expectations: At this level, you're expected to effectively grow and manage a team. This includes hiring the right people, developing team members, and demonstrating leadership under pressure. You should now be proficient in People Management best-practices and consistently apply them in various situations.

Examples:

• Successfully hire and onboard team members who contribute significantly to the team's success.
• Demonstrate effective leadership during high-pressure situations or critical incidents.
• Provide actionable feedback that leads to tangible improvements in team performance.
• Implement strategies to develop team members' skills and define career paths.

<aside> <img src="/icons/golf_green.svg" alt="/icons/golf_green.svg" width="40px" /> Advice to advance: Focus on building a solid foundation in people management best practices. Begin by actively building understanding of your team’s unique motivations and goals at work, and recognizing their achievements.

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Team collaboration

M1 - Team Lead

Expectations: At this level, team collaboration involves consciously building a positive team environment and equipping team members with necessary skills. This includes showing awareness of team dynamics, creating feedback loops, and encouraging collaboration.

Examples:

• Foster a positive team environment by team-building activities or events.
• Encourage team members to share their skills and knowledge with one another.
• Provide constructive feedback and coaching opportunities to team members to enhance their performance and development.
• Exhibit emotional intelligence in handling team interactions and feedback loops.

M2 - Manager

Expectations: As a Manager, you should demonstrate advanced leadership and enablement skills. This includes equipping team members with the necessary skills to achieve goals, exhibiting superb emotional intelligence, and generating buy-in to a common vision.

Examples:

• Conduct coaching sessions to enhance team members' skills and abilities.
• Create feedback loops to facilitate open communication and continuous improvement.
• Align team members to a common vision, ensuring everyone understands their role in achieving it.
• Exhibit exceptional emotional intelligence in managing team interactions and feedback loops.

<aside> <img src="/icons/golf_green.svg" alt="/icons/golf_green.svg" width="40px" /> Advice to advance: Focus on consistently nurturing a collaborative team culture. Show a strong ability to mediate conflicts and facilitate effective team interactions.

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Company alignment

M1 - Team lead

Expectations: At this level, demonstrating company alignment involves understanding the basics of how your work impacts the organization. Begin by seeking to understand the company's goals and how your role contributes to them.

Examples:

• Seek clarification on how your tasks relate to the bigger picture of company goals.
• Gather feedback from colleagues or supervisors to understand the impact of your work.
• Start keeping simple records of insights or observations related to company goals.
• Begin to learn about the metrics used to measure success in the organization.

M2 - Manager

Expectations: As a Manager, you should demonstrate an advanced understanding of how your work contributes to the company's success. Share work regularly to support team alignment, and ask for feedback on your working style + the work itself in order to improve.

Examples:

• Align your team's goals and projects with the broader strategic objectives of the organization.
• Regularly communicate how your team's work directly contributes to the achievement of company goals. (Own a section of monthly meeting!)
• Share insights or observations related to company goals with your team, and encourage discussions on alignment.
• Seek feedback from colleagues or supervisors on how you can enhance your alignment with organizational objectives.

<aside> <img src="/icons/golf_green.svg" alt="/icons/golf_green.svg" width="40px" /> Advice to advance: Actively seek opportunities to align your projects and objectives with broader organizational goals, whilst modelling company values. Take the initiative to proactively contribute to discussions about the company's strategic direction.

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➡️ Next: M2 Manager → M3 Senior Manager