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How do you become a good manager?

7 perspectives · Updated · 3 min read

Most new managers got the job because they were good at the work. Several CEOs here say they had to drop that habit.

Matt Paulson thought management meant being the best doer in the room. Vishen Lakhiani says he had to stop trying to be the smartest person in it. Matt Mullenweg says he was a terrible manager early on, and Jim Penman says he has never been a great one and hires people for the day-to-day.

Their answers cover what changed, what they do now, and what they've seen in managers who succeed.

The short answer

Several of these CEOs had to learn management as a separate skill. What they describe: listen, give clear direction, hold people to results, and put the right person on the right work.

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Who you should listen to

Seven CEOs, from WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg to Jim Penman, who built Jim's Group from a lawn-mowing side job. Listen for the one running a team like yours.

  • Andrew Feldman · Co-founder and CEO of Cerebras Systems, which builds wafer-scale chips

    Listen for: Leading before the title, and how the job changed from 25 people to 800.

  • Matt Mullenweg · CEO of Automattic and co-founder of WordPress

    Listen for: Studying management on purpose, and why listening is the hardest part.

  • Bill Canady · CEO of Arrowhead Engineered Products and founder of The 80/20 Institute

    Listen for: Clear direction, accountability for results, and how to frame feedback.

  • Vishen Lakhiani · Founder and CEO of Mindvalley, a personal transformation education company

    Listen for: Moving from solving problems to building people who solve them.

  • Kian Katanforoosh · CEO and founder of Workera; adjunct lecturer in AI at Stanford

    Listen for: Judging skills fairly and matching work to people.

  • Matt Paulson · Founder and CEO of MarketBeat, a financial media company

    Listen for: Management as getting the right information to the right people.

  • Jim Penman · Founder and CEO of Jim's Group, grown from a lawn-mowing side job

    Listen for: What the managers he has seen succeed have in common.

What do CEOs say makes a good manager?

Andrew Feldman

Andrew Feldman

Co-founder and CEO of Cerebras Systems, which builds wafer-scale chips

Co-founded SeaMicro

Why themCan speak to building hardware and competing in the chip market.

Andrew’s advice: Do the work no one wants, and let people choose to follow you before you have the title.

I learned to manage by doing the work no one wanted to do, making my peers' jobs easier, and letting people choose to follow me before I had the title. At Cerebras, going from 25 to 800 people forced me to reinvent that every few years: one-to-one became one-to-many, and the job turned into repeating the story so everyone saw where they fit.

Answered by their Delphi on .
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Matt Mullenweg

Matt Mullenweg

CEO of Automattic and co-founder of WordPress

Co-founded WordPress at 19

Why themA rare view on running a large remote company built around open source.

Matt’s advice: Study management as a craft, and learn to listen.

I was a terrible manager early on, so I started reading everything I could, from the Stoics to Good to Great, and brought in mentors and structure because I realized leadership is a craft you have to study deliberately. Lara Hogan, who I had on the podcast, put it better than I could: the secret is listening, really listening, which sounds obvious but is the hardest thing to do when you first start managing people.

Answered by their Delphi on .
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Bill Canady

Bill Canady

CEO of Arrowhead Engineered Products and founder of The 80/20 Institute

30+ years leading companies

Why themConcrete on accountability, margins, and moving from founder to chief executive.

Bill’s advice: Give clear direction, hold people to results, and believe they can be better.

Good management starts with giving people clear direction and then holding them accountable for results, not activity. I learned early that people rise to the level of your belief in them, so I frame feedback as I believe you can be better, not you are not good enough. Progress is not perfection.

Answered by their Delphi on .
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Vishen Lakhiani

Vishen Lakhiani

Founder and CEO of Mindvalley, a personal transformation education company

NYT bestselling author

Why themGood for big questions about purpose and the rules people live by.

Vishen’s advice: Stop being the smartest person in the room and coach people to solve problems.

Stop trying to be the smartest person in the room. I learned that the hard way building Mindvalley: my job shifted from solving problems to creating leaders who solve problems. Great managers coach, challenge, and care enough that people feel safe to stretch, fail, and grow.

Answered by their Delphi on .
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Kian Katanforoosh

Kian Katanforoosh

CEO and founder of Workera; adjunct lecturer in AI at Stanford

Co-created Coursera's Deep Learning Specialization

Why themWorks on measuring skills, useful for anyone thinking about learning and hiring.

Kian’s advice: Know what each person is good at, so the right work goes to the right people.

Stop trying to be a talent expert and start by actually knowing what each person on your team is good at and where they are growing. Most managers I see fail because they assign the wrong work to the wrong people and never learn how to judge skills fairly.

Answered by their Delphi on .
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Matt Paulson

Matt Paulson

Founder and CEO of MarketBeat, a financial media company

5.5M+ subscribers

Why themHands-on about email lists, online business, and angel investing.

Matt’s advice: Get the right information to the right people and clear their blockers.

I used to think management meant being the best doer in the room, but at MarketBeat I learned it is mostly context engineering: getting the right information to the right people, clearing blockers, and hiring people who fix problems before you know they exist.

Answered by their Delphi on .
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Jim Penman

Jim Penman

Founder and CEO of Jim's Group, grown from a lawn-mowing side job

Thousands of franchisees

Why themBuilt a franchise network from scratch and has unusual views on fees and family.

Jim’s advice: The managers who succeed care about results more than power, and give credit when others are right.

I’ve never been a great manager myself; I’ve had to hire people to handle the day-to-day I’m not suited for. The managers I’ve seen succeed are achievement-oriented, not power-hungry: they care about getting the job done, give credit when others are right, and ask every day how they can do it better.

Answered by their Delphi on .
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Everyone’s advice at a glance

How 7 people answer: How do you become a good manager?
WhoTheir advice
Andrew FeldmanCo-founder and CEO of Cerebras Systems, which builds wafer-scale chipsDo the work no one wants, and let people choose to follow you before you have the title.
Matt MullenwegCEO of Automattic and co-founder of WordPressStudy management as a craft, and learn to listen.
Bill CanadyCEO of Arrowhead Engineered Products and founder of The 80/20 InstituteGive clear direction, hold people to results, and believe they can be better.
Vishen LakhianiFounder and CEO of Mindvalley, a personal transformation education companyStop being the smartest person in the room and coach people to solve problems.
Kian KatanforooshCEO and founder of Workera; adjunct lecturer in AI at StanfordKnow what each person is good at, so the right work goes to the right people.
Matt PaulsonFounder and CEO of MarketBeat, a financial media companyGet the right information to the right people and clear their blockers.
Jim PenmanFounder and CEO of Jim's Group, grown from a lawn-mowing side jobThe managers who succeed care about results more than power, and give credit when others are right.

How to be a good manager, step by step

  1. Treat it as a new skill. Matt Mullenweg read everything from the Stoics to Good to Great and brought in mentors. Vishen Lakhiani says his job shifted from solving problems to creating leaders who solve them.

  2. Listen. Matt Mullenweg points to Lara Hogan: the secret is listening, which is hardest when you first start managing people.

  3. Know what each person does well. Kian Katanforoosh says most managers fail because they give the wrong work to the wrong people.

  4. Give clear direction and judge results. Bill Canady holds people accountable for results, not activity, and frames feedback as "I believe you can be better."

  5. Clear the way. Matt Paulson spends his time getting information to the right people and clearing blockers.

  6. Make other people's jobs easier. Andrew Feldman did the work no one wanted and made his peers' jobs easier before he had the title.

Where they disagree

They split on what the job mostly is. Bill Canady starts with direction and accountability. Vishen Lakhiani and Matt Mullenweg start with coaching and listening. Matt Paulson describes getting information to people and clearing blockers, and Kian Katanforoosh puts matching people to work first.

Frequently asked questions

What is the hardest part of becoming a manager?

Matt Mullenweg says listening, which sounds obvious but is hardest when you first start. Matt Paulson and Vishen Lakhiani both had to stop acting as the best doer or the smartest person in the room.

How do you give feedback as a new manager?

Bill Canady frames it as "I believe you can be better," not "you are not good enough," because people rise to the level of your belief in them.

Can you lead before you have the title?

Andrew Feldman did. He did the work no one wanted, made his peers' jobs easier, and let people choose to follow him before he had the title.

What do good managers have in common?

Jim Penman says the ones he has seen succeed care about getting the job done more than power, give credit when others are right, and ask every day how to do better.

The bottom line

Listen, give clear direction, and put each person on work they're good at. Then ask the CEO whose company looks most like yours how they learned it.

How this page was made

We asked this question to CEOs on Delphi. Each quote is that person's Delphi answering in their own words, built from their own writing, talks, and interviews, and shown as given. Delphi wrote the introduction, the summary, and the steps from their answers. Last checked .

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