Your first-line managers matter most
It's easy to focus on grand visions and inspiring speeches as the way to shape organizational culture. But the reality is simpler and far more impactful: selecting your first-line managers—their character, skills, and attitudes—defines your organization's culture more powerfully than any speech ever could. They're the ones who make decisions when you're not around, reinforcing values and guiding behaviors daily.
In this article, I'll explain why first-line managers matter so deeply, the common pitfalls organizations encounter, and how you can build a strong foundation by treating these managers not as isolated supervisors but as a cohesive leadership team. This article will not detail the environment that needs to be created to make good first-line managers perform well - this is another article to come.
The Real Culture Makers
Culture isn't created through carefully worded mission statements or compelling speeches; it's defined through everyday behaviors. Your first-line managers bridge the gap between strategic vision and practical implementation. They create the real work environment, establishing what's acceptable and not through their daily decisions and actions. Their integrity is on the line every day. Each action will be judged by their peers and reports, influencing their credibility. New employees will quickly learn the values represented by them and repeat and represent them in conversations with stakeholders and colleagues. Values become real by acting on them, especially when nobody is looking.
The Hidden Power of First-Line Managers
First-line managers wield significant influence over the team’s daily experience. They shape how values become actionable, directly affecting employee engagement, trust, and motivation. Good managers inspire commitment; poor managers risk disengagement and attrition. Sometimes, your good manager will need to manage disengagement. You will face situations where company policies or senior management makes decisions you need to manage. Ideally, this is the exception, not the norm.
Why We Keep Getting It Wrong
Organizations frequently select managers based on seniority or technical expertise, overlooking essential leadership traits. The result is often the "accidental manager," promoted without adequate preparation, training, or ongoing support. The Peter Principle describes this in greater detail and is worth reading. The book tells the principle that members of a hierarchy are promoted until they reach the level at which they are no longer competent. This happens when you - simply speaking - make people managers who should have become specialists. In software engineering, The Manager's Path by Camille Fournier is one of the great books that prepares individual contributors for such a career change.
First-Line Managers as a Team
One critical yet overlooked practice is treating first-line managers as a unified team. They experience team dynamics, interactions, and conflicts similar to those they manage. By cultivating among them the same cultural foundation you wish to see throughout your organization—clear communication, accountability, mutual support—you empower them to replicate those behaviors effectively downstream. It's also essential for onboarding. Team members help each other while getting to know each other and growing together. Once the group has reached cohesion and strength, they will also develop the guts to venture into the unknown together. Trust is the foundation of a team. Patrick Lencioni's The Five Dysfunctions of a Team gives excellent insight into the foundation of high-performing teams.
What Good First-Line Managers Look Like
Strong first-line managers demonstrate clarity, accountability, and genuine empathy. They communicate effectively, address conflicts proactively, and ensure team members feel seen, valued, and supported. In contrast, ineffective managers lack clear communication, avoid accountability, and may fail to provide consistent or constructive feedback. As a second-line manager, you need to be able to rely on your managers to catch problems early on. If the problem gets on the desk of the second-line manager, it has very likely been ignored or not handled with the right intensity for a while. Good first-line managers know when to escalate or when to react with the right intensity.
So, what is the right time and intensity? Let's assume a cultural misfit on the team. The person's performance is acceptable, but the behavior is destructive. The first-line manager tries to react compassionately, investigate whether the person is going through a hard time, and coach the person. Now, imagine that behavior goes on for a couple of months. Sometimes, it gets better for a month, and the unwanted behavior returns. At some point, this escalates to the second-line manager. This usually means that there is already a situation that needs immediate attention and resolution. A good first-line manager must judge whether the behavior is temporary or permanent. Suppose the behavior is not created by some temporary situation. In that case, the person needs to receive an intense warning: "If you continue to behave this way, you cannot continue to work here. Your current behavior is unacceptable and not in line with the company's values". With this timely reaction, the expectation is clear, and the next occurrence of the behavior is actionable. That's the right time and the right intensity.
Investing in Leadership
Selecting and nurturing first-line managers should be intentional. Evaluate candidates' leadership potential, invest in targeted training, and provide ongoing development opportunities. This approach transforms managerial roles from a passive title into active leadership positions. Hiring will be the other way of getting the right people in, but this deserves a separate article.
Final Thought: It’s an Investment, Not an Afterthought
Investing in your first-line management is the most powerful lever for long-term organizational success. Prioritize their development, support their growth, and ensure alignment among them. The result will be a resilient, cohesive culture that scales effectively and sustainably—starting from the ground up.
