In
Part 1 of this four part series of blogs, I spoke briefly about some of
the lessons I learnt in the early days of my career as a young
professional entering the corporate world. In this blog, I focus on one
aspect that in many respects, shaped who I became as a manager; people
management.
My original view
of people management was that of superior managing subordinates,
telling them what to do, and they duly obliging with the instructions
that the good boss had given. Upon being given my first opportunity at
managerial level, I soon came to realise that this view was far removed
from reality. The many lessons I learnt in this area of management fall
into three main categories: Managing Peers, Managing Superiors and
Managing Subordinates; this being the order in which I learnt them.
As
the office joker had stood up at 6:30 pm that day and said “cheers
everyone” to the ringing sounds of chuckles, I had taken time to observe
where the loudest chuckles and comments were coming from, realising
very quickly that these would possibly be my biggest allies or my worst
enemies, depending on how I played my cards. In the group of “chucklers”
was Bobby (not his real name) who had been in the company for more than
15 years, had worked with the boss for many years, and had become his
biggest praise singer. Although Bobby and I were at the same level, I
knew at this point that he had a little more influence than I did, so I
decided to befriend him. Although I couldn’t stand the man, and “sucking
up” was not really my style, it seemed to have worked for Bobby, and I
figured I needed to learn a few things from him. The lesson here would
fall under the category that I call managing peers.
I quickly found a way of making Bobby feel like he was “the man” and
that I could learn a lot from him. In actual fact though, I was trying
to determine what kind of person the boss was and how I could get into
his good books, something that the office joker had obviously failed to
do and consequently got fired. Bobby, of course, was not clever enough
to figure this out. After all, he had worked for the same guy for 15
years with minimal progress, very little recognition and yet… he seemed
happy.
The lesson here? If
you appear to be a threat to your peers too early in a new job, you
will struggle to get information critical for your survival. Be humble
and pretend to learn even that which you know. I call this the "ahhhhh,
ohhhh, really?" phase”
Once
I had determined the boss’ preferences (thank you Bobby), I slowly
began to test the waters and was I surprised at how accurate Bobby was.
The man was very particular about everything and was a typical Chartered
Accountant. All reports submitted to him for instance, had to be in
Arial font, size 11, in blue and justified. My initial thoughts were
that this was silly and I deliberately submitted my first report
contrary to specification. The outburst that I got in response implied
that this was a big part of this guy’s life, almost an obsession… silly?
Maybe, but this didn’t change one major fact; he was the boss.
Quick lesson here. Your opinion most likely begins to count at the point when you make the boss feel like "the boss". Until then, good luck!
I
then decided to take all this to the next level. Having been an Arsenal
fan for many years, I decided to convert to Manchester United for work
purposes. Why? Because the boss was a real die-hard Man Utd fan. Unlike
Bobby who knew very little about soccer, I knew all the players, watched
every match, knew every time there was a new kit launched (and
occasionally bought him a fake one from the flea market) and was a keen
follower of all Man Utd transfer rumours. The day Ruud van Nisterlrooy
left Man Utd for Real Madrid, I had the privilege of giving the breaking
news to the boss, something that bought me many favours during my time
in this job. It wasn’t long before all Monday morning match reviews were
conducted at my desk and not Bobby’s.
Although there are many lessons that came out of this, a category I call managing superiors, one major lesson here was this. Understand
what things are important to your boss and provide them when and how
s/he wants. Time spent fighting the system is time wasted.
The second lesson? Make
a real effort to connect with your boss at a level beyond work. This is
not to say go to their house every weekend, but rather find (or make
up) what you have in common and use it. It's very difficult for one Man
Utd fan to fire another.
The final category is managing subordinates,
which came with many more challenges and lessons than I had
anticipated. On my first day at work, I was introduced to the team that I
was to manage and the first thing that stood out was the fact that I
was much younger than everyone else in the team. So obvious was this,
that one of the staff members, a middle aged black lady called Duduzile
(not her real name), accidentally said aloud, “Haibo… but he’s so young”
something I instantly took a mental note of and marked the staff member
as trouble (my first mistake). Based on this interaction, my
inexperience led me to “lay down the law” in my inaugural staff meeting.
My approach was one of, “There is a new Sheriff in town and this is how
things will be done from today” (my second mistake).
The
weeks and months that followed were very unpleasant, having failed to
generate the support and respect of my team early on. The entire team
seemed to listen to Duduzile and she seemingly had more influence than I
did. Whenever she decided to stir up trouble, I felt it like a bad
rash. Little did I know that Duduzile had applied for my job and was
declined, so she obviously had something to gain by me failing.
Unwilling to concede defeat and portraying all the characteristics of a
young foolish manager, I made this battle personal and this just made
things worse (my third mistake). The entire team lost respect for me and
whatever I said was questioned. I had become so predictable that I lost
authority and the performance of the team rapidly went south. Bobby, on
the other hand, was enjoying watching this soap opera and fuelling the
fire with the boss, in order to get his position back as number one
sucker, which I had now taken from him.
Desperate
to make things work, I decided to start asking every person that was
willing to listen what they thought I should do (fourth mistake). The
information I shared with these “trusted colleagues” some of whom were
fellow managers, miraculously found itself onto my boss’ desk. I now
looked totally incompetent! Bobby, at this point, was on top of his game
and I was at an all-time low. My team was in tatters and I had lost
control completely.
It was
time to recover. I set up a meeting with my boss, conceded that I needed
some help, and thanks to our Man Utd connection, he was very
supportive, although in the beginning he found my problems hilarious. I
further proceeded to get a mentor within the business, and another
external one - a business owner - both of whom I knew would be objective
and unbiased towards either myself or my team.
In this journey, I learnt the following simple lessons:
1.
Opposition to your leadership may be a cry for something else. Find out
who is who in your team and their history in the Organisation. There
might be underlying factors which you may need to be aware of, and
manage. (Duduzile had unsuccessfully applied for my job and I should
have managed this better)
2.
The day your team learns to predict you as a manager is the day you
lose control. Vary your responses and control your reactions. If you
make all your buttons visible, they will press them.
3. Learn to appear in control even when deep down you have no idea what you're doing. People buy into posture and confidence.
4. Don’t be afraid to make decisions no matter how unpopular. People can see indecision and will exploit it.
5. Deal with the small matters of discipline and the big things won't happen... Or, at least, will happen less.
6.
Read and understand internal policies and procedures, especially those
that relate to staff management. Simple as this may sound, I have seen
many managers get caught off-guard in this area. Like every good sports
fan, your staff know exactly what you should be doing and will exploit
ignorance.
7. Influence,
whether good or bad, is a sign of leadership potential. Identify this in
specific members of your team and attempt to develop it, rather than
fight it, bearing in mind that this requires a lot of patience. Where
this fails, discipline decisively.
8.
A new manager normally comes in to make his/her mark and is keen to
make changes. Ill informed changes often lead to costly mistakes.
Observe and learn the status quo before attempting any fixes.
9.
There is a lot to be learnt from subordinates if you create a culture
where people feel free to speak up and challenge your decisions.
Managers who over-value their own significance create their own
downfall.
10. Consistently
hold each individual team member accountable for their deliverables and
be willing to guide, coach and mentor where required. Resist the
temptation to take over or reassign undelivered or inferior work as this
erodes accountability.
I
spent almost three years in that organisation, and by the time I left, I
had gone from incompetent young man to Manager of the Year. At this
point, I knew it was time to leave with all the valuable lessons I had
learnt and seek a new challenge before Bobby thought up a new strategy.
Duduzile, on the other hand, became my biggest supporter and was ready
to take over my job when I left; which she deservingly did.
My
final lesson, in conclusion. I often hear young hot headed
professionals say one thing… ”I don't suck up to anyone” Well, I ask you
with tears in my eyes (sardonism): Where exactly has that attitude got
you? Unhappy? Complaining? Victimised? An outcast? Under paid? Never
promoted?My view: Assuming performance is a given, be it with your
peers, superiors or subordinates, learning to brush egos will give you a
far smoother ride in corporate. That said, do not become a pushover.
Those get used and never respected. Have an opinion!
In my next blog, I discuss diversity management and office politics as well as the lessons I have learnt in this regard.
I would appreciate any comments and additional lessons that you too have learnt in your career as I build on this blog.
- Amasi Mwela
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