My first job out of grad school was working for a great retailer, arguably the best in the world. The program for incoming “newbies” was nothing short of militant, except it was more fashionable. Thank goodness for that; I always did prefer Armani over camouflage.
Expectations were beyond high. I remember thinking that grad school was like kindergarten in comparison. If you’ve seen “The Devil Wears Prada”, you have a sense of what the program was like.
We had a few weeks of boot camp that included a mixture of classroom and hands-on learning, all designed to engross us in the company culture and ways, lest we had any ideas of trying to do something new.
Once we were deemed acceptable enough to stay, the real learning began. Basically it was a sink-or-swim situation. You either figured it out or you were gone, as we were reminded daily. Harsh, I know, but in such an uber-competitive environment what else would you expect? More than 3,000 applicants each year tried to get in; less than 100 were accepted.
Was it stressful? All I can say is that it was during this time I had to start coloring my hair. In my early twenties. Okay, gray hair could be genetic but I’m pretty sure stress had something to do with it.
While this sounds awful to many, I have to say that it was the best business training I could have had. We were empowered; given the authority that went along with the responsibilities of the position. Yes, we made mistakes and sometimes they were career-threatening. But who can argue with getting to make million-dollar decisions on a daily basis – in your twenties?
Something that stands out to me from this experience is that all managers were tasked with developing those working under them. If your employees were not considered promotable, in many cases the fault was placed on the manager for not preparing them to take the next step. It was during my tenure at the company that I learned what it means to be a manager.
Being a manager is a tough job. To be honest, it’s much easier just to work alone. I’ve worked with and for good managers, as well as not-so-good managers, and downright bad managers.
Here are some things I learned about being a good, if not great, manager:
– Communicate clearly with instructions, expectations, goals – I cannot emphasize this enough
– Allow for mistakes by your team. Remember that you had to learn at one point, and mistakes are bound to happen – it’s how you recover and learn from the mistake that’s important
– Don’t be afraid to make a mistake yourself
– Accept input, yet never lose sight that you are responsible for all outcomes – ultimately, the manager has to make the decision
– Listening is more important that talking
– Give directions, not orders
– Make necessary decisions. Lack of decision-making leads to uncertainty, which in turn leads to frustration for all.
– Be approachable and friendly, without losing sight of the fact that you are the boss
– Be honest in all that you do – your business practice, your treatment of others and yourself
– Remember, this is not a popularity contest – sometimes the right decision for the business and team is not a popular one
You can command respect by your actions; you can’t demand respect by your words
Am I a great manager? I’d like to think so, but I don’t know – you’ll have to ask my team. What I do know is that I try very hard. I’m not afraid to listen or accept help from those under my care. I’m willing to make the tough decisions that may not win me friends. Yet at the end of the day, I can sleep knowing that I did the right thing for the business as well as the team.
Sometimes I may not be the most popular, but I hope at least that I’m respected. That’s my ultimate goal.
Like Tami, I was terminated once (By my best friend, BTW – he is now on the board of the agency I lead, so I got him back – ha!), but you don’t have to be unemployed to learn something from this book. 
