My First Year As a Manager

My First Year As a ManagerBy Ryan Shillington

Credit

Alison Barnes

Brian Howe

Gopal Krishnan

Matt Howitt

Russell Scott

Steve Heuer

Steve Teleki

Vito Spatafora

+ Many others

I want a manager who• Delivers Results• Tells me what I'm doing right and wrong• Tells me what I need to improve on, and gives me the

resources to do so• Stays out of my way but somehow knows when I

need him/her to step in• Is confident, clearly in charge and doesn't constantly

need to get approval• Manages with love - no yelling and the more humor

the better

Agenda

• Things I was right about (3 mins)• Things I was wrong about (10 mins)• Things I didn’t know about (10 mins)• Q&A (7 mins)

Things I was right aboutMost new managers fail trying to do it all

themselves

Things I was right aboutManagement is about making people efficient

Things I was right aboutIf people don’t think you’re crazy, your ideas might not be as great as you think they are.

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.“

- Mohandas Gandhi

Things I was wrong aboutManagers work just as hard as contributors

Things I was wrong aboutIf your weakest people like you, you’re probably

doing something wrong

Things I was wrong about60% of people think they are in the top 20%Nobody thinks they are in the bottom 20%

Things I was wrong aboutMost good managers think their people are the

best

Things I hadn’t thought aboutStrange correlation between how good you are

and how good you think you are

Things I hadn’t thought aboutSpend extra time with your best people

(they have the fewest blinders)

Things I hadn’t thought aboutImproving culture solves most problems

Things I hadn’t thought aboutUse Occam's razor in interpersonal relationships

Quiz: Why did your boss choose Jack for that awesome super-visible task? a) His brother's mother cousin is Jack's step-sister's friend b) Steve Mills is trying to test Jack and/or our team c) Your boss was thinking about the problem at 6pm and Jack happened to be the only person around

Things I hadn’t thought aboutUse Occam's razor in interpersonal relationships

Quiz: Why did your boss choose Jack for that awesome super-visible task? a) His brother's mother cousin is Jack's step-sister's friend b) Steve Mills is trying to test Jack and/or our team c) Your boss was thinking about the problem at 6pm and Jack happened to be the only person around

Rule: Assume the best in people’s intentions.

Things I hadn’t thought aboutManagement is much higher stress

Things I hadn’t thought aboutExecution is everything

Things I hadn’t thought aboutSecond & third lines know much more than I

thought

Things I hadn’t thought aboutPeople will follow you if you have 2 of the following 3:

1. Title2. Technical Prowess3. Social Acumen

Q & A

Further Reading

Manager Toolshttp://www.manager-tools.com/

Harvard Business Reviewhttp://hbr.org/magazine

The World As Best I Remember ithttp://worldofsu.com/philipsu/?page_id=193

Ryan on Managementhttp://ryan.shillington.org