My user manual
As a seasoned manager, I have learned that we all have different abilities to read people, to understand how they work, how they think, how they react to your management… and why you have to adapt.
But let’s be honest, some traits in your personality and markers in your work organization are deeply rooted in you meaning that “it’s not you, it’s me”. Of course, you can improve, evolve and change, but a leopard never changes its spot.
It’s not you, it’s me.
This is why I’m being proactive and deliver an introduction speech to my teams on how I am as an individual, as a marketer, and as a manager. I also invite them to read at my “This is how I work” article (not asking them to mimic me but getting the feel of who I am) so they get the full picture.
Cutting to the chase is not a way to say “don’t bother, this is how I am and I won’t change” but an invitation for them to get onboarded on my management style and avoid misunderstandings.
So here is a formal layout based on the excellent article from The Muse.
HOW I VIEW SUCCESS
Success for me is to have tried our best, working with a set objective and having tracked performance (and ultimately success). Success is when everyone feels it. The team, the company, and customers. That is why success works only if it is shared: recognition, acknowledgment, celebration, analysis,… all are part of success.
Being good at my job is making sure that we, as a team, know where we are heading, that the team knows the objective and as the ability to set the means. I’m here to provide the Why, the What and the When… the How doesn’t belong to me.
As a manager, I’m an enabler for the team, not only to do their job but also to progress and thrive. You could say that as a CMO, I’m an opportunity creator both for the Sales team and for my Team.
As a marketer, I must make sure that my knowledge stays relevant, I need to listen a lot to my peers, to my customers, and to my team.
HOW I COMMUNICATE
I’m from British descent meaning that I tend to be very direct. I can be seen as being slightly impolite when it comes to stating an opinion. Even though I tend to be very reactive on my day to day discussions, when it comes to important topics, I can showcase some autistic behavior. I need to process and play with the idea before I can react. I usually will say “I need to think it over” and I will send an email with my thoughts.
This is one of the hardest parts of working with me since I will switch from one mode (leader, very assertive and answering on the spot) to another (quiet, reflective, cold).
I’m working on balancing this to make my communication consistent, clearer and more reliable.
One thing is sure, I don’t like to be caught unprepared and will react quickly and go in defense mode. Give me time to prepare and respond.
No matter the emergency, give me time to prepare and respond.
THINGS I DO THAT MAY ANNOY YOU OR BE MISUNDERSTOOD
As a coworker, I’m can hide my social discomfort by being over-friendly and making clever jokes. Since I’ve raised sarcasm to an art form, these can sometimes be unsettling for anyone passing by. I’m working on it!
Another thing that can be somewhat annoying is that I will tend to ask a lot of questions and go wide in terms of scope. Indeed, having worked as a COO and in companies in dire need of structuring, I had to deal with many issues in different departments. I’m not trying to conquer or expand my role, I’m just willing to share my expertise/experience and help!
WHAT GAINS AND LOSES MY TRUST
To get my trust you need to provide the facts. As long as you deliver on the objective and can reproduce, I’m convinced. Being consistent is what will help you grow and get my trust. Don’t forget that challenging your manager is also part of your job. This is how I will progress so challenge as much as you want but show me your cards!
Real trust comes with openness, transparency, competency and consistency.
Never forget that to receive, you need to give, I’m expecting the same level of transparency that I’m giving. By default, I tend to trust people (which might not be ideal), but real trust comes with openness, transparency, competency, and consistency.
Ultimately, respect the rules of engagement (part of my playbook) I set for my team and you will keep my trust:
- We are problem solvers
- We speak up
- We track and measure everything
- We stay agile and aim for scalability
- We share our plans and celebrate what we do
- We talk to sales, cs, product, data & tech often and we involve them in what we do
- We are guardians of the brand (internally and externally), we own all mass and automated interactions
MY STRENGTHS
I’m good at building a compelling case and get it going. Others can rely on me to help them challenge their ideas but also be the champion of them.
I’m trustworthy and can be used as a sounding board (or rubber duck) for a wide array of topics (weirdly enough, I have gathered a lot of knowledge along the years). I’m always willing to help, even when it means doing very operational tasks.
I love to get into complex problems, technical stuff… I’m passionate about martech, tools are my go-to place, I’ll dig into the processes and settings. Every little option will be explored so I maximize what I can do with technology. Automation is my Holy Grail.
MY GROWTH AREAS
I will go too fast into the little details, trying to anticipate too much and losing a bit of the momentum. I need help from my teammates to be the best expert in the details and the planning, so I stick to management and strategy. This is where I bring the most value.
I need also my team to help me keep learning. By showing me HOW they do their work and WHY they do it that way, they really make a difference and keep me up to date.
MY EXPECTATIONS OF MY DIRECT REPORTS
My direct reports need to leverage me to the maximum, whether it is to challenge, review or train. The more they use me, the better we will grow.
To deliver consistently in terms of quality, documentation, and timing means they are doing a good job. A stellar job comes when they take initiatives and pitch it to me so we can add it to our plan.
One of my specificities as a manager? I want anything to be though with scalability in mind. Anything my team does must be something we can build upon. If we can purchase a database with thousands of qualified leads once, and won’t be able to use any learning form it… it is not worth our time!
LOGISTICS
I’m a morning person and like to focus during the early hours. I like to have a chat around a coffee in the morning around 9.30AM to discuss about the day’s challenges.
Lunch is important (understatement), I need a proper break and I am happy to share this time to socialize. I won’t have lunch at my desk. Not negotiable. We can talk work but I’d rather we didn’t :)
After 5PM, don’t expect me to be in a meeting (except if you are on a different timezone) since I’m usually exhausted and want to go home to take care of my daughter.
If it cannot stand the test of time, put it in an email.
For communications, always use email, chat/slack are good only for something that will take less than 5 minutes and won’t live up for more than 5 minutes.
When I have a meeting, I need a proper invitation with a set agenda. A debrief is nice too. If you don’t do it, I will. Subsequently, I will own the meeting and will be responsible for setting the follow-up tasks.
When asking things from me, make sure you provide all the links to all relevant documents.
When asking for a review, always provide the briefing document / kickoff presentation.
When in urgent need of feedback, grab me!
GIVING AND RECEIVING FEEDBACK
I tend to be focusing more on the negative than the positive (even if this doesn’t always show). I will give you regular praise but not when you expect them. I tend to see patterns of someone doing a great job and like to put him.her under the spotlight. It is harder for me to give this kind of feedback in 1:1.
Positive feedback are usually in public, negative are always in private.
If I give you feedback, even if negative, it means I care and that there is something we can do about it. The lack of feedback is a very worrying signal, it means there is nothing I can do about it…
Rule of thumb: positive feedback are usually in public, negative are always in private.
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.
