How to be a good manager?
April 27, 2016 9:56 AM Subscribe
I am interviewing at various agencies and I just had an interview for an ACD level. I'm ready but I have only had informal management rolls, never an official title. So what is there to know?
I have "managed" mid level copywriters before on jobs/creativity and currently while I don't manage a staff, I am a project manage/producer where I manage all aspects of the project and ensure of quality, testing, creativity, usability, etc. My former director put me in charge of everything on our digital property and I was in charge of the RFP, agency selection, SOW, etc. So I do know my stuff when it comes to getting a job done at a manager's level. But managing a staff? I don't know what it takes to make sure I am an effective, good boss. My current new boss? He never managed a staff before and holy cow is he micromanaging. Our first day he gave all of us a list of his expectations such as "show up on time", "come to meetings 5 minutes early", "sign your time sheet". We honestly thought he was joking with us but nope, this was serious (all of us are older than him too). So I don't want to be that person.
My former manager is excellent at people skills but I just don't know how to tell a hiring manager that I can do it/did it informally. I have to move up sometime and this sounds like a great opportunity so I want a great shot. My experience is 20 years in the biz and have always had great reviews on my project management/creativity.
I have "managed" mid level copywriters before on jobs/creativity and currently while I don't manage a staff, I am a project manage/producer where I manage all aspects of the project and ensure of quality, testing, creativity, usability, etc. My former director put me in charge of everything on our digital property and I was in charge of the RFP, agency selection, SOW, etc. So I do know my stuff when it comes to getting a job done at a manager's level. But managing a staff? I don't know what it takes to make sure I am an effective, good boss. My current new boss? He never managed a staff before and holy cow is he micromanaging. Our first day he gave all of us a list of his expectations such as "show up on time", "come to meetings 5 minutes early", "sign your time sheet". We honestly thought he was joking with us but nope, this was serious (all of us are older than him too). So I don't want to be that person.
My former manager is excellent at people skills but I just don't know how to tell a hiring manager that I can do it/did it informally. I have to move up sometime and this sounds like a great opportunity so I want a great shot. My experience is 20 years in the biz and have always had great reviews on my project management/creativity.
Know your limits. Can you fire people? Can you hire people? Can you reward people with money, time off, anything else? Learn who else can do these things -- even if you can, can anyone else also do them? Learn the processes in doing all these things. Corollary: Know who can fire and reward you.
Tell people what you want. Do it formally, in writing, one on one. Does your company have a performance review process? If so, adhere to it (and do it more often than you're required to); if not, set one up. Review your expectations with them regularly. Corollary: Make your boss do this for you.
Praise in public, punish in private. Always always always. Don't even jokingly rag on one of your team members, or your boss, when anyone else can hear you, even if it's that kind of office environment. No one will ever notice that you don't give people shit.
Take no credit. Even if you were literally the only person involved in a thing that your boss praises you for, say something like, "My team deserves the credit for doing X and Y while I took care of this."
Take all the blame. Frankly, it is your fault if your team was supposed to do something but didn't. Internalize that. This does not mean that you cannot be mad at someone for fucking something up, but only in private (see above).
Solve the problem first. I call this "Why vs. How" -- figuring out why something went wrong means you're looking to blame someone; figuring out how something went wrong means you're looking for how to correct it, or at least to avoid it going wrong next time. Cultivate a workspace where people know that they should be coming to you with a problem and their idea for a solution. Of course, that doesn't mean you're going to go with their solution every time, but consider it, and explain to them later (but before you implement the other solution) why you're going in another direction.
Write your processes. At the end of every day, think about what you learned that day and write it down -- not just about big-picture stuff, either, but stuff like "How to use the scanner" and "Bob's twins are going to college next year." Keep the big-picture stuff available so if you're out of the office for a week, your team won't lose a step.
Have a deputy. Even if it's not official, there will be someone on that team who's in charge when you're not around. Keep that person on your side. Try to make it official. Don't pick that person until you've had the chance to see who does it naturally. Meet with that person every now and then. Your deputy isn't your spy, but he or she can still be a good source of information that other people don't want to tell you.
Never complain down. Is your boss making you do something stupid? Too bad. He or she is the boss, and you do it. And don't tell your people that it's someone else's stupid idea -- you argue it with your boss (in private) and then the idea is yours, or at worst, just "a thing that we will be doing." (One slight exception -- that deputy you figured out from the last paragraph? You can tell that person, in one of your regular meetings, if you know that he or she won't spread it around. But try not to do this.)
Have an outside friend. Spouse, significant other, whatever -- have someone that you can complain to "off campus" so you don't have to keep swallowing it.
Start off mean. Not like Clancy-Brown-in-Shawshank mean, but a little harsher than you're comfortable with. It's a lot easier to get nicer than to get meaner.
Meetings:
Don't have a meeting without a purpose. "Synchronizing" is a good purpose for once a week, not once a day. Less if you're actually working in the same place with these people every day.
Meetings are for everyone. If you're just talking to one person, take it off line and move the meeting along. If two people are just talking to each other, tell them to take it off line and move the meeting along.
Minimize preparation. Don't make people create or update slides for meetings -- if they need to do that, why not just have them email their slides to you, then you get back to them individually with your questions?
posted by Etrigan at 11:03 AM on April 27, 2016 [11 favorites]
Tell people what you want. Do it formally, in writing, one on one. Does your company have a performance review process? If so, adhere to it (and do it more often than you're required to); if not, set one up. Review your expectations with them regularly. Corollary: Make your boss do this for you.
Praise in public, punish in private. Always always always. Don't even jokingly rag on one of your team members, or your boss, when anyone else can hear you, even if it's that kind of office environment. No one will ever notice that you don't give people shit.
Take no credit. Even if you were literally the only person involved in a thing that your boss praises you for, say something like, "My team deserves the credit for doing X and Y while I took care of this."
Take all the blame. Frankly, it is your fault if your team was supposed to do something but didn't. Internalize that. This does not mean that you cannot be mad at someone for fucking something up, but only in private (see above).
Solve the problem first. I call this "Why vs. How" -- figuring out why something went wrong means you're looking to blame someone; figuring out how something went wrong means you're looking for how to correct it, or at least to avoid it going wrong next time. Cultivate a workspace where people know that they should be coming to you with a problem and their idea for a solution. Of course, that doesn't mean you're going to go with their solution every time, but consider it, and explain to them later (but before you implement the other solution) why you're going in another direction.
Write your processes. At the end of every day, think about what you learned that day and write it down -- not just about big-picture stuff, either, but stuff like "How to use the scanner" and "Bob's twins are going to college next year." Keep the big-picture stuff available so if you're out of the office for a week, your team won't lose a step.
Have a deputy. Even if it's not official, there will be someone on that team who's in charge when you're not around. Keep that person on your side. Try to make it official. Don't pick that person until you've had the chance to see who does it naturally. Meet with that person every now and then. Your deputy isn't your spy, but he or she can still be a good source of information that other people don't want to tell you.
Never complain down. Is your boss making you do something stupid? Too bad. He or she is the boss, and you do it. And don't tell your people that it's someone else's stupid idea -- you argue it with your boss (in private) and then the idea is yours, or at worst, just "a thing that we will be doing." (One slight exception -- that deputy you figured out from the last paragraph? You can tell that person, in one of your regular meetings, if you know that he or she won't spread it around. But try not to do this.)
Have an outside friend. Spouse, significant other, whatever -- have someone that you can complain to "off campus" so you don't have to keep swallowing it.
Start off mean. Not like Clancy-Brown-in-Shawshank mean, but a little harsher than you're comfortable with. It's a lot easier to get nicer than to get meaner.
Meetings:
Don't have a meeting without a purpose. "Synchronizing" is a good purpose for once a week, not once a day. Less if you're actually working in the same place with these people every day.
Meetings are for everyone. If you're just talking to one person, take it off line and move the meeting along. If two people are just talking to each other, tell them to take it off line and move the meeting along.
Minimize preparation. Don't make people create or update slides for meetings -- if they need to do that, why not just have them email their slides to you, then you get back to them individually with your questions?
posted by Etrigan at 11:03 AM on April 27, 2016 [11 favorites]
Train.
Cross-train.
Delegate.
I always made sure that everybody knows what to do and how to do it, and then step back and let them do it. And I made sure that everybody has a good idea of how to do others' work, too. That way, slack can be picked up or people can assist without having to be brought up to speed. And giving people responsibility invests them in the team or the project or the company, or all of those. Then you become the all-around problem solver and overseer. Oh yeah, re meetings: have them all while standing up -- keeps them short and active (no slouching in chairs, looking at phones under the table, etc.) but be sure to have an agenda; no more than once a week, once a month is better. Praise public / punish private -- absolutely! As to being mean first, I think a happy medium can be attained by being firm and decisive, not mean or dictatorial. I much preferred a happy shop.
posted by MovableBookLady at 12:48 PM on April 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
Cross-train.
Delegate.
I always made sure that everybody knows what to do and how to do it, and then step back and let them do it. And I made sure that everybody has a good idea of how to do others' work, too. That way, slack can be picked up or people can assist without having to be brought up to speed. And giving people responsibility invests them in the team or the project or the company, or all of those. Then you become the all-around problem solver and overseer. Oh yeah, re meetings: have them all while standing up -- keeps them short and active (no slouching in chairs, looking at phones under the table, etc.) but be sure to have an agenda; no more than once a week, once a month is better. Praise public / punish private -- absolutely! As to being mean first, I think a happy medium can be attained by being firm and decisive, not mean or dictatorial. I much preferred a happy shop.
posted by MovableBookLady at 12:48 PM on April 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
Check out Manager Tools, perhaps starting out with the Basics series.
posted by elmay at 2:55 PM on April 27, 2016
posted by elmay at 2:55 PM on April 27, 2016
FWIW, while ACD positions do require some management in the administrative sense, it tends to be more about cultivating creative work and balancing it against the demands of the business. I would focus on playing up things like exhibiting leadership (on projects or within teams), project management, allocating resources, mentoring writers (you mention "managing" them in quotes - what does this mean, exactly?), collaborating with marketers and others outside the creative sphere and, perhaps most importantly, pushing creative work to the next level.
Really, any agency worth its salt will be more interested in that stuff than in whether you're checking timesheets.
Good luck!
posted by chestnut-haired-sunfish at 3:46 PM on April 27, 2016
Really, any agency worth its salt will be more interested in that stuff than in whether you're checking timesheets.
Good luck!
posted by chestnut-haired-sunfish at 3:46 PM on April 27, 2016
My former manager is excellent at people skills but I just don't know how to tell a hiring manager that I can do it/did it informally.
Just tell your interviewer that you've done it, and also mention that you've learned from the best.
Getting better at people skills is something that naturally develops with experience if you focus on it and you're not thick. TV shows like 'The Office' (English and American versions) depict what happens when managers over-extend personal boundaries at work.
(side note: to reiterate a point on Etrigan's list, the hiring and firing of office staff should always be done with your superiors and fellow managers closely involved in the process.)
posted by ovvl at 4:25 PM on April 27, 2016
Just tell your interviewer that you've done it, and also mention that you've learned from the best.
Getting better at people skills is something that naturally develops with experience if you focus on it and you're not thick. TV shows like 'The Office' (English and American versions) depict what happens when managers over-extend personal boundaries at work.
(side note: to reiterate a point on Etrigan's list, the hiring and firing of office staff should always be done with your superiors and fellow managers closely involved in the process.)
posted by ovvl at 4:25 PM on April 27, 2016
Response by poster: @chestnut....
"Managing" them as in informally reviewing their writing and giving some creative direction. Currently I manage projects yet work collaboratively with my developers and designers but they look to me towards strategy, UX and other guidance.
I sometimes think that perhaps I'm making more of a big deal out of management than what it really is. I talked with a friend yesterday and he said "be their champion and be their shield. Give them work, tiny guidance and let them work. With the level these people are working at, they all have great ideas somewhere and are capable." I feel that I've been doing that 10 years at my current job. My former boss (who walked out due to our current boss being absolutely horrible) essentially let me run the show. She trusted in me enough to lead projects, stand up for the project and give the right answers respectfully and disagree when appropriate.
I'm also thinking that whatever I hated in a boss (micromanaging, backstabbing, not being available...) just do the opposite/do what I really want in a boss.
posted by stormpooper at 10:35 AM on April 28, 2016
"Managing" them as in informally reviewing their writing and giving some creative direction. Currently I manage projects yet work collaboratively with my developers and designers but they look to me towards strategy, UX and other guidance.
I sometimes think that perhaps I'm making more of a big deal out of management than what it really is. I talked with a friend yesterday and he said "be their champion and be their shield. Give them work, tiny guidance and let them work. With the level these people are working at, they all have great ideas somewhere and are capable." I feel that I've been doing that 10 years at my current job. My former boss (who walked out due to our current boss being absolutely horrible) essentially let me run the show. She trusted in me enough to lead projects, stand up for the project and give the right answers respectfully and disagree when appropriate.
I'm also thinking that whatever I hated in a boss (micromanaging, backstabbing, not being available...) just do the opposite/do what I really want in a boss.
posted by stormpooper at 10:35 AM on April 28, 2016
Absolutely agree with your friend's advice!
And as for my question around what you meant when you said managing writers, that was more rhetorical in that I think you need to build a more robust explanation (for the purpose of the interview itself). And your response is perfect - I would suggest you say that rather than "managing" (it just means more, you know?).
It sounds like you're well equipped for this kind of role, and I think the management stuff is honestly pretty secondary.
Best of luck!
posted by chestnut-haired-sunfish at 5:45 PM on April 28, 2016
And as for my question around what you meant when you said managing writers, that was more rhetorical in that I think you need to build a more robust explanation (for the purpose of the interview itself). And your response is perfect - I would suggest you say that rather than "managing" (it just means more, you know?).
It sounds like you're well equipped for this kind of role, and I think the management stuff is honestly pretty secondary.
Best of luck!
posted by chestnut-haired-sunfish at 5:45 PM on April 28, 2016
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posted by Beti at 10:07 AM on April 27, 2016 [3 favorites]