1 Year Later — The Most Important Lesson I’ve Learned

I’ve now been a manager for 1 year. In that year the most important lesson I’ve learned is perseverance. Now — I ❤ my job, but being a manager is the toughest job I’ve ever had.

I can manage a project no problem — people are a different matter altogether. Everyone is different and requires a different approach. My own approach is trust and verify. My team members were hired for a reason — and they deserve my trust. At the same time — my responsibilities require that I verify their work and ensure a particular level of quality. Success is easy — and easy to share.

Failure is harder to manage. People fuck up — believe it or not :) and it’s important to keep that in mind. We’re all human — and we all mess up. The tough thing is going beyond that and understanding how to manage failure. Do you get angry? Do you fire them? How do you discipline them? How do you discipline them? It’s a tough thing to understand and not really quantifiable. As I said before — each person requires a different touch. Some need empowerment — others need a firmer hand.

At the end of the day — it’s like any other relationship. All relationships have ups and downs, good days and bad. The same principle applies to your work relationship. Even if the relationship is manager and employee it still has to be treated as any other human relationship. Again — it’s the hardest job I’ve ever had and the most fulfilling.