Tanner Scherer of EcoWash On 5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Manage a Team

Recognition — Every employee deserves recognition. This is huge in boosting overall team morale and motivation. Employees that receive recognition are much more likely to be motivated to work harder towards those shared team goals. This in turn leads to more overall success within a team, and more satisfaction within the workplace.

As a part of our series about the five things you need to successfully manage a large team, I had the pleasure of interviewing Tanner Scherer.

Tanner Scherer is a 3rd year Marketing and Real Estate student at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. Tanner is also a Regional Manager for EcoWash, an eco-friendly home maintenance services company that provides opportunities to college students to grow and develop their career. Tanner is just 20 years old, and already has a wide variety of experience in the professional field.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! What is your “backstory”?

I have always been a people person, observant, curious, and self driven. I have worked in many different leadership roles from a young age. My first leadership role was in high school as a Head Lifeguard. In my freshman year of college I got an on campus job in college at my local athletic facility, and worked my way up into a Building Manager position. As a sophomore in college at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, I landed an internship at EcoWash as a Division Manager. In this role, I was exposed to all aspects of business. I ran my own division of the company, managing six laborers,while handling things such as marketing, management, and sales for over 80 clients during this 3 month period. I was in charge of sourcing these laborers, hiring them, training them, and overseeing them on a day to day basis. This role taught me so much about business, patience, empathy, communication, and more importantly it taught me a lot about myself. For example, there was a three week period in the middle of my internship where I remember thinking to myself at the end of each week, wow, that was the busiest week of my life. And then the next week would top it, and then the next week after that would top it. This really showed me what I could truly handle as an individual. Not only did I handle things, I also had three of the biggest and most productive weeks of my internship, I was able to perform under that pressure. After a successful internship with EcoWash, and breaking multiple company records, I moved up into a Regional Manager position. In this position I was responsible for recruiting and hiring a team of a dozen college interns to work for me. I was responsible for overseeing their divisions, and acted as a mentor to these interns on a day to day basis, training them in all areas.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

The most interesting thing that I have been exposed to in my opinion is the scope of work that I deal with on a day to day basis. I feel as though I have seen and experienced so much, so early on in my career. In the Division Manager role it was so diverse, I was never doing the same thing from day to day. I got tons of experience in sales, marketing, and management in this role. Along with that I also became extremely familiar with negotiations, problem solving, relationship building, and customer satisfaction. Moving on to the Regional Manager role, I was exposed to recruiting, company development, and a whole new side of management. I also was exposed to things that I never pictured myself doing such as search engine optimization. Overall, I really enjoy the diversity in my career, and I would say that has to be the most interesting aspect of what I do.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

One mistake that I made while I was first starting was poor time management. There was one instance where I had a day full of estimates with clients, and I also had a new employee starting who I was training in the morning, and I set up my schedule extremely poorly. It seemed as though I had larger gaps in my schedule where clients were close together, and small gaps where clients were further apart. This made for a hectic day, and a lot of overcommunication and stress on my end. Going forward, I really changed the way I went about planning. I realized that taking the time to strategically plan your day is a very important thing, and it saves a lot of time and stress in the long run. To this day, planning remains one of the most imperative things in my continued success.

Ok, let’s jump to the core of our interview. Most times when people quit their jobs they actually “quit their managers”. What are your thoughts on the best way to retain great talent today?

Employee-manager relationships are huge in today’s work culture. I think that the key to retaining great talent is building and establishing a relationship with the employees who work around you, whether they are direct reports or management. It is very important that employees are able to come to work everyday and feel some sense of belonging and togetherness, and this is very difficult to achieve if there is no relationship established between the manager and the employee. I think too often it is seen as a one sided issue, when in reality, both sides need to put forth the effort to develop that working relationship. But ultimately, this responsibility falls on the shoulders of the manager.

How do you synchronize large teams to effectively work together?

The key to effectively managing a larger team is definitely communication. I feel as though upwards of 90% of issues in the workplace are due to communication issues. Many issues are easily worked out through simple communication. The key here is this cannot be one sided. It takes two to have a conversation and it also takes two to effectively communicate together within the workplace. However, when managing a larger team, much of this burden falls on the manager. In instances where the manager has poor communication with his or her employees, things usually spiral downwards. In general, the employees working underneath the manager tend to put in less effort than their manager. So if the manager isn’t putting in 110% effort all the time, why would the individuals working under them do the same? Luckily, this issue can be prevented with consistent and clear communication, and consistent effort and attention from the manager. A few simple examples of how this can be handled are through group chats, weekly meetings, and daily/weekly check ins.

Here is the main question of our discussion. Based on your personal experience, what are the “5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Manage a Team”. (Please share a story or example for each, Ideally an example from your experience)

1. Empathy — In order to effectively manage a team there needs to be a lot of respect, care, and understanding coming from the manager. It is super important that employees feel a strong sense of value and support from their manager. This also has to deal with employees feeling comfortable. I believe that if employees feel that value and support from their manager, and have a sense of belonging within the company, they are able to truly grow and be their best self while providing their best efforts towards their work.
2. Communication — There is no relationship that functions properly without clear and effective communication. This is something that absolutely goes both ways. It is imperative that the manager communicates effectively so that they are able to lead their team. It is also imperative that the employees communicate effectively so that their manager is able to help and lead them. Without clear communication it is very hard to develop a proper working relationship. Communication also builds trust. Trust is very important between an employee and a manager and without it, working relationships tend to diminish rather quickly.
3. Honesty — As an employee and as a manager, it is imperative that there is honesty in a working relationship. From an employee standpoint, it is very hard to get help from management if there isn’t clear and honest communication. In times of struggle it is important that employees are communicating issues with their managers so that they can effectively handle these issues. It is also important that employees feel safe and are able to communicate issues or problems that the manager might not be happy about. In times of success, it is important to communicate these as well, as senses of enjoyment and fulfillment are also imperative in a healthy working relationship. From a managers standpoint, it is important to honestly communicate with your employees so that there is developed trust within that working relationship. As mentioned before, it is super important that both the negatives and the positives are communicated honestly to management so that they are able to make changes and adapt to ensure a healthy and enjoyable work environment.
4. Shared goals — One of the most important things is making sure that a team has shared goals. If management and employees aren’t on the same page and working towards the same goals, the overall productivity isn’t where it needs to be. This is very important so that teams can synchronously work towards the shared end goals that help motivate the team, improve collaboration and accountability, and help achieve a sense of fulfillment on both ends.
5. Recognition — Every employee deserves recognition. This is huge in boosting overall team morale and motivation. Employees that receive recognition are much more likely to be motivated to work harder towards those shared team goals. This in turn leads to more overall success within a team, and more satisfaction within the workplace.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Creating a positive environment is key. This is done through the many things that I just discussed. It is very important to create a positive environment in which employees feel valued, motivated, and respected. Another way that this can be done is providing opportunities for growth within the company. This doesn’t always come through promotions, but growth is something that everyone wants to experience, and it is something that provides a lot of internal satisfaction and enjoyment not only in the workplace but also in one’s personal life.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I think that managers should focus on their own health, and the health of their employees as well. Both physical and mental. This is something that I feel is neglected in today’s workplace. I feel as though if you aren’t taking care of yourself and bringing forward your best self each and every day, how do you expect to bring out the best in the individuals on your team? Ultimately, your health comes first before the workplace, and I think that people should focus more on that. That stems from diet, a healthy sleep routine, and regular exercise. Being able to live a healthy lifestyle and disconnect from the workplace is super important. Again, these are all very important things that should not be overlooked when times get busy and stressful.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My favorite quote is from an unknown person, but it goes as follows: “There is no elevator in life, you have to take the stairs.” This quote is fantastic and something I live by on a daily basis. Oftentimes I feel like people are in search of a shortcut to success in life. Spoiler alert, that doesn’t exist. All of the people who you view as “successful”, put in the work to make it to that point. There is no elevator, you need to take the proper steps to get to that next level, and to see the success that you’ve dreamed about.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

You can follow me on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/tannerscherer13

Thank you for these great insights, and for the time you spent on this. We wish you continued success.