Prioritize efforts to kill redundancy — Sachit’s tip to win at being a People’s Manager
Meet Sachit Tandon, Associate Vice President at Urban Company.
Sachit has been at Urban Company for more than two years and currently leads the Painting business team.
When Sachit is not solving critical business problems at work, he can usually be found blowing off steam through painting or watching movies. One also need not ask him for playing poker or board games, twice!
Read on to find how Sachit leads and motivates his team.
What was your journey to joining Urban Company, and how have you grown since joining?
I started my career working as a Consultant at Boston Consulting Group (BCG). My experience at BCG played a very crucial role in setting the foundation for how I am as a team member and a manager today.
During my stint at BCG, I was exposed to many interesting and often complex business problems, which actively shaped my problem-solving mindset and skills that help me day in and out today.
Around my 3-year mark at BCG, I started looking out for roles where I can have more active ownership of business, as opposed to working with clients. I was also at a junction in life where I wanted to try building a business from scratch, and was sure Urban Company could give me the right mentorship.
Although I had heard good things about UC from my peers and was convinced of my next step, it was really the interview process that sealed the deal for me. During the interview process, two things really stood out — the leaders and the culture. My interactions ended up being some of the most insightful conversations I have had on how to shape a business. UC’s unique business approach resonated well with me.
I joined in 2021 as an Entrepreneur in Residence in the Large Home Projects vertical and was quickly exposed to a difficult problem at hand — solving for customer experience in a complex multi-day project like Painting.
My first year was extremely tough in terms of driving outcomes and consistently putting in efforts without a clean silver bullet. However, it built resilience and defined how we, as a team, never give up. Fortunately, my ability to prioritize and orchestrate efforts across a distributed team also gave confidence to the leadership. I was promoted to Associate Vice President in 2022. Since then, I have learnt and grown immensely as a business leader and personally as well.
The last two and a half years have been very insightful through the multitude of experiences and have definitely strengthened my confidence in running a business and working with a large team.
What is something unique about your team here?
The two things that I love about my team are the camaraderie we share and their steadfastness.
We have tried to build a culture that allows us to have fun while we work and not let the lows bring us down.
Our team has some of the smartest and most determined folks I have ever worked with and we take pride in both our achievements and failures. We do not shy away from tough situations and stand up for each other when the times are low.
What makes my life as a manager super easy is having a team that is very determined, self-sufficient and one that does not rest till we achieve the outcome — all this, while having a good laugh and some fun banter here and there. Having a light environment to work in, I believe, plays a very crucial part in how the team performs and feels engaged.
What is the most common challenge that managers face while leading teams?
I have personally experienced as well as have seen other managers struggle with two pitfalls — active prioritization and the art of letting go (read as: not micro-managing).
In the kind of business we run at Urban Company, there will always be 10+ things on one’s plate at all times.
It is extremely crucial for managers to actively prioritize efforts and kill the redundant activities.
After all, in most cases, it is the most crucial 20 per cent inputs that bring 80 per cent of the outcomes. If you are able to play this role well with the team, half the battle is won!
Speaking about the second pitfall: the absolute joy-killer in a team is micro-managing and leads to significant tension/stress. It is not uncommon for someone, especially a new manager, to expect that everyone in the team works just like the way they do. Each person comes with their own unique experiences, style and preferences — hence it is very important to understand and accommodate the same.
At the same time, instilling trust in your team is equally important. Once a task is assigned, guide them well and have faith that they will bring about the right outcome.
That said, a strong tip that I received from my manager and one which I often go back to is that it is also okay to let the team struggle at times and let them figure out solutions to the problems — because once they figure it out themselves, they come out even stronger!
What’s your personal mantra, and where did it come from?
My personal mantra is that no problem is hard enough to solve if you put your heart and mind into it.
Having gone through a cycle of a seemingly unsolvable problem at Urban Company, and turning it around, I truly and wholeheartedly believe this to be true. With the right inputs and guidance, we can solve any problems that come our way.
What goes a long way is also keeping the same mindset with the team — giving them tough problems to solve and once successful, also acknowledging and giving them the platform to also guide others.
What is a piece of advice you give to new managers at Urban Company?
I have always believed that the best outcomes can only be achieved with a team that’s happy. New managers should actively spend time in understanding their team — their priorities, their growth and actively working towards mentoring and giving the right platform for them to be successful.
This also means not shying away from tough feedback and conversations, but thinking about what is right for them at that point in their career. Making those growth goals happen is equally important — even if it means shuffling work streams and some overhead in the short run to running the business.
If you are able to solve for team happiness and satisfaction and keep a positive work environment, the other half of the battle is won!
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