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The Proper Care of Managers

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So those who have been around me know that I often can come across as someone who is sometimes abrasive. A guy who won’t stop until he gets his way, won’t take no for an answer. Can guarantee that the first thing out of his mouth is NO.

Today I had a meeting with my manager’s manager. It had been a while since I had talked to him, we were late on a few projects, so needless to say: I was a bit nervous.

Things went fine. After the ‘discussion’ was over, I leaned over and told him what a good job he was doing. I told him that because of the reasons for our meeting, (I would no longer be reporting to him), I was bummed that we were losing him as a uber manager (is that the proper term for your manager’s manager?)

I went on to tell him that I really like his managerial style and that I was going to miss working under him.

I did not get all sappy. Nope: not a tear shed.

HOWEVER: I did see some relief on his face. We had a pleasant conversation and we committed to having a lunch together once a month going forward. (If Dave reads this, he knows of the nefarious nature of this act of kindness.) In reviewing the events of the day, I thought about this, and reflected on myself. Earlier during the day, I was somewhat beating myself up for some of the mistakes I had made with a project I was working on. It was delayed, I was starting to doubt myself. Were people talking bad about me behind my back? Are people not telling me information I need to succeed because I am difficult to work with?

Once I told my uber manager how much I appreciated him and that I realized that because of his increase in responsibilities, I totally understood where he was going on his career. I really did appreciate his management style, that he was really doing a good job. However, by verbalizing it, it appeared to solidify in his mind a little more that what he was doing was making a difference, that things were going on the right path.

Summary: Even though you might be a pain in the back side, offering words of encouragement to your manager never is a bad thing. They are human, just like you, they have insecurities, just like you. They were not born being a manager. Offering them words of confirmation (I am sure) will pay dividends in the future.


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