simple tips for first time managers
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presents
Simple Tips for First Time Managers
JANET ARONICA
@JanetAronica
SIMPLE TIPS FOR FIRST TIME MANAGERS
Janet AronicaAugust 20, 2013
37
• Content Marketing Manager at Localytics
• Head of Marketing at Shareaholic
• Marketing at oneforty, got acquired by HubSpot
• Firm Director for college IMC firm, Editor of college paper, Editor of high school paper and captain of swim team (Likes being a manager)
JANET ARONICA
MANAGING YOURSELF
PART ONE
Use “to-do lists” wisely.
1
Learn how long it takes to complete the tasks of your
craft.
2
Work backwards from long term deadlines to create weekly
and monthly deliverables.
3
Use time constraints as opportunities to focus.
4
Parkinson’s law: “Work expands as to fill the time
available for its completion.”
TRUTH
Create “editing checklists” to ensure thorough editing in
fewer rounds.
44
Some days you’ll be less motivated than other days. Use the snowball effect to get things
rolling.
5
Don’t multi-task.
6
Just because things come up doesn’t mean you have to pick
them up. Prioritize.
7
Maximize productivity by clustering similar projects
together.
8
Don’t take anything personally. You are not your job, so it’s not
about you.
9
Learn to appreciate criticism. People don’t try to fix things
they don’t care about.
10
Don’t be fooled by casual office environments. You need to keep
your emotions in check.
11
“As you can see, I feel strongly about this subject...”
USE THIS PHRASE
Take care of your personal life.
12
• Zocdoc for doctor’s appointments• Amazon Prime subscription
shipments of just about anything• Auto-pay for your bills (Sallie Mae
gives you a lower interest rate if you do this!)• Make lunches for the week on
Sundays
QUICK TIPS
Don’t burn out. Be thankful instead.
13
MANAGING UP
PART TWO
Know when to email and know when to have a face-to-face
conversation.
14
EMAIL FACE TO FACE
Document reviews with realistic timelines for review
Things that take more than 3 sentences to explain
Actually quick questions Asking for help with decisions, like approval for spending a lot of money and other thingsPrep for 1 on 1’s Regular 1 on 1’s
Delivery of meeting agendas Major process changes
Quick status updates (indicate no action required)
Brainstorm sessions
Cat videos (JK – I’m more of a dog person.)
Status updates for broader group (Powerpoint slides)
Don’t leave anything up for interpretation in an email.
16
Never be caught off guard. Communicate future action
confidently.
17
“We’re working on that. We’re reviewing everyone’s schedules
and hoping to schedule a brainstorm early next week.”
USE THIS PHRASE
Speak up about roadblocks. Bad news can’t wait. Give your manager a chance to be a part
of the solution.
18
Keep 1 or 2 “back-pocket metrics” top of your mind to give thoughtful off the cuff
updates about projects.
19
SOURCE: Justin Levy - http://justinrlevy.com/being-prepared-with-back-pocket-metrics/
“We launched a blog this month and it’s going great.”
Vs.
“Our new blog is doing well. We’re seeing that 20% of the visited content on the
website is from the blog and leads are up 10%.”
USE THIS PHRASE
SOURCE: Justin Levy - http://justinrlevy.com/being-prepared-with-back-pocket-metrics/
Drop the “umms” and the “likes.” These are verbal fillers.
Speak with confidence.
20
“Given what we know right now I recommend we do ____ but we shouldn’t make a final decision until we have more
information.”
USE THIS PHRASE
SOURCE: Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office
Express strong opinions without making enemies.
21
“For the reasons that I listed above, I suggest we do _____. But I’m interested in what
others have to say.”
USE THIS PHRASE
Be decisive. Learn to act without permission.
22
“In order to hit our deadline of ____, we had to move forward without your
feedback. We chose to do _____. Although we couldn’t incorporate your specific
feedback on this, I look forward to your ideas on the next one and working
together more on this.”
USE THIS PHRASE
MANAGING OTHERS
PART THREE
Embrace your new role and act like a manager.
23
1 Person Marketing Team Marketing ManagerComing up with all the ideas on my own.
Including others in the brainstorming process.
Setting my own deadlines. Communicating progress and milestones to others – asking for and getting help when I need it.
Managing my own schedule. Managing my own work plus knowing what others are doing.
Doing everything myself. Teaching others how to do things.
Making marketing decisions by myself.
Holding others accountable for their choices.
Feeling guilty about having others help me.
Finding joy in the output of others.
Doing anything but code. Don’t touch product or BD anymore.
Yoga pants on the regs (It’s Friday!)
Skirts sometimes. Trying to learn about fashion, look like a 26 year old and wondering why I put that off for this long.
Wine. Nicer wine.
Let it go. Delegate.
24
“It’s about getting the job done, not necessarily being the one
that does it.” – Nice Girls Don’t Get the
Corner Office
TRUTH
Discuss your role as a manager with the right people.
25
The Person The Conversation
Your manager - Identify goals- Identify who exactly you manage
Someone you are managing
- Build a relationship- Learn what they are hoping to learn and
accomplish and how you can help them grow
Someone you beat out for the job of manager
- This could be weird – be upfront though- Approach as “how you can work together”
Stay in sync with your boss and other managers to avoid
conflicting messages and assignments.
26
Engage first. Get to know people and let them get to
know you. Don’t over-share, but being closed off sends the
wrong message too.
27
Tell people how you prefer to be communicated with.
28
Don’t treat everyone the same.
29
SOURCE: Harvard Business Review
http://blogs.hbr.org/video/2013/07/know-your-teams-motivational-m.html
Preventive Focused“What do I have to lose?”
Promotion Focused“What do I have to gain?”
Want security. Like trying new things.
Work slowly and deliberately. Love brainstorming. Big thinkers.
Get stressed out by tough deadlines.
Work quickly and are risk takers so they might make mistakes.Not comfortable w/ new things.
Feel anxious when things go wrong.
Lose steam without a lot of positive feedback.
MOTIVATE: Give them advice on how to do the task most effectively – mistakes to avoid etc.
MOTIVATE: Emphasize how their project fits into the big picture. Give them feedback so they can
Present projects strategically.
30
1. Give specific projects2. Face to face conversation3. Get them excited about it (!!!)4. Demo it once on your own5. Do it together6. Have them do it for you7. Have them repeat the project back for you8. Tell people how you want them to
communicate progress
QUICK TIPS
Give the project a goal and a deadline.
31
Making progress makes people happy.
TRUTH
Inspire coachability with clear ownership.
32
SOURCE: http://www.earlystager.com/home/2011/2/5/being-coachable-and-coaching.html
High Confidence
3 4
12
Low Confidence
LowCompetence
HighCompetence
Be straightforward, yet approachable when giving
negative feedback. You want them to be a part of the
solution.
33
• Be literal – “This is unacceptable because ____” or “I am disappointed that _____.”• Don’t be passive aggressive. Don’t say
things like “Help me to understand why” or “I’m confused” unless you’re actually in need of understanding or you are confused.
USE THESE PHRASES
In certain contexts, positivity can feel abrasive. Validate
negative feelings before presenting the sunshine and
rainbows.
34
“I know this is a tough project and a tight deadline, but you’ve got this. Try _____. Might make
it a little easier.”
USE THESE PHRASES
Don’t solve other people’s problems for them.
35
“Let me know what questions you have after you Google this and review the support articles and tutorials available on the website. I’m happy to help you
after that.”
USE THIS PHRASE
You can be a nurturing leader and still have ownership over
your time.
36
“I’d love to help but I’m on a tight schedule today. Can we catch up later?”
USE THESE PHRASES
Pick a management style that suits you!
37
Remember that you do the best you can for who you are at the
time.
It’s not going to happen overnight.
You’re probably doing great. The point is to grow so that 6 months from now you’re doing much better and that 5 years from now you’re doing even
better than that.
You’re probably doing great. The point is to grow so that 6 months from now you’re doing much better and that 5 years from now you’re doing even
better than that.
1. Half the Sky2. Rework3. Nice Girls Don’t Get the
Corner Office4. Delivering Happiness5. The Four Agreements6. The One Minute
Manager7. The Situational Leader8. Good to Great9. “How to Respond to
Negativity” – Harvard Business Review
10. “Know Your Team’s Motivational Mindset” – Harvard Business Review
11. TED Talk: “Dan Ariely: What Makes Us Feel Good About Our Work?”
FURTHER READING
WORKSHOP: WEBSITE REDESIGN
1. Design Firm (located in Mumbai)2. CEO, will be out next Tuesday and
Thursday morning3. VP Marketing4. Marketing Manager (You)5. Marketing Coordinator, will be out
sick 1 day next week6. 3 Interns, 1 “doesn’t like to write”7. 1 new Marketing Manager starting
next week8. Also giving feedback: CTO, VP of
Engineering, VP of Product, VP of Biz Dev, VP of Sales and new COO (started this week)
1. Copy still to be written: Homepage, 3 product pages, About page
2. Product feature is not finished on 1 of the product feature pages you are writing copy for – so you can’t get a screenshot the old fashion way yet.
3. Launching new UI at same time so screenshots are not finalized until launch day – need to coordinate with product team on timing
4. All copy needs to be approved. Still collecting screenshots and customer logos
5. QA website still to be done6. Website launch party for startup
community still needs to be planned.7. 10 working days left
THE TEAM THE TASKS
WORKSHOP: WEBSITE REDESIGN
Your challenge is to “work backwards” by two weeks and create a project plan
that leads to the big launch day!
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