Why I miss having a manager

Why I miss having a manager

Desi Jagger's Blog

Why I Miss Having a Manager

I have had a wide range of managers – from the inspiring rock star “I want to be you some day” to the demoralizing ogre “I’d rather run into the woods than to report to you”. The latter, combined with my strong value for freedom, made me ask myself:

“What if I was my own boss?”

Well, now I work as a freelance coach and trainer and I am my own boss. I can do pretty much whatever I like, whenever I like and most importantly, if I like. I get to be “right” all the time. My idea is always the one that “wins”. And that’s precisely what is so hard about being a solopreneur. Having a manager is one of the things I miss about my corporate job at P&G. Here’s why:

I miss having my thinking challenged.

At P&G, I would spend hours crafting 1-pagers (I use the official term, although we all know these were either 2 pages or font six) for my ideas. Despite the diligent details, a barrage of questions inevitably followed:

“Have you considered the latest competitor launch? Did you get input from the sales team? How about looking at this another way….?”

It’s natural to resent having to justify every point during such “interrogations”. Not to mention the ensuing load of re-work that would delay the project and slowly eat away at my passion.

Now that I am my own manager, there is no one to “interrogate” me and I actually miss it. Challenging my thinking drives me to take my ideas to the next level. It bulletproofs my plans before I spend months executing them – and in a way, saves me from avoidable disappointments. It helps me to position my ideas to appeal to a wider audience, including those who don’t share my perspective. Sure, it’s slower, but the tortoise eventually beats the hare.

I miss being forced to face reality, right now.

One of the most tedious things about working in a hierarchical organization was updating my manager about project status. No amount of creativity on my colorful scorecards could stop this from feeling like a repetition of facts that took time away from real work.

Now that I have no one to update, I also have no one to discuss my challenges with. I can choose to avoid a problem for months, reassuring myself that it’s not a priority or it’s not that bad. But this doesn’t make it disappear. Instead, I keep mulling it over and I feel guilty for doing nothing about it. In moments like this, I wish I had a manager who I had to report my challenge to. Simply vocalizing the problem gives it parameters, makes it more concrete and less scary – and the solution often flows out of this clarity.

I miss getting external recognition

 Having a manager wasn’t just about being criticized or driven to improve. It was also about being recognized for my progress. Having someone by my side meant they could appreciate my struggles and be the first to say “well done, I know that wasn’t easy”. (Of course, getting compliments from a bad manger is rare, but not as rare as compliments from a non-existent one).

Now I have no manager and no one to cheer me on. And whilst I can appreciate my own efforts, I still crave external recognition, a signal that my work is meaningful to others, not just to me.

I miss the pressure of “artificial” deadlines

It frustrated me when my manager asked for a full market analysis by tomorrow – just because he wanted to “check something” on a whim. I could not understand why my slides had to be printed two weeks before the presentation or why new TV adverts always had to start airing on the 1st of the month.

Where did these deadlines come from? And what would happen if I didn’t meet them?

I didn’t miss many deadlines (yes, I was a goody two shoes), so I don’t know. But what I do know, is that without these small artificial deadlines, projects now seem eternal and it’s really hard to gauge how far along I’ve come. This can be disheartening and disorientating, and it often means they take twice as long as they should.

“Being managed” has developed a negative connotation recently, especially amongst millennials. If you need or want to be managed, then there must be something wrong with you – you are not down with the new “independent age”. I invite you to flip this perspective:

How can you leverage your manager to help you achieve things you are afraid to dream of today?

Need help with your manager? Coaching can help you rebuild and get the most out of this important relationship. To find out how, book your free consultation now.

Photo credit: Thomas Shahan

Why I quit my safe, well-paid job at P&G

Why I quit my safe, well-paid job at P&G

Desi Jagger's Blog

Why I quit my safe, well-paid job at P&G

Why would you ever consider leaving your secure, well-paid job in one of the best companies in the world? How could you detach yourself from a strong corporate culture and a network of intelligent, motivated people, many of who have also become your friends?

There comes a tipping point when the burning need for life-long fulfilment overcomes the promise of short-term promotions and pay rises. At precisely this point, I left my Procter & Gamble marketing job to pursue my passion for learning and development. Here is why:

I wanted my passion to be my full-time job, not just part of it

Brand management can be great fun and I did enjoy it. I learnt to work in cross-functional teams and to understand what makes people tick. Over time, however, I found my favourite days at work were when I had delivered formal training or just taught a colleague something new. I used to come home and my partner Mark would say:

“You have delivered training today. I can tell because your face is glowing.”

I received very positive feedback from the participants who were impressed by the time and energy I dedicated on developing others since it was only part of my job.

I was hungry – actually starving – to learn more

Working on the same brand in two very distinct regions – the UK and Arabian Peninsula – helped me understand the purely cultural differences in a business. I learned invaluable lessons on interpreting implicit messages and navigating ambiguity. As my business grew double digits for two consecutive years, it was time for a new challenge, which the company could not provide here and now.

No longer enjoying my day job, I began to focus on training and development in my spare time. I was both following my passion and learning new things. My evenings and weekends were filling up with reading, networking and designing training programs. Eventually this “double life” became tiresome and unhealthy as it ate into my time with family and friends. Training and development had grown enough to be my full-time job, not just my hobby.

I needed to be fully honest with myself again

Some people can come into the office, deliver a project and leave without the slightest emotion or attachment. I am not one of these people. I envision an incredible future and get excited about it. I energize my time around it. I tell the whole world about it because I believe it’s going to make a genuine difference.

But what happened when I stopped believe in the vision? I was less excited about it, I tried to rally my team but my energy was stifled, I was ashamed of telling the world about it because let’s be honest, it wasn’t really going to make a big difference. Although I learnt to persevere, continuing to work hard and grow the business – I was no longer having fun and wasn’t proud of my achievements. I felt untrue to myself as my mind wandered back to training and development, constantly looking for opportunities to teach and help others in the office and outside. I was asking my team to work on brand plans that I was no longer so passionate about and that just didn’t feel right.

When I finally resigned, a huge rock fell off my shoulders. I envisioned an incredible future in training and development and got excited about it. I am now telling the whole world about my passion because I believe it’s going to make a genuine difference to people’s lives.

Be honest – are you passionate about you job? Are you learning something new every day? If you are one of the many people re-evaluating their life and work, then coaching can help you. Take the first step now by booking your free consultation.

Photo credit: FreeImages.com/CristinaNichitus