Hands down, the best part of any day for a manager is working with a junior consultant who “gets it”. In the busy crush of client work, deliverables, over-commitment, and fuss – when you are working with a team that instinctively knows what needs to get done, it’s fun, easy, and rewarding.
All (over) committed
Environment: It’s the end of the semester, and everyone is tired. Students, faculty, staff. Top 15 business school is an experience – client projects, continuous recruitment, mock interviews, student government, alumni events, guest speakers, and kegs. If you look at our calendar, it’s a highlight marker mess of commitments.
Situation: I had 7 different appointments today. Make-up exams, interviews, and consultations. Dude, professors are busy. After meeting with 4 students on a final project (I booted them out), I was meeting with a student to look at a discounted cash-flow model. Looking at the DCF – talking working capital – it was time for a 4:30pm standing meeting with my teaching assistants (TA). They are waiting in the hallway. Yikes, over-booked.
Start the meeting (without me)
The winning moment. The student with the DCF and I walked out of the office to find a different place to work – need to clear my office for the TAs.
As I am leaving my office, I hand a whiteboard marker to a TA and say the magic words, “Here (is the marker) start without me.” I am not the bottleneck.
No institution can possibly survive if it needs geniuses or supermen to manage it. It must be organized in such a way as to be able to get along under a leadership composed of average human beings. – Peter Drucker
This gives me enormous relief when I am working with a team that “gets it.” They know the mission, and the tasks. Things can get done without me. We are like a supercell. Empowered, efficient, and smart.
Work with the right people
Jim Collins talks about getting the right people on the bus. Mark Zuckerberg explains that he only hires people that he would be willing to work for. Sheryl Sandberg tells the story of her mentor telling her to “get on the rocket ship“. Some would call it storming, norming, performing. For me, it is working with people you like and trust.
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