Keys to Managing Your Manager
4 November 2008
Read by 1660 persons
During your probationary period, you will need to invest in your assignments, find your place in the team... and work with your new manager. The success of this relationship also depends on you.
Shared Responsibilities
A manager who welcomes a recent graduate into their team must facilitate their integration to help them develop the potential on which the company has bet. For their part, the newcomer needs their work to be seriously evaluated and, ideally, that their daily discovery of the company is shared. The goal: to gain confidence and prepare for a promotion that will lead them to their second position. While some companies have set up real integration programs, in most cases, you will have to find the instructions for your relationship with your manager yourself. The difficulty? Knowing how to position yourself as a responsible professional. Not easy when you're almost a novice...
Dialogue and Proactivity
When Lucie, a management controller graduated from ESCP-EAP, took up her post, her overwhelmed manager couldn't meet her for two weeks. "I didn't dare approach him," she admits. Then the long-awaited meeting took place. "He took all the necessary time and explained my mission very well." The secret of a good relationship lies in one word: dialogue. If the assignments, resources, and objectives haven't been clearly defined during the hiring interview, quickly ask your manager about these points to understand what is expected of you. Even be proactive by daring to reach out to others and seek the right information. In a face-to-face meeting with your manager, you will get your work validated and try to gather some additional information.
Deciphering Company Culture
However, some managers are absent or unenthusiastic, in short, difficult to approach. Should you knock on their door, make an appointment? Write an email? If contact is slow to establish, there's only one way to avoid making a mistake: observe the relationships between employees in the company and conform to this way of working. An example: if all your colleagues leave work at 6 pm, leaving at 8 pm every evening may legitimately be perceived as overzealous...
When the manager is available, the relationship is simpler, but take the opportunity to quickly learn to become more independent. "I had gotten into the habit of listing my questions and seeing him once a day," Lucie recalls, "then he made me understand that it was no longer necessary to have him validate everything, and he clearly told me so in my annual review." Initiatives are also what Jean-Pierre Le Calvez, sales director at Philips, expects. "At the beginning," he specifies, "we ask the beginner to conform to the dominant model, then gradually we expect him to say, 'I've been given resources, and what am I contributing? Have I met my objectives? Have I demonstrated my potential by going beyond my assignments? Have I been a driving force, an innovator?'" To make your first manager your best ambassador in the company, show enthusiasm and propose solutions to improve the organization of your work... but always diplomatically. For example, if you send reports by email, you can suggest having a face-to-face meeting with your manager from time to time.
How to Manage Your First Manager Well
Your contract is barely signed, and you are faced with a new challenge: successfully integrating into the company and, above all, establishing a positive and constructive relationship with your first manager. Our advice on how to achieve this...
How should a recent graduate "manage" their first manager?
It's a very ambitious goal to want to manage your manager. I would rather encourage a young person to consider their place in this relationship. It's not always easy to go from being a student to an intern, and then to position yourself as an employee who must develop their autonomy, their responsibility, and not expect everything from others.
How to establish a positive relationship from the start?
The foundations are laid during the hiring interview: the candidate must ask questions about their assignments, responsibilities, and objectives. During their probationary period, when a recent graduate asks their manager about these points, they must adopt a constructive attitude, along the lines of "what I would need to become operational faster is...," rather than "I don't understand what you expect from me."
How to make a good impression on your manager?
In terms of form, the recent graduate should observe how the team works to absorb the company culture and avoid awkwardness. In terms of substance, they must quickly convince their manager that they don't just do things because they are asked to; they must demonstrate their willingness to commit, including by proposing solutions to improve the organization of their assignment and showing their interest in their profession. But their initiatives must be communicated tactfully. We expect a fresh perspective from recent graduates, not that they oppose the team or revolutionize the entire company!
How do you view your role as a manager for recent graduates?
On construction sites, teamwork is essential. My number one objective is therefore to ensure the integration of the recent graduate by giving them the best possible welcome. I encourage all extracurricular activities: if the team wants to finish a little earlier to go for a jog, I think that's great. I also try to protect them, at the beginning, from the pressure and conflicts of the site to allow them to take on responsibilities gradually, without discouraging them.
What can they expect from you on a daily basis?
The company's interest is to solve problems quickly. My office door is always open, on the construction site, to help a beginner find answers to the difficulties they encounter. It's normal, when you leave school, not to know everything! For the first six months, I'm very pedagogical: if their solutions are not suitable, I calmly explain how it should be done. Then, if they still choose the most complicated and most expensive solution for the company or if they don't integrate well into the team, it becomes problematic, and I have to be firmer.
What qualities do you like to find in a recent graduate?
Motivation, energy, a willingness to be part of the team, a desire to do more! The promising profile is the one who already knows everyone after a week, who has analytical and synthesis skills, a sense of priorities, and above all common sense to provide simple and appropriate answers to the problems they encounter.
"My first manager gave me confidence in myself"
What memories do you have of your early days with your manager?
Excellent! As a senior consultant in the department, he was the one who hired me. During the interview, he was very clear about what he expected from me: the work must be done well and on time. He gave me examples of assignments I could work on and told me not to hesitate to ask him questions. Hired without specific communication training, it was ideal for me to start alongside someone with experience and who was available enough to share it with me.
How did you ask him for help, practically speaking?
Very simply, especially since our offices are close. Since he had told me that I could see him if I encountered a difficulty, I never hesitated to ask him questions. As he was constantly available and never showed impatience, I always worked that way. This corresponds to his personality: he prioritizes communication and exchange.
What did your manager do to make your first steps in the company easier?
He regularly evaluated my work, highlighting what suited him or not, explaining how I should proceed. He taught me my profession and, above all, gave me confidence in myself. I was able to evolve smoothly with solid guidelines, taking on more and more responsibilities. Now, when I have an intern, I try to give them the same availability.
Posted on November 4, 2008
apec.fr
Shared Responsibilities
A manager who welcomes a recent graduate into their team must facilitate their integration to help them develop the potential on which the company has bet. For their part, the newcomer needs their work to be seriously evaluated and, ideally, that their daily discovery of the company is shared. The goal: to gain confidence and prepare for a promotion that will lead them to their second position. While some companies have set up real integration programs, in most cases, you will have to find the instructions for your relationship with your manager yourself. The difficulty? Knowing how to position yourself as a responsible professional. Not easy when you're almost a novice...
Dialogue and Proactivity
When Lucie, a management controller graduated from ESCP-EAP, took up her post, her overwhelmed manager couldn't meet her for two weeks. "I didn't dare approach him," she admits. Then the long-awaited meeting took place. "He took all the necessary time and explained my mission very well." The secret of a good relationship lies in one word: dialogue. If the assignments, resources, and objectives haven't been clearly defined during the hiring interview, quickly ask your manager about these points to understand what is expected of you. Even be proactive by daring to reach out to others and seek the right information. In a face-to-face meeting with your manager, you will get your work validated and try to gather some additional information.
Deciphering Company Culture
However, some managers are absent or unenthusiastic, in short, difficult to approach. Should you knock on their door, make an appointment? Write an email? If contact is slow to establish, there's only one way to avoid making a mistake: observe the relationships between employees in the company and conform to this way of working. An example: if all your colleagues leave work at 6 pm, leaving at 8 pm every evening may legitimately be perceived as overzealous...
When the manager is available, the relationship is simpler, but take the opportunity to quickly learn to become more independent. "I had gotten into the habit of listing my questions and seeing him once a day," Lucie recalls, "then he made me understand that it was no longer necessary to have him validate everything, and he clearly told me so in my annual review." Initiatives are also what Jean-Pierre Le Calvez, sales director at Philips, expects. "At the beginning," he specifies, "we ask the beginner to conform to the dominant model, then gradually we expect him to say, 'I've been given resources, and what am I contributing? Have I met my objectives? Have I demonstrated my potential by going beyond my assignments? Have I been a driving force, an innovator?'" To make your first manager your best ambassador in the company, show enthusiasm and propose solutions to improve the organization of your work... but always diplomatically. For example, if you send reports by email, you can suggest having a face-to-face meeting with your manager from time to time.
How to Manage Your First Manager Well
Your contract is barely signed, and you are faced with a new challenge: successfully integrating into the company and, above all, establishing a positive and constructive relationship with your first manager. Our advice on how to achieve this...
How should a recent graduate "manage" their first manager?
It's a very ambitious goal to want to manage your manager. I would rather encourage a young person to consider their place in this relationship. It's not always easy to go from being a student to an intern, and then to position yourself as an employee who must develop their autonomy, their responsibility, and not expect everything from others.
How to establish a positive relationship from the start?
The foundations are laid during the hiring interview: the candidate must ask questions about their assignments, responsibilities, and objectives. During their probationary period, when a recent graduate asks their manager about these points, they must adopt a constructive attitude, along the lines of "what I would need to become operational faster is...," rather than "I don't understand what you expect from me."
How to make a good impression on your manager?
In terms of form, the recent graduate should observe how the team works to absorb the company culture and avoid awkwardness. In terms of substance, they must quickly convince their manager that they don't just do things because they are asked to; they must demonstrate their willingness to commit, including by proposing solutions to improve the organization of their assignment and showing their interest in their profession. But their initiatives must be communicated tactfully. We expect a fresh perspective from recent graduates, not that they oppose the team or revolutionize the entire company!
How do you view your role as a manager for recent graduates?
On construction sites, teamwork is essential. My number one objective is therefore to ensure the integration of the recent graduate by giving them the best possible welcome. I encourage all extracurricular activities: if the team wants to finish a little earlier to go for a jog, I think that's great. I also try to protect them, at the beginning, from the pressure and conflicts of the site to allow them to take on responsibilities gradually, without discouraging them.
What can they expect from you on a daily basis?
The company's interest is to solve problems quickly. My office door is always open, on the construction site, to help a beginner find answers to the difficulties they encounter. It's normal, when you leave school, not to know everything! For the first six months, I'm very pedagogical: if their solutions are not suitable, I calmly explain how it should be done. Then, if they still choose the most complicated and most expensive solution for the company or if they don't integrate well into the team, it becomes problematic, and I have to be firmer.
What qualities do you like to find in a recent graduate?
Motivation, energy, a willingness to be part of the team, a desire to do more! The promising profile is the one who already knows everyone after a week, who has analytical and synthesis skills, a sense of priorities, and above all common sense to provide simple and appropriate answers to the problems they encounter.
"My first manager gave me confidence in myself"
What memories do you have of your early days with your manager?
Excellent! As a senior consultant in the department, he was the one who hired me. During the interview, he was very clear about what he expected from me: the work must be done well and on time. He gave me examples of assignments I could work on and told me not to hesitate to ask him questions. Hired without specific communication training, it was ideal for me to start alongside someone with experience and who was available enough to share it with me.
How did you ask him for help, practically speaking?
Very simply, especially since our offices are close. Since he had told me that I could see him if I encountered a difficulty, I never hesitated to ask him questions. As he was constantly available and never showed impatience, I always worked that way. This corresponds to his personality: he prioritizes communication and exchange.
What did your manager do to make your first steps in the company easier?
He regularly evaluated my work, highlighting what suited him or not, explaining how I should proceed. He taught me my profession and, above all, gave me confidence in myself. I was able to evolve smoothly with solid guidelines, taking on more and more responsibilities. Now, when I have an intern, I try to give them the same availability.
Posted on November 4, 2008
apec.fr
