As part of the Network of enlightened Women’s fifth annual Professional Development Week, Chloe Anagnos, Marketing Manager at America’s Future, led a session titled, “Thriving as a First-Time Manager.” She is a second-generation American, wife, mother, digital strategist, writer, and a manager with 18 years of work experience.
Anagnos referred to the popular television show The Office to provide perspective into the realm of management. The character Michael Scott was an unserious but loveable and hilarious boss, as his managing style reflected how he would want to be managed. When learning how to manage people, you must consider what characteristics you look for in a leader and a supervisor.
One piece of advice she provided to attendees was, “you know that you are ready to manage when you can answer for every single loss of your team, because you’re not just responsible for their successes, but also responsible for their losses as well. An okay leader will say go. A great leader will say ‘let’s go.’” Achieving this begins with setting clear roles for yourself and your subordinates, as well as defining clear expectations for productivity and your work environment. While setting these expectations, it is important to consider whether or not you would be willing to complete the task yourself. In other words, you should never assign a task that you would not be willing to do as well.
Additionally, Chloe emphasized the importance managing expectations and recommended investing in a project managing software to help with communication and organization. Within this system, it is vital assign who is responsible for each project and set reasonable due dates and priority levels to make sure tasks are completely in a timely fashion. This provides a clear line of communication that fosters teamwork and greater productivity. She highlighted the importance of collaboration and knowing the differencing between coaching and micromanaging. She reminds us to ask ourselves– are we creating a culture where our teammates are willing to carry water for each other and for you?
She also emphasized the importance of rewarding success and incentivizing productivity, such as with off-campus lunches. Celebrating the team’s success will ultimately lead to greater employee retention when subordinates feel they are being invested in and appreciated.
For young women in college just dipping their toes into leadership roles, she recommended leading clubs, such as a NeW chapter on their campus. Another way is to volunteer for a political campaign to receive hands-on experience and exposure to management skills. No matter your outlet for gaining experience, the best way to learn and grow in management is to “say yes to everything you can!”
This blog was written by NeW Communications Intern Natalie Price.
