Hey friends,
Hope you had a good weekend.
Here’s this week’s 1 Doodle · 1 Do · 1 Direction.
1 Doodle
Over the past seven years, as I’ve closely coached people in academia and corporate settings, I’ve heard all kinds of stories about management styles.
Some managers give people room to experiment. They know the person might fail, but if the failure will not burn the budget, damage the team, or create a serious problem, they let them try and learn.
Some managers do the opposite. They micromanage every step, don’t let people make decisions on their own, and check on them every 30 minutes.
And then there is another style that is harder to see at first. The manager or PI seems hands-off and says, “You’re doing fine,” but they do not really coach you. They notice your mistakes, but instead of helping you fix them, they collect them. Later, those same mistakes can be used as a reason to give you a low score and push you out.
This week’s doodle is a reminder that a manager or PI can deeply affect whether an employee or grad student feels supported enough to stay, or exhausted enough to quit.
There is a big difference between only pointing at every wrong path and showing someone the North Star.
1 Do
Think of one leadership decision someone made for you in your workplace or university.
Maybe they trusted you to make a decision or gave you space to figure something out.
Send them a short thank-you note this week.
1 Direction
Managing people is a real skill, and it is completely different from technical knowledge.
Many managers and PIs are technically brilliant, but they never intentionally deepen their knowledge about management. They copy a style they have seen before, then hope that after years of trial and error, they will become good at managing people.
Last week, I talked to someone whose manager trusted him to make a decision that cost the company around $2 million. I’m sure there were checks and balances behind the scenes. I’m sure the manager had thought through the risks before approving it.
But what mattered most was that the manager did not make him feel like he had to prove that he had done all the checks and balances. He felt that his manager trusted him. And because of that, he felt more confident, proud, and excited about his work.
That conversation made me ask myself:
How many times have I acted like a leader when I train, mentor, or manage someone?
That’s all for this week.
Warmly,
- Ehsan /a-🌞/
P.S. If this newsletter made you think of someone, feel free to forward it to them. They can read all past newsletters here and subscribe if they like.
P.P.S. I recently made a video on Your Company's Meeting Problem Has a Price Tag. You can watch it here.
P.P.P.S. Feel free to reply and say hi. I always enjoy hearing from readers.
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