Managers get a bad rap a lot of the time.
As if herding a dozen or so special and unique personalities on a daily basis along with mastering your workload and a million other little details is easy.
On top of knowing how to deliver bad news.
Handling conflict in healthy ways.
Having an encyclopedic knowledge of HR.
Navigating hiring and firing.
Maintaining morale.
Organizing your schedule (and everyone else’s).
Keeping the powers-that-be informed.
Setting goals.
Hitting ever-increasing and changing KPIs.
Drinking the proverbial-kool-aid.
Mentoring and coaching people who think they are more qualified to do your job than you are.
And, modeling the way twenty-four seven.
I laugh when I get the question, “Are managers leaders?”
That’s kind of like asking, “Is the sky blue?” or “Is the Pope Catholic?”
Of course. Don’t kid yourself.
It’s pretty insulting to think that managers are some kind of second-class employees. Managing others is a skill and a calling. It takes a special type of person to want to take on that kind of responsibility.
Long days. Unpaid overtime. Unseen thankless tasks. Unlimited patience.
You’d have to be crazy to put your hand up for a role like that, right?
Or, maybe, just maybe you know deep down in your heart of hearts it’s the best way to make a real impact. Maybe, just maybe you believe helping others succeed is what success really looks like. Maybe, just maybe you’re ahead of the rest of us when it comes to living a life of significance and genuine fulfillment.
On behalf of anyone and everyone you’ve ever managed, I say: THANK YOU.
You deserve a bit of love and whole heck of a lot more credit.
Keep going.
Don’t lose heart.
Your team really needs you.
And, the next time somebody asks if you’re a leader or a manager, just smile and say, “I’m not quite sure about that, but I have raised up more leaders than I can count.”
Here’s to the thankless souls out there making a real difference…
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PS. Send this to a manager in your life who impacted you in ways they don’t even know. Thank them. And, let them know what they mean to you. Thanks for reading!