The manager’s race against the clock Tutorial

Explore the gripping journey of Mark in 'The Manager's Race Against the Clock.' Discover the harsh realities of leadership as he juggles his growing responsibilities while sacrificing family time and leisure. Learn key strategies for assertiveness and courage to reclaim balance in your career. Don't miss this vital conversation on effective management!

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Too much work,

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too difficult,

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most of them say,

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when they see their superior running around

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working much more than 40 hours a week.

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The higher you rank up in the hierarchy,

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the more limited your time seems.

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Can this race against the clock be reversed?

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To illustrate this question,

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here's a little story inspired by Dinigi on the hectic life of a manager.

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I have a friend,

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Mark,

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who started his career as a salesperson at a telephone operator.

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His time was dedicated to canvassing,

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selling,

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and contracting with San Francisco's companies.

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He was rather talented and got quickly noticed by his superiors.

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One day his superior called him,

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congratulated him for his performance,

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and offered him a promotion.

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He found himself managing 3 residential salespersons.

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They were all juniors.

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He managed them while keeping his own portfolio of main clients.

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This,

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of course,

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took him much more time.

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So he started staying late at work.

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He sacrificed some of his family time.

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He exceeded 45 hours a week.

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He had less time to see his children.

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He refused to go out in the evening with his wife.

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He was doing a great job.

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Two years later,

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his boss,

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very satisfied with his dedication and results,

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entrusted him with a bigger mission

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to be in charge of the Gamma Pro products with key accounts in Silicon Valley.

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His team grew to have 15 employees,

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juniors and seniors.

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He dedicated himself to launching the sale of this new product

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and to VIP customers.

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Given all his new responsibilities,

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I saw Mark less and less.

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We used to meet every week to play tennis together.

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He canceled these meetings regularly,

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then definitely.

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He stopped going to the company's gym.

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He declined friendly weekend outings because he was working.

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He sacrificed his leisure time,

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his social life.

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Then 2 years ago he was offered a new promotion

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overseeing all the agencies of the Southeast area.

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He found himself supervising sales teams inside and outside the agency.

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You can't say no to a promotion like that.

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He decided to follow a portfolio of key clients

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that required him to travel a lot during the day.

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He started early and finished late.

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He had 8 weeks of paid leave that he didn't allow himself to take.

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He was solicited from all sides by his clients and particularly

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by his teams who knew he was an expert sales representative.

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He was on the forefront of everything.

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Now he never sees his children,

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not at breakfast nor at bedtime.

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No more nights out,

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no more weekends or short vacations.

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He sacrificed his time off.

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He was no longer resting.

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A month ago,

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his newly promoted boss offered him to follow him and be his right hand man.

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Mark wonders whether he will accept this tempting promotion on a flawless career.

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If he continues on this path,

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what else does he have to sacrifice?

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More his family time,

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leisure time,

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time off?

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I coached several managers who worked more than 50,

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60 hours a week.

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Some thought that was very normal.

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Others were exhausted.

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Their families had stopped supporting them

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and were complaining about their absence,

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but they thought that they didn't have a choice.

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They were told that climbing the hierarchy meant working

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more and sacrificing some personal time for work.

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How can we go back

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to the golden rectangle?

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How can we go back to a legal working time and not working on weekends and holidays?

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The higher you go up the hierarchy,

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the more you should start delegating instead of doing.

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We made a video on the subject.

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Mark was doing more and more management

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while continuing to handle large client portfolios.

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He was juggling two jobs manager and sales representative.

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No wonder he started slipping.

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To avoid slipping while continuing to provide quality work,

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you can either refuse taking on new missions or delegate some tasks.

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Ideally,

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it is at the time of your promotion to a new management position.

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That you should make sure you're not starting this new job

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while still keeping a bit of the old one.

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The time imparted to the execution of tasks must be replaced by management time.

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Negotiate well for any new assignment.

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OK,

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Paul,

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I accept to work on this transversal file.

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OK,

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I accept this new position on one condition.

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Here are all the missions that I will no longer be handling

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and that need to be delegated to others.

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Transferring tasks is of course about delegating,

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especially if you become manager

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of an entity in which you already work.

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Gradually over 6 months maximum.

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The execution tasks you had should be redistributed to your collaborators.

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It is the only way to not get caught in a hectic trapeze situation.

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Careful,

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even if your position is not evolving,

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whether you are a manager or not,

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you can little by little slip into this hectic trapeze.

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By keeping your nose to the grindstone,

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you do not see this hectic dynamic forming.

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Competition,

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internal changes,

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the crisis,

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technical evolution,

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all this pushes you to work harder.

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Make sure not to durably affect your family time,

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your social and leisure time,

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or your time off.

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Manager or non-manager,

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to preserve your balance,

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learn how to say no,

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how to negotiate,

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and how to delegate.

Mandarine AI: WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW