Career story time: What my managers taught me
I’m currently volunteering to translate a book about the I Ching (I mentioned here). This ancient Chinese book believes that all life situations can be summarized into 64 hexagrams. Each hexagram has 6 lines, either yin or yang, and depending on their placement and nature, there are 6 personality types in a given situation. Many examples are set in the corporate world, which reminded me of my time as an employee, navigating my career in a fog and learning the political game at work. Let me share a few stories here.
When I was in high school in France, I was very close to a girl whose father is the CEO of the French subsidiary of a large Italian company. We bonded because we were both introverts. Since my parents live in Vietnam (they still do), she would occasionally invite me over to enjoy the family atmosphere. That’s where I got to chat with her dad over meals. I was too young to make the most of such an opportunity, but her parents were perceptive enough to share advice that would serve me for life, just by telling their story.
They lived in a beautiful house, and I assumed they’d always been there. One day, her mom pulled out the family album and showed me that the current sofa dated back to when the whole family was still in a two-room apartment. That’s when I realized this beautiful house could be earned through hard work, that anything was possible, and that maybe I, too, could afford such a house someday.
Another time, her dad told me he was very hard to replace at work because, since the parent company was based in Italy, the CEO absolutely had to speak fluent Italian. That was his strength because the French weren’t great at foreign languages. I listened and didn’t think much of it, since I had no interest in learning Italian, but I remember everything people tell me. And when I was mature enough to understand, I recalled that conversation and concluded that speaking a foreign language was essential. In the years that followed, my main goal in business school was to “nail English.” I achieved it by fighting for it: I did a year-long internship in Norway with 4-month exchange in Australia. Even though I was nearly bilingual after my year in Norway, I knew no one would believe I was fluent in English without a stint in a fully English-speaking country, hence my exchange in Australia. Later, my first two contracts were purely due to my English level. I realized how important it was to find my niche. Now, that’s the advice I give everyone.
Lesson #1: Find your niche!
In another job, I had a very ambitious manager. At first, I thought he was too strategic, not my style, but he coached me generously, even if I didn’t understand everything right away. He told me: “Anh, our bosses all read ‘TheArt of War.’ You need to read the same book your bosses do”. In that book, it says you should know yourself and your team, but even better, know your enemies (here, “enemies” are competitors lol, business is war). When you perfectly understand everyone’s needs, strengths, and weaknesses, you can find a winning strategy.
The most valuable advice he gave me was “go ask your boss what keeps him up at night, what his main goal is, and find a solution to help him achieve it”. I underestimated this advice when he gave it, but again, I remember everything, and after months of mulling it over and accepting the message, I embraced it. We often think our bosses clearly communicate their goals and expectations, but they don’t. Often, they think their problems are too high-level, that grunts like us can’t do anything about it, but in reality, we can always help a little.
I couldn’t apply this advice until a few years later, when I learned that my skip-level manager couldn’t find a replacement for a major account. Of course, whether it’s my direct manager or my two skip-level managers, whom I told every morning that I wanted a major account, no one thought of me. No one.
But I knew what he needed at that moment and that it was bothering him, so I took the initiative and emailed him to say I was available, that I could be the temporary replacement until he found someone more senior. Not only did he hand me the account the next day, but a few months later, thanks to lesson #4 below, I kept that account, and it changed my life.
Lesson #2: Read The Art of War (Amazon link)
Lesson #2b: Ask your boss how you can help him achieve HIS goal
When I wanted to leave my very first permanent job, I felt a lot of guilt. I owed my boss his trust and my first permanent contract, and I didn’t want to job-hunt behind his back. So I handed in my resignation before even applying elsewhere. That way, I could go to interviews with my head held high. My boss was so kind that he even assisted me during my job search. We had a long chat about my career, and he told me that leaving for a better salary or a better title was “too easy,” whereas an internal promotion was more challenging. He said: “if I have two resumes, one from a guy climbing the ladder by switching companies, and another from someone promoted internally, I’d pick the one who was promoted”. I made a note to aim for at least one internal promotion to bolster my resume and impress bosses like him.
But I only understood this phrase when I had to fight for an internal promotion. Despite my positive internal reviews and my time at the company, it was an intense struggle with HR to move up the ladder.
Two promotions slipped through my fingers. Either HR didn’t announce the availability of a position at all, or HR announced it but chose a candidate with much less experience, and the reason given was “but she said in her interview that she wanted to be a manager”. Oh, so you just have to announce what you want, like the law of attraction? So I made an appointment with HR and the managers and explained what I wanted. Indeed, getting an internal promotion is more valuable because it’s not enough to be good at your job; you also have to understand and play the corporate political games. That wasn’t something I liked, which is why I became a freelancer.
Lesson 3: Aim for at least one internal promotion
There were two people who were trying to get into the good graces of the managers. One person pretended to arrive very early but was actually only there 10 minutes before everyone else, so everyone thought she was working hard since 8:30 in the morning (because she also left early). She also managed to smoke at the same time as the big bosses (handy!). And another person who would make the rounds of the managers to chat and occasionally mention their “exploits.” These two people were pleasant, funny, and nice to the big bosses but were unpleasant to the “little guys.” So when promotion time came, the big bosses promoted them first because they had no idea what the people they didn’t talk to actually did. Once, I spoke with one of the big bosses and he only sang praises about these two people – which made me realize that I was doing 10 and they thought I was doing 1; while they were doing 1 and saying they were doing 10.
So I learned that good work absolutely had to be visible to the N+1, N+2, N+3… up to the President of the Republic hahaha. I really didn’t know how to do that; I didn’t smoke, didn’t even drink coffee, didn’t go for drinks after work because I was introverted, I got home late and had to learn to code, get certifications after my workday…
…until one day, my temporary N+1 sent an email to my N+2. That email was very simple: it contained a chart showing a sharp increase in revenue for a very important client (that I was managing) starting from month X. On it, there was an arrow indicating the origin of this increase: “Arrival of Anh on the account.” I wasn’t copied. But my N+2 replied, copying me in, “Congratulations, Anh.” From then on, I was visible in my N+2’s eyes; I finally existed! I was no longer a piece of s*** picking up accounts no one wanted. I found my N+1’s method very subtle but extremely effective. Moreover, the result was largely thanks to my N+1, but he attributed all the success to me (of course, I explained to the N+2 that it wasn’t just thanks to me). I owe him a lot, and I never stopped thanking him for that email; it opened many doors for me afterward. That’s the kind of manager everyone dreams of having, I think! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I don’t really know what happened to those two brown-nosers above, but what I notice is that you can judge a person by how they treat those below them. My N+1, who was in charge of me for only a month, did more for me than my former N+1 did in a year and a half. In Norway, I was moved to tears when a permanent employee from another team went to see my boss to convince him to hire me after my internship. I was a nobody; there was nothing in it for her to help me, but she took the initiative on her own, and I only found out about it through my boss.
The lower someone is on the ladder, the more they need just a word, a gesture, or an email.
So I think you should highlight your own work and also the work of your subordinates, because if they work well, it’s also thanks to your good management.
You should also make your colleagues’ work visible because everyone deserves to be appreciated for their efforts. Giving is receiving. I don’t think you should be afraid to highlight someone else for fear of losing your place or your promotion.
Lesson 4: Make your work and the work of your (nice) colleagues visible
In the I Ching, there are counsels on prudence. There’s a hexagram (number 44) that shows the beginning of “evil.” Among the 6 yang lines, there is one very very small yin line that no one pays attention to, but gradually it contaminates the whole hexagram until it takes over 2, 3, then 6 lines. The “good” people find themselves, a few hexagrams later, completely overturned by the wicked.
It’s like the small tree growing by the wall at my uncle’s place. My uncle thought it was harmless, until he discovered that the roots had reached the foundations of the house and that it had to be cut down before the house collapsed. He told me that when he first saw it, the tree was only 10 cm tall.
Thus, a single bad hire in a company, ONE person, whatever their position (but it’s worse if it’s a highly placed person), can completely kill a company. In his biography written by Isaacson, Steve Jobs said he only recruited A-level people. If a single B-level person joins his company, the average level of the company might become C.
I visited a friend’s small business before my round-the-world trip, and a few years later, I asked him for news about this or that employee I’d bonded with at his company, and he told me “ohhhhlalaaaaa, I almost threw it all away, shut everything down, we don’t have any employees anymore!!”. One person, ONE single person, managed to sow discord in the company, and manipulated an entire team into believing that my friend was mistreating them, citing as an example a missing 20 euros from the annual bonus, when it was actually the accountant’s fault. That incident cost him dearly, as he thanked them all with a big check each, and kicked them out because the atmosphere had become unbearable.
Lesson #5: One bad hire can kill a business
I hope you enjoyed these stories. Feel free to share my article with your kids or your interns. They might not understand anything at the time, but maybe, like me, one day it will all click. It was my way of giving back and sharing the kindness and good advice I received from my previous managers. Sharing is caring.
