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4 Lessons I Have Learned After Two Months of Being Head of Content

I have not been working only for myself these past two months

By Chau TrieuPublished 2 years ago 4 min read
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4 Lessons I Have Learned After Two Months of Being Head of Content
Photo by Jason Goodman on Unsplash

Doing a great job at work and minding your own business is one thing.

Managing other people is a whole different story.

I’m good at excelling at my expertise. I’m good at following instructions. I’m good at doing well on my own. Taking the lead? Not so much.

Inconfidence, fear of confrontation, people pleasing, and hesitance in taking responsibilities for other people’s wellbeing are some of the reasons why I dread taking the wheel.

Hence, the past two months being the Head of Content at my company has felt like two decades. Every morning I have been waking up with questions filling my head: Did I miss any task? Are the deadlines too tight? My teammates have been quiet lately, should I call them up and check on them?

Every day for the past 60 days I have been showing up at work trying to figure out how to be a good leader, which is something I never took a course for.

The upside? I have garnered a few lessons that I thought were worth sharing.

1. Treat your members like how you would treat newbie you

I’m managing three content writers, who are still college students with little experience. While they are passionate and good at their job, they are still learning and needing lots of help.

For the first two weeks, I did not actively check up on them. I told them to drop me a message whenever they needed help and when I didn’t hear from them, I didn’t ask.

At the end of the second week, I found out that one of my team members had been struggling with working and studying for her mid-term simultaneously, but she couldn’t tell me because she was scared that I’d think she couldn’t handle her tasks.

That’s when I knew I had not been communicating with my team enough. And I thought about how my manager cared for me and led me with passion when I first joined the company.

Then I did to my team members exactly what she did to me from day one. I communicated.

2. Most managers are probably faking it

I cannot describe well enough how high my level of anxiety has been since I was promoted. Ever since I was promoted, I have tried to fool myself into being confident and acting like I know what’s going on every single day.

It has been exhausting to say the least.

A 2015 Fortune article stated that: “Being thrust into management without training and preparation is a challenge to anyone. This is getting more common than it used to be.”

When taking on a new role, you are likely to adopt imposter syndrome, which makes you fear that others will discover that you are in fact a fraud, and “many of us never completely shed those fears — we work them out as they come,” says Amy J.C. Cuddy, a professor at Harvard Business School. She believes that faking it ’til you make it is “about pretending to yourself that you’re confident so you can work hard and get the job done.”

This The Irish Times article details the story of Clara, an HR specialist who was promoted to director of operations. She didn’t know what to do at first so she tried to copy the tactics of the effective leaders Clara had seen before her and adjust along the way. After a year, she found herself grown into the role.

I guess I’m not the only one faking it after all.

3. Being a good leader includes not projecting our emotions onto others

I have been under the management of leaders who are quick to respond to their anger, make something out of nothing, and lash out at their employees.

If you have worked with someone like that, you know how annoying that can be.

I could never quite understand why some people do that. Is it because they want to use their anger as a way to exert their power over others? Do they think doing so can push other people to work faster to solve their issues? Or is it merely their defense mechanism?

I have no clue.

What I do know is having experienced it first-hand, I do not want to become that type of manager. Nobody is paid enough to handle their bosses’ emotions.

And being a good leader, above all else, is not letting someone else take the blame for what you are going through internally.

4. You have already tried harder than you think

The last eight weeks has been energy-draining. Almost everyday, I ended my work thinking if I had done a good job and if I had been a fair leader to my team. Even when I was in bed, I tossed and turned all night wondering about my work.

This can, and will happen to any managers who care.

So here’s my words to you, and probably what I need to hear every day:

You have already tried your best. Don’t beat yourself up too much and be proud of what you have done.

Final Words

Being a first-time manager is hard work, patience, and perseverence. If you find yourself in the same situation, here’s what I hope you remember:

  • Treat your members like how you would treat newbie you
  • You’re not the only one who is faking it till you make it
  • Do not project your emotions onto others
  • Give yourself a pat on the back for doing a great job today

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About the Creator

Chau Trieu

Trying to create daily...

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