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Last February, I took a position as a manager of an offsite group of 24 professional staff. As the New Year rolls around I'm trying to answer the question, "What are the rewards of being a manager?"

I would be interested in hearing what you have found to be the rewards of your management career.

juliahhavener's picture
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Seeing my individual directs succeed - from the baby steps to the final leaps and bounds.

Associated with that is seeing their realization at where they are now compared with where they were.

For me...it's seeing my team meet our goals, exceed our goals, and have successes where we didn't expect them (the last one happened a lot this year).

Mark's picture
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Joy in helping others succeed beyond their wildest dreams.

Mark

CalKen's picture

Mike;

As always you are succinct and to the point. Your words sum up exactly how I feel.

I had the pleasure of a visit by one of my directs from a previous position whom I had mentored for a couple of years. Last year I was able to place him into a temporary position of authority (I was changing programs and had selected him as the interim manager until a final decision from upper management was made). He was very successful during this six-month period and is now being looked at for an entry-level management position. We talked for an hour regarding his growth, and he hoped that he was able to work for me in the future as he said that he learned the most working fom me.

Words just cannot explain how I felt when I heard that, and that is the joy in helping others to succeed. Thanks Mike and Mark for doing the same for me.

Mark's picture
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You can call me Mark. ;-)

A GREAT story. Manager Tools managers get them more than other managers...which is cool indeed.

Mark

slbound's picture

Thanks for the responses. One of the hard things about becoming a manager for me is recognizing my contribution isn't measurable in the traditional sense. I just hope I do more good than harm.

CalKen's picture

I have learned in my short management career that whenever you contribute to a team member's success (personal and/or professional) you will be paid far more than any traditional sense. I still look favorably to the people that I have mentored (although my maangers and I have serious disagreements over what is truly mentoring) and kept in contact with. Most if not all have told me how much my mentorship has meant to their careers and even something as little as giving someone encouragement when they do not think that they can succeed goes a very long way. I have also learned a lot about myself in the same vein, which is priceless in my opinion. Your contributions have an everlasting impact on your team's and the company's success and this is something that is very hard to measure.