

My employees reviewed me, and I kind of suck - asanwal
https://medium.com/on-management/124f242a0352

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greenyoda
" _I spend less and less time with each employee. Some know very little about
me, and I about them._ "

If the employees have expectations that the CEO should spend time with them,
that seems to imply that the CEO hasn't hired anyone to delegate management
to, and he essentially has 33 direct reports (every one of his employees).
That sounds like way too many for any manager to be able to handle
effectively.

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blakesterz
But the kids ARE an excuse. The kids will take every ounce of energy from you.
The kids will take focus from you. The kids will change you. Kids is a valid
excuse for sucking at everything.

~~~
pcurve
While I agree that they do drain you in some ways, they are also great career
boosters. I've been with a single company long enough to observe many of my
colleagues get married and/or have kids. Even the ones who decided to have
kids late, after having been married for 10+ years, I see big changes in their
attitude, and for the better.

Notice I said, kids are 'career boosters', but not 'motivators'. While having
kids do boost your career, it's not necessarily because they motivate work
harder or better. By having kids, you actually become more risk-averse, but
you become more shrewd, able to relate to management more, and also forced to
utilize your time better. All these help you climb the rank.

Ultimately though, quality of your work will decline if you're trying manage
people AND do the work too. It's hard to do both, and I think that's the
problem this guy is having. He needs to pick his battle.

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gus_massa
Another excuse: 33 employees is a lot

If you have a 5 members team you can remember the name of everybody’s dog (or
who hates dogs), who likes milk in the coffee, and be approachable and spend a
lot of time with each one.

With 33 employees you have only 1/6 of the time and it’s probably not evenly
distributed, so the new junior hire will probably don’t know how/when it’s a
goo idea to talk directly.

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mooreds
A good look, and I enjoyed the mea culpa. Good on ya!

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forgottenpass
Entrepreneur thinks their shit doesn't stink. Film at 11.

~~~
dandrews
Would to Bog I had karma points enough to downvote your dismissive comment.
Really, couldn't you even read all the way through the article _title_? You
know, where it says "... and I kind of suck"?

OP describes immersing himself in the details of a construction project,
yielding to the temptations of total control. Micromanaging that project (atop
the demands of family life) was a tremendous time-sink, and he lost focus on
the Day Job - leading his company. He became detached, and his management
style more autocratic and less consensus-driven.

He should have, he says, delegated or hired out much of the construction
project work. Shepherding the company culture is a more important use of his
time.

I found his introspective candor refreshing; not everyone is self-assured
enough to admit a mistake.

