Stepping into the role of manager for the first time has a unique set of challenges. Learn how to manage yourself as well as how to manage others. Slides taken from a class taught by Janet Aronica of Localytics. Learn more from the experts by visiting Intelligent.ly

1. presents
Simple Tips for
First Time Managers
JANET ARONICA
@JanetAronica

2. SIMPLE TIPS FOR FIRST TIME
MANAGERS
Janet Aronica
August 20, 2013
37

3. • Content Marketing
Manager at Localytics
• Head of Marketing at
Shareaholic
• Marketing at oneforty, got
acquired by HubSpot
• Firm Director for college
IMC firm, Editor of college
paper, Editor of high
school paper and captain
of swim team (Likes being
a manager)
JANET ARONICA

4. MANAGING YOURSELF
PART ONE

5. Use “to-do lists” wisely.
1

6. Learn how long it takes to
complete the tasks of your
craft.
2

7. Work backwards from long
term deadlines to create weekly
and monthly deliverables.
3

8. Use time constraints as
opportunities to focus.
4

9. Parkinson’s law: “Work
expands as to fill the time
available for its completion.”
TRUTH

10. Create “editing checklists” to
ensure thorough editing in
fewer rounds.
44

11. Some days you’ll be less
motivated than other days. Use
the snowball effect to get things
rolling.
5

12. Don’t multi-task.
6

13. Just because things come up
doesn’t mean you have to pick
them up. Prioritize.
7

14. Maximize productivity by
clustering similar projects
together.
8

15. Don’t take anything personally.
You are not your job, so it’s not
about you.
9

16. Learn to appreciate criticism.
People don’t try to fix things
they don’t care about.
10

17. Don’t be fooled by casual office
environments. You need to keep
your emotions in check.
11

18. “As you can see, I feel strongly
about this subject...”
USE THIS PHRASE

19. Take care of your personal life.
12

20. • Zocdoc for doctor’s appointments
• Amazon Prime subscription
shipments of just about anything
• Auto-pay for your bills (Sallie Mae
gives you a lower interest rate if you
do this!)
• Make lunches for the week on
Sundays
QUICK TIPS

21. Don’t burn out. Be thankful
instead.
13

22. MANAGING UP
PART TWO

23. Know when to email and know
when to have a face-to-face
conversation.
14

24. EMAIL FACE TO FACE
Document reviews with realistic
timelines for review
Things that take more than 3
sentences to explain
Actually quick questions Asking for help with decisions,
like approval for spending a lot of
money and other thingsPrep for 1 on 1’s Regular 1 on 1’s
Delivery of meeting agendas Major process changes
Quick status updates (indicate
no action required)
Brainstorm sessions
Cat videos (JK – I’m more of a
dog person.)
Status updates for broader group
(Powerpoint slides)

25. Don’t leave anything up for
interpretation in an email.
16

26. Never be caught off guard.
Communicate future action
confidently.
17

27. “We’re working on that. We’re
reviewing everyone’s schedules
and hoping to schedule a
brainstorm early next week.”
USE THIS PHRASE

28. Speak up about roadblocks.
Bad news can’t wait. Give your
manager a chance to be a part
of the solution.
18

29. Keep 1 or 2 “back-pocket
metrics” top of your mind to
give thoughtful off the cuff
updates about projects.
19
SOURCE: Justin Levy - http://justinrlevy.com/being-prepared-with-back-pocket-metrics/

30. “We launched a blog this month and it’s
going great.”
Vs.
“Our new blog is doing well. We’re seeing
that 20% of the visited content on the
website is from the blog and leads are up
10%.”
USE THIS PHRASE
SOURCE: Justin Levy - http://justinrlevy.com/being-prepared-with-back-pocket-metrics/

31. Drop the “umms” and the
“likes.” These are verbal fillers.
Speak with confidence.
20

32. “Given what we know right
now I recommend we do ____
but we shouldn’t make a final
decision until we have more
information.”
USE THIS PHRASE
SOURCE: Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office

33. Express strong opinions
without making enemies.
21

34. “For the reasons that I listed
above, I suggest we do _____.
But I’m interested in what
others have to say.”
USE THIS PHRASE

35. Be decisive. Learn to act
without permission.
22

36. “In order to hit our deadline of ____, we
had to move forward without your
feedback. We chose to do _____. Although
we couldn’t incorporate your specific
feedback on this, I look forward to your
ideas on the next one and working
together more on this.”
USE THIS PHRASE

37. MANAGING OTHERS
PART THREE

38. Embrace your new role and act
like a manager.
23

40. 1 Person Marketing Team Marketing Manager
Coming up with all the ideas on
my own.
Including others in the
brainstorming process.
Setting my own deadlines. Communicating progress and
milestones to others – asking for
and getting help when I need it.
Managing my own schedule. Managing my own work plus
knowing what others are doing.
Doing everything myself. Teaching others how to do things.
Making marketing decisions by
myself.
Holding others accountable for
their choices.
Feeling guilty about having others
help me.
Finding joy in the output of others.
Doing anything but code. Don’t touch product or BD
anymore.
Yoga pants on the regs (It’s
Friday!)
Skirts sometimes. Trying to learn
about fashion, look like a 26 year
old and wondering why I put that
off for this long.
Wine. Nicer wine.

41. Let it go. Delegate.
24

42. “It’s about getting the job done,
not necessarily being the one
that does it.”
– Nice Girls Don’t Get the
Corner Office
TRUTH

43. Discuss your role as a manager
with the right people.
25

44. The Person The Conversation
Your manager - Identify goals
- Identify who exactly you manage
Someone you are
managing
- Build a relationship
- Learn what they are hoping to learn and
accomplish and how you can help them
grow
Someone you beat out
for the job of manager
- This could be weird – be upfront though
- Approach as “how you can work together”

45. Stay in sync with your boss
and other managers to avoid
conflicting messages and
assignments.
26

46. Engage first. Get to know
people and let them get to
know you. Don’t over-share, but
being closed off sends the
wrong message too.
27

47. Tell people how you prefer to be
communicated with.
28

48. Don’t treat everyone the same.
29

49.
SOURCE: Harvard Business Review
http://blogs.hbr.org/video/2013/07/know-your-teams-motivational-m.html
Preventive Focused
“What do I have to lose?”
Promotion Focused
“What do I have to gain?”
Want security. Like trying new things.
Work slowly and deliberately. Love brainstorming. Big
thinkers.
Get stressed out by tough
deadlines.
Work quickly and are risk takers
so they might make mistakes.Not comfortable w/ new things.
Feel anxious when things go
wrong.
Lose steam without a lot of
positive feedback.
MOTIVATE: Give them advice on
how to do the task most
effectively – mistakes to avoid etc.
MOTIVATE: Emphasize how their
project fits into the big picture.
Give them feedback so they can

50. Present projects strategically.
30

51. 1. Give specific projects
2. Face to face conversation
3. Get them excited about it (!!!)
4. Demo it once on your own
5. Do it together
6. Have them do it for you
7. Have them repeat the project back for you
8. Tell people how you want them to
communicate progress
QUICK TIPS

52. Give the project a goal and a
deadline.
31

53. Making progress makes people
happy.
TRUTH

54. Inspire coachability with clear
ownership.
32

55. SOURCE: http://www.earlystager.com/home/2011/2/5/being-coachable-and-
coaching.html
High Confidence
3 4
12
Low Confidence
Low
Competence
High
Competence

56. Be straightforward, yet
approachable when giving
negative feedback. You want
them to be a part of the
solution.
33

57. • Be literal – “This is unacceptable
because ____” or “I am disappointed
that _____.”
• Don’t be passive aggressive. Don’t say
things like “Help me to understand
why” or “I’m confused” unless you’re
actually in need of understanding or
you are confused.
USE THESE PHRASES

58. In certain contexts, positivity
can feel abrasive. Validate
negative feelings before
presenting the sunshine and
rainbows.
34

59. “I know this is a tough project
and a tight deadline, but you’ve
got this. Try _____. Might make
it a little easier.”
USE THESE PHRASES

60. Don’t solve other people’s
problems for them.
35

61. “Let me know what questions
you have after you Google this
and review the support articles
and tutorials available on the
website. I’m happy to help you
after that.”
USE THIS PHRASE

62. You can be a nurturing leader
and still have ownership over
your time.
36

63. “I’d love to help but I’m on a
tight schedule today. Can we
catch up later?”
USE THESE PHRASES

64. Pick a management style that
suits you!
37

65. Remember that you do the best
you can for who you are at the
time.

66. It’s not going to happen
overnight.

67. You’re probably doing great.
The point is to grow so that 6
months from now you’re doing
much better and that 5 years
from now you’re doing even
better than that.

68. You’re probably doing great.
The point is to grow so that 6
months from now you’re doing
much better and that 5 years
from now you’re doing even
better than that.

69. 1. Half the Sky
2. Rework
3. Nice Girls Don’t Get the
Corner Office
4. Delivering Happiness
5. The Four Agreements
6. The One Minute
Manager
7. The Situational Leader
8. Good to Great
9. “How to Respond to
Negativity” – Harvard
Business Review
10. “Know Your Team’s
Motivational Mindset” –
Harvard Business
Review
11. TED Talk: “Dan Ariely:
What Makes Us Feel
Good About Our Work?”
FURTHER READING

70. WORKSHOP: WEBSITE REDESIGN
1. Design Firm (located in Mumbai)
2. CEO, will be out next Tuesday and
Thursday morning
3. VP Marketing
4. Marketing Manager (You)
5. Marketing Coordinator, will be out
sick 1 day next week
6. 3 Interns, 1 “doesn’t like to write”
7. 1 new Marketing Manager starting
next week
8. Also giving feedback: CTO, VP of
Engineering, VP of Product, VP of
Biz Dev, VP of Sales and new COO
(started this week)
1. Copy still to be written: Homepage, 3
product pages, About page
2. Product feature is not finished on 1 of
the product feature pages you are
writing copy for – so you can’t get a
screenshot the old fashion way yet.
3. Launching new UI at same time so
screenshots are not finalized until
launch day – need to coordinate with
product team on timing
4. All copy needs to be approved. Still
collecting screenshots and customer
logos
5. QA website still to be done
6. Website launch party for startup
community still needs to be planned.
7. 10 working days left
THE TEAM THE TASKS

71. WORKSHOP: WEBSITE REDESIGN
Your challenge is to “work
backwards” by two weeks
and create a project plan
that leads to the big launch
day!

72. Course Title
Course Title
INSTRUCTOR NAME