Advice from Jill Geisler, Bill Plante Chair in Leadership & Media Integrity, Loyola University Chicago and Freedom Forum Fellow in Women’s Leadership
To be a manager is to be entrusted with power. How you use it can define both your success and your happiness. That’s the clear message in the responses I received when I put a call out on social media, asking managers to tell me what brought them satisfaction in their work. We’ve shared them throughout this week. Here are more of their insights:
“The best part of leadership is opening doors for people. To see that spark when they accomplish a goal or learn a new skill, fills me with so much satisfaction. I often think of myself as a sweeper during a curling match. My goal is to smooth the way, nudge a little here and there, so the player hits their target. It’s about them winning, not you.” — Teresa Schmedding, Content Manager at Wipfli, LLC & past president, ACES.
“The most fulfilling thing about being a manager is seeing people fulfill their vision and knowing you helped support them in doing it. That and bourbon.” – Erik Schrader, VP & General Manager, WOIO-TV, Cleveland
“I comment as a retired News Director, Executive Producer and Communications Officer. To this day, it is always gratifying to hear from folks who worked with me. Some still seek me out for advice, others reach out thanking me for the opportunities and yes fun, they had working together. Just yesterday a former anchor thanked me for a compliment I gave him. That it meant so much because it came from me. Success for me has come so much after the fact, that what I did matters to this day.” — Brian Olson
Read more manager insights: ‘Run through walls’ / ‘Provoke ideas and let them run’ / ‘I love seeing employees grow’
Tags: Leadership