Under Estimating Others

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“What advice would you give to a new manager starting out a new job in a new company?”  That was the question that was posed to me by a young friend over coffee.  My first question was, “Do you have a new job?” 

The response was, “Not yet, but I hope that I will, soon.”

I thought about the question for a while.  Then I said that my best advice to a new manager is – don’t underestimate those around you. 

The biggest mistake that I see many managers, leaders, or executives make is that they under estimate their staff and they over estimate what they know and their own importance.  I think that can be said of many people in life in general. 

As parents, many of us underestimate our children’s ability to comprehend what is going on around them, and we underestimate what they need from us.  As children, we underestimate our parents’ intelligence and understanding of life.  As friends and neighbors, we underestimate the importance that we have in each other’s life.  We are the support unit, the community, and the social norm.

Going back to my example of under estimating the staff – so often it is the quiet person at their desk, shoveling their way through mounds of paper – invoices, statements, requests for proposals, etc. that have the greatest grasp of what actually happens in the office and who actually does the work (and who doesn’t) and who knows which people you can count on in a crisis.  It is knowing all these things that will make someone a better manager.  Sometimes though, you need extra help.  Don’t underestimate who can give it to you.

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Readers….

We would like to know what advice you would give to someone new at their job?  It can be one sentence, or a story.  Please include your name, and how long you have been involved with Questers. 

If you have a story idea, send it to me…  Judith-hirst@Questers.ca.

Go in peace.


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