Lots of people find themselves managing Digital PR and/or Creative teams without the benefit of previous experience or much in the way of training. In this talk, Hannah busts some leadership myths, shares a bunch of the management mistakes she's made, and the lessons she's learned along the way.
This talk was originally presented at the Digital PR Summit, Manchester, in April 2024.
6. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
I’d been in an individual
contributor role at Distilled,
but I had previously
managed people
(both at Distilled & elsewhere)
& I was really nervous about
stepping back into a
management role
I joined Verve as
Head of Creative in
August 2016
9. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
Here they are:
| elevates people |
| communicates clearly |
| doesn't shy away from difficult conversations |
| consistent | cool-headed | open to criticism |
| measured | intentional | fair | honest |
10. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
She sounds pretty
great, huh?
I didn’t always manage to
be all those things, but if I
was struggling with an
issue, I'd look back at this
list, and ask myself "how do
I deal with this in a way
that allows me to stay true
to my values?"
| elevates people |
| communicates clearly |
| doesn't shy away from difficult conversations |
| consistent | cool-headed | open to criticism |
| measured | intentional | fair | honest |
11. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
Most of these
qualities come
reasonably
naturally to me.
They are aligned
with my own
personal values, so
they’re pretty easy
for me to embody:
| elevates people |
| communicates clearly |
| doesn't shy away from difficult conversations |
| consistent | cool-headed | open to criticism |
| measured | intentional | fair | honest |
12. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
But there are a
couple of areas
where I’m
stretching myself!
(I’m not always as consistent,
cool-headed, or measured as
I’d like to be)
| elevates people |
| communicates clearly |
| doesn't shy away from difficult conversations |
| consistent | cool-headed | open to criticism |
| measured | intentional | fair | honest |
14. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
Don't try to embody a value
or quality which isn’t
true to you…
You'll struggle to keep up the act
which will discomfort your direct
reports, & it'll make you really unhappy
17. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
As I said before,
these qualities did
not appear on my
list:
I am not these
things & I think
that’s fine - I’m not
going to try to
embody them.
| dynamic |
| inspirational |
| visionary |
| optimistic |
37. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
“accidental assholes”
people who don’t display
overtly toxic behaviours,
but aren’t great
at supporting
their teams
“toxic managers”
display behaviours like
aggression, bullying,
dishonesty, harassment,
manipulation,
& narcissism
39. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
This type of manager is
more common
(& what I’ll be focusing on)
“accidental assholes”
people who don’t display
overtly toxic behaviours, but
nevertheless aren’t great at
supporting
their teams
42. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
I had a reasonably clear idea
of the sort of manager I
didn’t want to be
I think because I’d had
“accidental asshole”
managers in the past
46. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
I didn’t want to be one of
those managers either
I also hate those managers
who brag about their
team having
“total autonomy”
(it sounds great, until you realise that
what this manager is actually doing is
using “total autonomy” as an excuse for
their dereliction of duty)
47. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
At various points,
I failed to offer appropriate
levels of guidance and
support.
I became the thing I hated:
the manager who leaves her
people flailing
Nevertheless, I became
an accidental
autonomy asshole
51. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
Or, they go too
far in the
other direction,
& end up here:
(again, even though this
probably isn’t the sort of
manager they wanted to be)
| democracy at any cost |
| failing to managing anything or anyone |
| totally people-oriented |
59. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
The truth is,
neither end of the
spectrum is “good”:
Most people hate being micromanaged,
but appreciate structure, guidance, and support.
100% autonomy can feel like abandonment.
Micromanagement
Ideally we want to
land here
Autonomy
61. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
Again, neither end of
the spectrum is
“good”: No one wants to work for a dictator,
but are you being democratic or just avoiding making
tough decisions?
EG Voting on which PR campaign ideas to create sounds fair -
but will we reach the right decisions?
Authoritarianism
Ideally we want to
land here
Democracy
63. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
Neither end of the
spectrum is “good”:
Being too task-oriented means the work produced is great,
but the team are in tatters.
But when a manager is too intent on ensuring that everyone’s
happy, often the quality of the work suffers
& mediocrity reigns.
Task-Oriented
Ideally we want to
land here
People-Oriented
64. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
& when it comes to
behaviours like:
aggression, bullying,
dishonesty, harassment,
manipulation,
& narcissism
I strongly agree - those
behaviours aren’t just “bad”
they are utterly toxic
Many of the articles written
on the topic of management
lack nuance:
behaviour x = “bad”
67. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
we need to be aware of
our feelings about particular
aspects of management, &
how these feelings might
impact our behaviour
Rather than swinging from
one extreme to the next,
68. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
First I need to
understand how I
actually think and
feel about a
particular aspect of
management:
“I know that I hate to be micromanaged,
& I fear accidentally becoming
that thing I hate”
69. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
Then I need to
acknowledge
what’s likely to
happen as a result
of this:
“I’m likely to swing too far in the
opposite direction:
I’d sooner offer no guidance
or help at all, than find myself
accidentally micromanaging people”
72. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
Use them to help define the
sort of manager you
want to be
(it’s fine to include some
behaviour stretches but
not too many)
Revisit & revise
if you need to
Determine your own management style
Do not try to embody qualities or values you do not hold.
It’ll confuse your team & make you miserable.
Identify your own
values & qualities
73. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
Your list will be
different to mine, &
that’s cool:
| elevates people |
| communicates clearly |
| doesn't shy away from difficult conversations |
| consistent | cool-headed | open to criticism |
| measured | intentional | fair | honest |
74. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
Reading articles & books
about management is great,
but believing everything
you read probably isn’t
Ask yourself:
Is that trait I think I need to
embody really desirable?
(we need fewer Elon Musk’s on
the planet - not more)
Notice which “management myths” you’ve unconsciously absorbed
Most of those “XX Qualities of Remarkable Managers” articles can get in the bin
Be mindful of the content
you consume
75. worderist.com
|
@hannah_bo_banna
Consider not just the
behaviours you’re
running from, but also
the behaviours you’re
running towards
Check yourself
(are you over-correcting?)
Try to avoid being an “accidental asshole”
I don’t think it’s possible to never be an “accidental asshole”,
but I do think it’s possible to be less of an “accidental asshole” :)
Beware of
false binaries
(e.g. neither micromanagement,
nor 100% autonomy are “good”)