Significant Career Lesson From A Senior Program Manager At Deliverr
Early in Nicholas' career as a manager, feedback revealed that showing stress negatively impacted their team; this led to a significant lesson about emotional management. Nicholas learned that as a leader, "you kind of set the tone for your team," influencing their atmosphere and productivity, thus emphasizing the importance of emotional stability and self-awareness for effective leadership.
Project Management, Leadership, Teamwork, Stress Management, Emotional Intelligence
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Nicholas Fong
Senior Program Manager
Deliverr
UC Merced, 2014
None
Economics
Technology
Strategic Management and Executive
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School
Video Highlights
1. Managing stress and emotions as a leader is crucial for team productivity and atmosphere. A leader's emotional state influences the team's morale and performance.
2. In high-pressure situations, effective planning and considering various scenarios (e.g., financial projections) are vital. This includes understanding the impact of decisions on resource allocation.
3. Being aware of your own emotions and managing them effectively as a leader is essential for long-term team success. Emotional stability sets a positive tone and encourages better productivity.
Transcript
What is one lesson that you've learned that has proven significant in your career?
One piece of feedback I received early on as a manager was about high-pressure moments. We had been grinding for weeks, trying to develop a demand forecast and understand all the different scenarios.
Often, this kind of planning is tied to real dollars and cents. For example, launching Paris with 10,000 scooters versus 20,000 has a material impact on how many scooters you plan to build and how much money you want to spend.
My manager at that time pulled me aside and told me that when I showed stress to my team, they absorbed it. I took that to heart. It was an important lesson, especially when you're a people manager. As a leader, you set the tone for your team.
They look to you for guidance and an example of how they should be feeling. If I was showing a lot of stress, that trickled down and affected the atmosphere and, ultimately, productivity.
That feedback helped me do a better job of modulating and understanding my emotions. It’s not about being robotic, but being aware of them and managing them better. This is better for teams in the long term, to have leaders who are emotionally stable and know themselves well.