Q&A - OK on Friday

What to do when you are promoted to the leader of your team?

Q&A: “I was promoted to manager. How should I build relationships and solve problems with the team, considering we just recently were on the same level?”

“Status will get you nowhere. Only an open heart will allow you to float equally between everyone.” (Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie)

My usual approach to this is that “manager” is first and foremost a role. This role, like other roles, incorporates responsibilities and certain attributes. It also has its pros and cons. Not everyone wants to be a manager. Not everyone can or should be a manager. The level in the hierarchy, unlike the role, is practically not as important in communication and problem solving. It just provides you with some tools, which is a different topic. However, when you are promoted to a manager role, you will need to adjust your communication and approach, but not quite in the way you might think.

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Q&A: Should I fire this employee?—Approach, Framework And Full Decomposition

“On the Plains of Hesitation bleach the bones of countless millions, who, at the Dawn of Victory, sat down to wait, and waiting…”—Sam Ewing, writer

OKonFriday: How To Decide Whether To Fire Someone

Before we dive into the topic, please note that this article is for people who manage other people. It’s like a “doctors only” warning in a medical article to avoid wrong consequences.

Q: Should I fire this employee?

The short answer I would give to this is, in most cases, “Yes”. Simplified. An additional question to ask would be “When”. But let’s break down the question and look at the framework so you see where I come from.

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Q&A: Should I treat all customers the same?

Q&A is a section where I answer frequently asked questions about project management, work relationships, business development, career management, team management, and other topics. In most cases, these are questions that I usually receive on a daily basis.

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This question has several aspects.

First aspect. We must have some communication standards that we follow in relation to each human. Customers are no exception. These standards may differ slightly, but in general it is about dignity and respect for people.

Each company has its own vision of how it positions itself in the market, what relationships it builds with customers. Company communication and collaboration standards come to the aid of individual customer success managers or account managers working for the company.

Second aspect. Different customers represent different values for the business. In personal relationships, this can be described as the fact that you like being with some people more, while you do not want to meet others at all.

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Q&A: I want to be a PM, should I?

Question: “I want to be a PM, should I?” or other variations of this question, like “Should an engineer move to the role of a project manager?”, “I’m in my late 30-s and I want a career change, is it too late to become a PM?”

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If you are asking this question, it means at least the following:

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