A friend recently put his two weeks notice at work. He was at this company for a couple years and it was his first job out of college. In our conversations about his journey, he emphasized the influence a manager has on the career, both good and bad. These conversations made me reflect on my manager at my first job.
His name was Greg.
Greg was the calm and cool engineering manager who ran our team of 7 odd engineers. He had started there as an entry-level engineer and had climbed the ranks to become the engineering manager. Everyone respected him for his technical prowess. He knew the factory and its machines inside out.
When as a noob engineer I went to him with technical doubts. With his years of experience he knew what probing questions to ask and that would eventually help me figure out the problem on my own. In hindsight, he never gave me the answers straight away, he made me think. What a genius!
I remember, the first few months when I was a fresh out of college student who thought it was okay to be late to meetings. I used to be late everyday to our 7am standup meeting. Greg would make light hearted remarks, nudging me to arrive early to those meetings. But I took it for granted and didn’t really change. So one day, Greg came to my desk and explained with a stern tone how I was being disrespectful to the whole team. That was it, I was on time after that.
He was a gentle guy who hated worthless corporate fluff talk. He talked straight and to the point. No twisting words to form a narrative. He had my back when cross-functional conflicts arose. Watching the soft-spoken Greg pushback during these meetings and asserting his points taught me that not all conflicts have to be high-pitched shouting matches. He shielded us from the BS that came our way from the levels above him. He’d make sure we thrived and got him the results to shove in their face.
Greg would set clear expectations. If you met those expectations he would praise you in front of everyone. If you didn’t, he’d have deep conversations with you about any roadblocks. And then depending on what the roadblock were, he would either clear those for us or guide us on how to help ourselves. Knowing that Greg is on your side was a huge confidence boost.
He trusted me with the choices I made in my area. He had more faith in me that I had in myself at that point in my career. Trusting my decisions and if I failed he made sure that I learned from my mistakes. Some of the "projects" I did in my first year look so naïve in hindsight. But these small projects were my big achievements back then and Greg praised me for those achievements. I was like a kid who painted his first scenery.
Many of my peers at the time who worked in different companies, all bitched and moaned how horrible their bosses were. I was fortunate to not have anything to add to that conversation, I lucked out on having a great first manager.
And I know this essay may seem like a praise essay for Greg. But more often than not, you realize the value of someone only after you lose them. No! Greg is not dead. He is still alive and healthy. I left the job three years after starting it. Now, I can only reminisce the impact Greg has had in shaping me to be the engineer I am today.
Some day in the future when I’ll lead a team, I aspire to be like Greg.
Eternally grateful you, Greg.