1.Situation

In 2007 I went through a recruitment process for Sales and Marketing Director at Spicul, a company with long tradition in the bakery industry. Students who passed through Bucharest until years of 2005 most likely tasted the Spicul’s bread sold at their factory from Regie.

I can say it was the most professional recruitment process that I have been subjected to in my carrier, the recruiter being a Dutch consultant Olivier van Lieshout. But I will come back with extended details in a future article from MYPRODUCT.

2.Task

In this evaluation process that had several stages I was challenged by Olivier to define my ideal manager / manager profile. A standard question that is addressed in interviews, but Olivier has turned it into a special requirement because it has recommended me to think a little bit and to come back with a reasoned answer in our next meeting.

3.Action

Although I was ready to give an answer to this question, I took seriously the Olivier’s challenge and in the days before our new meeting I read a lot about the management, leadership’s styles: directive, supportive, participative, result oriented, transformational or authoritative.

I have realized that I have applied instinctively some of the principles found in theories.

After that I began to analyse my former managers with their leadership styles and I tried to delineate the approaches that I felt the most comfortable and I delivered best performances.

So I realized that Olivier’s simple question to define my ideal boss has a revealing complexity but highly applicative to general management attributions.

4.Results

Following this analysis process, two important conclusions raised in my mind.

1) My ideal manager / boss must have business vision, mentorship approach and result oriented while using a participative management style.

2) Macro management typically defines a style / a mix of leading management styles for each manager and applied to its entire activity, while micro management is fluid in the sense that the manager implements punctually according to person, project or context a certain style of management.

5.Key Leanings

I had the chance in my professional career to work with managers who challenged me professionally, from which I had to learn, who supported me and gave me credit in my work.

The first of them was Jennifer Dougherty (Schaffer), a mentor who guided my first steps as a junior in Graffiti BBDO. I told you something in MYPRODUCT2 and MYPRODUCT14.

Then followed Alexandru Gheorghe, the DHL Commercial Manager who showed me the profile of an outstanding salesperson and performer commercial team manager.

Last but not least Sorin Badea, the general manager and owner of Veteco, whom I watched for eight years running his own business.

If, in my turn, I was an inspirational manager for the teams in which I worked, beyond my own opinion, those who are most able to make relevant assessments are the ones I worked with.

Try to define your ideal boss. Look for your own style of management with which you feel the most comfortable. Analyse different situations that require micro management. This introspection can help you in your professional career or in job interviews.

Notification: MYPRODUCT reflects my real professional experience and expertise as well as my subjectivity. I do have a profound respect for all the companies I collaborated to and for all the people I worked with. It is not my intention to approach any sensitive, confidential or offending information related to companies, projects or people. If you the reader deduct or recognise companies, projects or people in my examples, I kindly ask you to respect MYPRODUCT and my professional and ethic approach and to not share any detail, information, situation, name, company.