It’s Wednesday morning and things are already getting a bit frantic. The coffee machine isn’t working. You’ve got a hundred-something emails to get through. And the deck Laxmi promised to finish over the weekend is a bit rough around the edges.
Yet despite the calamity, you put on a steely face and begin to face the storm that’s coming your way. Bring it on.
‘How’s that deck coming along, Laxmi? Our meeting is in 30 minutes.’
‘It’s almost finished, Aart, don’t worry.’
You wince at the nickname and sip on the tea you’ve had to settle for, knowing fine well that the deck is far from completed. My name’s Aarthi and I’m your manager.
But despite your frustrations, you stay composed and let things run.
Fast forward two hours and Laxmi has absolutely nailed the presentation. The numbers were on point. Her charm was contagious. Everyone was engaged and she waltzed through the biggest meeting of the year. She’s done it again.
And to top things off, you’ve just signed a new retainer that will propel your company to bigger and better things. This is your biggest win of the year. Everyone’s ecstatic. But now you have a new problem… Should the team go out and celebrate tonight?
If you’re a campaign manager then we’re sure that you can relate. And if you’re not, well, here’s a sneak peek into what issues we have to confront on a daily basis.
From coffee disasters to wrestling with internal politics through to managing unprepared yet talented colleagues… Nothing is ever easy.
But at the same time we secretly relish these challenges and appreciate the fast-paced environment we work in. The adrenaline. The comradery and the sense of accomplishment at the end of a campaign. Nothing is ever the same nor is it monotonous.
Anyway, we’ve put together some of the most common situations that you may relate to or may amuse you.
It could have been an email… or even a Slack message!
Meetings are just as necessary as they can be frustrating. If it’s an internal meeting, at least you can decide when to have it and when to end it. You can even prompt colleagues to cut to the chase and say what needs to be said.
But with clients you have no such control. Some don’t know how to be succinct, some have no concept of time and some just love to chat! Knowing that a one-hour meeting could have been condensed into an email or even worse, a Slack message, is one of our pet peeves.
However, it’s part of the job and we soak everything up like a sponge.
Do you even sleep?
It’s 12.30 pm and I’ve just received a bit of work from one of my colleagues in the US. Quite naturally, I’ll look at the clock and work out what their local time is.
00:00 am
Despite having a working relationship that spans many years, their work ethos never ceases to amaze me. There seem to be some people that just don’t sleep. This normally prompts me to put in an extra hour or two of overtime, despite just being about to call it a day.
Damn you Arjun.
An hour passes and I need to send a message on Slack, although it’s nearly 1 am in the US. Regardless, I take my chances, send Arjun a message and reach out for my forgotten coffee that’s now tepid.
Before I’ve even taken a sip, Arjun has already got back to me. Yet despite working in the room next door, I’m still waiting on a response from Laxmi from a message I sent two days ago.
It just had to be like this.
How much am I allowed to drink?
After many long hours sifting through reams of data and scrambling to meet deadlines, there’s always a time to let the hair down and have a bit of fun. This often calls for a staff night, especially after a big win.
But these moments of joy are often fuelled by beer, wine, and God help us… tequila. One drink is fine, two is grand but after three things get a bit blurry. Being the manager, it can often feel like walking on a tightrope trying to find that balance between playing the role of a manager and being best friends with your colleagues.
Close friends, after all, like to get silly from time to time but when it’s fuelled by alcohol, things are taken to a whole new level. The secret lies in being able to call it a day at the bar before you overstep the mark.
Should I accept your friend request?
Team Management comes in all forms. At one end of the spectrum you have managers who rule with an iron rod and are never hesitant to call out someone who’s stepped an inch over the mark. And on the other, you have ones who treat their team like family.
Measuring where you are can be tricky. But when a colleague adds you on Facebook, you’re forced to make that judgement. Decline the request and you’ve reiterated your steely stance at the cost of coming across as cold. Accept it and you’re worried about whether this erodes your authority.
Can we just keep things to Slack?
How is it Friday already?
Every campaign manager should relate to this. If not, then there’s not enough drama, work or even characters in the office. Like magic, all of these factors seem to accelerate the progression of time to the point where we can’t help but feel a little bit disgruntled when it’s Friday. It’s a strange feeling since, after all, weekends are golden.
But being part of a driven bunch, no matter how much has been accomplished throughout the week, we can’t help feeling that time has escaped us and that we could have done more. Not everyone sees things in the same way though.
It takes less than a second after six for Laxmi to leave the office. You can’t help but smile until you think about the coming week.
Have you experienced any of these situations? These are only a handful of scenarios we face on a daily basis. They can be just as interesting as problematic, or even amusing… and that’s why there’s never a dull moment in the office.
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