T
he day I embraced that I'm
Hard-to-Manage was the
day I found my tribe.
I’m drawn to the irresistible
personalities from the start-up
community. They’re my people—
the quintessential Hard-to-Man-
age creatives, innovators, and
risk-takers. They are, in every
sense, “uncontained” people.
And their Hard-to-Manage ten-
dencies are infectious.
Last summer, after 25 years in
the corporate workforce, I found
myself thinking over my last visit
to a local accelerator for startup
businesses. The rebellious, inno-
vative streak in those small but
thriving companies had become
my new metric for healthy work
culture.
Sitting in my executive office,
I realized that I wasn’t in the
right place. And then a thought
crossed my mind: I may be done
with performance reviews.
This was a shock to me. I've had
numerous reviews from several
executive coaches offering in-
credible feedback on my leader-
ship. With four executive assess-
ments under my belt, I now can
state, objectively, that I’m darn
self-aware with a mindset that
champions continuous learning
and improvement.
my own path as a mentor within
startup communities.
My parents might say that I’ve
been Hard-to-Manage since
birth. Even my husband says
that managing me is like man-
aging a Super Nova. He has, on
occasion, asked me, How hot
are we going?—and means it in
an entirely professional sense.
How can you remotely consider
putting that on a resume or an
executive performance review?
Apples don’t fall far from the
tree. My daughters are so Hard-
to-Manage that the resemblance
is uncanny. They are amazing
young women simply because
they can challenge me. They ask
WHY and question my judgment
daily. They want to try new
things, even things I don’t have a
handle on myself.
And, true to their Hard-to-Man-
age selves, my daughters have
lofty goals and detest disappoint-
ment.
I work with them to re-direct
their frustration and disappoint-
ment: rather than watch their
emotions paralyze their progress,
I’ll ask them: What did we learn?
This summer, my oldest daugh-
ter asked if we could launch a
company together. Imagine if
my response was, Stop creating
work for me! My response to her
has brought us closer: let’s find
a way.
My family provides the frame-
work that helps me think about
how companies engage their
Hard-to-Manage employees. I’ve
had leadership meetings where
we talk about “hiring up” – find-
ing the “high potentials” that
will “raise the bar” for the entire
organization. But this talented
group requires progressive man-
agement, and leaders are often
unprepared for incoming talent
that can elevate a team.
Hard-to-Manage folks require
an environment that is less about
processes and checklists. They
need work cultures that culti-
vate creativity, connectivity and
idea-sharing. They need a space
that rewards them for their per-
formance. Sustainable processes
and policies in these worlds must
be reinterpreted and improved
over time.
An executive peer once described
himself as a Utility Player. That
is, you can place him anywhere
on the field and tell him which
direction to charge (he is a
Done with performance reviews?
I asked myself: Are you serious?
I was serious. I knew that anoth-
er review couldn’t tell me what
I already knew. It was time to
acknowledge that I am Hard-
to-Manage and ready to chart
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