“Park your ego” is some of the best career advice I’ve ever had!

Posted on 18/11/2016 by Laura Harvey

I was lucky enough to go to the Recruitment and Consultant Services Association (RCSA) Conference, located in the Gold Coast. This was by far one of the most valuable opportunities I have experienced in my career.

As Office Manager, I don’t get many opportunities to network with other recruiters or industry bodies.  This conference was an eye opener into how important it is to do so as well as how much you can learn from other people that work in your industry.

Through listening to the speakers by day and sharing a few drinks at night, I was able to come out of my shell and meet some new people. By networking and getting out of my comfort zone, I not only learnt more about our industry, but also about myself.

At one of the events, my colleague and I were seated next to a Business Manager from New Zealand. We were discussing managing people (at the time I managed two administration staff) and he gave me this advice that has stuck with me from then on:

1. Delegation is easy, you really have to have courage and want to do it.

2. You need to park your ego and allow others to outshine you.

3. Your core belief should be that you are there to grow others, thus growing you.

4. Pick a task you currently do ok. Teach someone who you think will be better than you at it. Encourage them and help them be the best they can be.

5. Never do that task again, make sure everyone knows that the other person is now in charge of that.

6. Repeat steps over and over.

I have reread these points from time to time over the last few years and have focused on incorporating them into my management style. The biggest challenge I believe most managers face, is letting go of their ego and allowing someone outshine them.  However, in my position this really is the best way to develop staff and encourage them to take that next step in the business. The benefits of this management style are endless i.e. retain staff, enhance staff engagement, improve staff performance, succession opportunities, retained knowledge in the business, better shared knowledge within the team; the list goes on.

Now when I see one of my administration team out shine me, I think “awesome, they are learning and developing and will be so much more engaged for it”, I am doing MY job if we can retain that staff member and progress them in the business. I wouldn’t be a very good manager if I held them back, purely to prove my worth and keep everything to myself. If they succeed, I succeed!

I am also lucky that my manager is so encouraging and supportive of me, as I would never have come to learn these points if I hadn’t have been acknowledged and supported by her.

What’s a piece of advice that has stuck with you? We would love to hear your thoughts.