Re: career development advice

["Kulis, Carene" <Carene -dot- Kulis -at- WESTGROUP -dot- COM>]

Andrea said:

I've had managers
who try to write and manage the group at the same time so that they don't
fall behind as a writer.  Judging from the way they try to wear both hats,
I personally think this is a mistake.   I don't think you can be a good
writer AND a good manager, especially in a hectic environment.  The captain
of a ship can't navigate and row at the same time!

I have to add my experience with this and disagree. My old manager was the
best writer in the group. As a manager, being a good writer earned her much
more respect from the group. We knew that she was well aware of our actual
work procedures because she was doing the same thing. She also managed us
better because she was aware of our needs (both physical and mental) and was
aware of what we went through on a daily basis and could figure out a
problem when we had it, whether it be a minor grammatical problem in writing
or a major budgetary issue. If she wasn't a good writer, our relationship
would have been much more distant. I think the best managers are the ones
managing people who do the same thing as them. Although I do not have a
specific answer to your original question on how to prepare better for this
- I think you are definitely heading in the right direction and gaining more
experience can only make you a better manager.

Carene

Carene Kulis
carene -dot- kulis -at- westgroup -dot- com
716-231-6052

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