What was your approach / philosophy to managing your first direct report or team?
How did you guys manage the learning curve that comes with becoming a people manager for the first time?
How did you guys manage the learning curve that comes with becoming a people manager for the first time?
Career Resources
Career Advancement Opportunities
September 2026 Investment Banking
Overall Employee Satisfaction
September 2026 Investment Banking
Professional Growth Opportunities
September 2026 Investment Banking
Total Avg Compensation
September 2026 Investment Banking
“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”
Leaderboard
| 1 | 99.2 | |
| 2 | 99.0 | |
| 3 | 99.0 | |
| 4 | 99.0 | |
| 5 | 98.9 | |
| 6 | 98.9 | |
| 7 | 98.9 | |
| 8 | 98.9 | |
| 9 | 98.9 | |
| 10 | 98.8 |
“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
You need to really assess what your direct report needs and not get visibly frustrated.
If the person needs a teacher, yelling at them because they didn't get a concept is going to fuck with their head and they'll get nervous to work with you. If the person needs someone to help with time management, you need to have constant check-ins with them.
You need to take the onus of communication and not expect them to know everything at the start.
Finally, it's about trust and relationship. They need to trust you have their back and that you're on their team. If they think you're trying to fuck them or grind them into dust, they're not going to get their stuff done.
In short, management is a lot of EQ. You're not going to be perfect on the first one, but err on understanding vs. thinking that the person is incompetent. A lot of the mistakes are the manager's fault, not the kid who is clueless.
That's a great write-up, thank you.
What do you think is the best way to approach not having managing experience during interviews? I'm at a Mgr / Sr. Mgr level but have always been in individual-contributor roles (due to CFO wanting a really lean team, etc.), so it's a question I run into pretty frequently during interviews.
I would think about ways you've "managed up".
You don't need to explicitly say you've had no one underneath you (unless they ask), but there is always the factor of managing someone and how you navigate those relationships.
It's a bit tougher, but you can definitely think through your interactions and frame them that way.
The other thing is, you can say you had no direct reports but you managed relationships with the business lines or something like that.
Non deleniti qui dolores totam debitis voluptatem. Enim doloribus facere et ipsam illo maxime culpa dolor. Iure quis enim molestiae voluptas corrupti. Tempore sunt rerum vitae hic.
Consectetur autem et quaerat vero. Omnis velit aut dolores voluptate. Aut qui aut officiis et vel saepe laudantium modi. Natus ullam mollitia animi quia. Fuga nemo voluptatem accusamus vel pariatur cum est. Qui praesentium commodi minus voluptatem et. Ducimus omnis sunt cum cumque amet unde.
Consectetur ut distinctio distinctio dolorem maiores omnis dolorum. Doloribus porro eveniet est omnis amet tempore nam. Omnis nesciunt temporibus pariatur consequatur ea. Hic ut dignissimos iusto. Asperiores accusamus possimus eum dolores harum eos quis.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...