Managing Analysts
Hey everyone,
I’m about to start as an MBA associate in M&A at a top bank, and I’m seeking advice on managing my future analysts. Should I be firm and authoritative to establish respect, or take a softer tone, while maintaining high expectations?
I want to make a strong impression from day one, so any tips on finding the right balance would be appreciated.
First-year MBA Associates command the least respect of anyone in the group, and the more you try to "exert authority" on the Analysts, the less respect you will command. Everyone knows you don't know what you're doing and that your relative position of authority is fake.
The best approach, in my opinion, is to treat the Analysts like peers, get your hands dirty, and prove your worth. Then you slowly transition to what your role is actually supposed to be, which is managing slide content and protecting Analysts from psychopathic VPs and Directors.
If you try to skip the first step, you will not be well regarded.
I understand your approach and respect it. This being said, I have completed (what some would call a prestigious) MBA with the intention of moving up the corporate ladder. I agree that I need to start by understanding the ropes of the job, but my value added is my ability to lead and command (respectfully). But understand you guys might have a different view - happy to discuss
I can't tell if this guys is about to get rekt or if he's like a really good troll
8/10 troll.
(Not going to engage with the remote possibility this is real).
Nobody cares where you got your MBA and bankers at all levels are bad leaders. Nobody is expecting leadership of you.
They are expecting mountains of content to be churned out without errors and in unreasonable timeframes. Your job as the Associate is to partner with the VP to ensure it's the right content and to partner with the Analyst to ensure it's not wrong. That means sifting through 100 page decks to line up footnotes and flying through models to make sure everything is working correctly. You cannot skip this step in the "corporate ladder".
Del
Assuming you’re not trolling, I think you are underestimating just how hard it can be to delegate without knowing what should be delegated.
When an MD asks you to put together a transaction analysis for a deal your analysts worked on previously and has already modeled out in detail / created outputs, etc., I doubt you’ll be able to contribute value by “managing”.
If you can’t answer their questions or understand, for example, why a task is taking so long and the deadline needs to be pushed back, how are you going to manage upwards and communicate that to the MD / client?
As others have said, best course of action is to treat your Analysts as peers and if there’s a third year analyst, let him act as your associate for a while. Gradually, you’ll eventually be able to take that managing position, but start humbly.
Cap, lots of MBA associates were simply not the beneficiaries of nepotism and had to work thrice as hard to get in IB. What? You think a 1st year or 2nd year analyst has proven he’s here to stay? What makes you think he won’t twitch out to another low calibre role or PE
Furthermore, the learning curve for an analyst is only 6 months or less, it can be easily mitigated by taking a financial modeling course.
Now, if the MBA associate is from a non finance background, I accept your point of view.
This is so true, appreciate the intellectual honesty
I would focus on figuring out to do do the job before “commanding”, exerting authority and gaining respect. Although you’re technically “above” analysts they not only know much more than you but can do your job twice as well.
"DCF guy" lmao, what is it with you people making finance your entire personalities?
Let me reassure you I have plenty of other passions (martial arts, boxing, wrestling). I’m a well rounded dude - finance is just one of my attributes
He doesn’t have a bmw yet
You have to go all stick and no carrot, or forget respect, they will eat you alive.
Start with having a framed copy of your degree at your desk. Highlight the name of the school (only if prestigious). This is what you point to when anyone tries to give you shit.
Ask the staffer who the top bucket analysts (preferably A2) are, the more well liked by senior bankers the better. These are the people you build your reputation on. It's like the prison yard, you have to let everyone know you're not to be fucked with by going after the brightest
Absolutely refuse to get in the trenches. You're a leader and your role is to set expectations, not deliver. Leaders lead, workers work.
Make sure your comments and criticism are stern and need to be addressed as priority. Public criticism breeds strength of character. Don't ever give them room to work on anything else first, no matter how mundane your ask is.
Queue up your deliverables emails and hit send just as you see them packing up to leave for the day. Bonus points if Friday evening or Saturday brunch time. This teaches them the urgency of relationship management and that the client always comes first.
If there is no work to be done, just make something up. Idle hands are the devils workshop, idle minds are his playground. Weekends spent not practicing for the weekday are weekends wasted.
If any of them have downtime, ask for long dated deliverables with urgency and set super tight deadlines. Make sure to pack up and leave as soon as they respond. This will firmly establish the pecking order.
Any mistake that gets caught, point to the person responsible in front of the senior banker. Whoever smelt it dealt it as they say. This teaches accountability.
If the mistake was yours, teach the juniors the importance of teamwork and collaboration by shifting it to them publicly. Again you lead, not follow.
Teach them independence and critical thinking by refusing to answer questions on your files. Smart people can figure it out as long as you set high expectations.
If analysts push back, immediately escalate and complain to anyone who will listen, the more senior the better. Definitely nobody below MD. When asked why you didn't do it. establish boundaries by letting the person know that's not your role. Point to your highlighted degree for emphasis.
All of this needs to start on day one. Good luck on the new gig.
k
Thanks Rabbit this is helpful, will apply these methods, appreciated. Glad to see some people still have actual clues about things, not like this no-life beta NoCaliberTalent
blacklisted from rbc
No one will respect you. Basically your job is to forward emails from the MD to the Analyst, and then from the Analyst to the MD, you are completely redundant. At least, try to not be a bottleneck and not make the life of the analyst harder with some stupid ideas (keep it low key)
Go touch some grass buddy just because you can get an A in a class doesn’t mean you can lead a 5 billion dollar transaction lmao, what a joke wanting to start as a VP
Top grades make top leaders
This reads like a troll post parodying MBAs
Why do people see trolls everywhere, WSO folks can’t seem to handle different opinions anymore…
He literally responds with "top grades make top leaders," nobody says that unironically. His original post and responses read like someone who's trying to check all the boxes of things people hate about MBAs the most
Take the prison mentality. Day 1 ask who the top bucket analyst is then walk over without saying a word and smash them with a keyboard to assert dominance. Lower bucket analysts will see you as the new pack leader and avoid meeting the same fate as their top bucket compadre
Has this method been tested in real life conditions?
"Smash them with a keyboard" LMFAO I spat out my coffee laughing
Same here very funny
Congrats on the placement at RBC
This is def trolling post cuz I have posted too many in the past like this
Natus molestiae adipisci rerum. Omnis omnis ratione aut laborum eos omnis. Porro nihil eum vero aliquam quia autem. A in et non.
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...
Tempora et totam quia minus ullam molestiae veniam ut. Vel dolor est et aut sunt praesentium. Ullam quae fuga aspernatur et suscipit quaerat. Illo voluptas deleniti ea exercitationem ut corporis. Rem neque iure quis dolore illum quidem dolores. Perspiciatis impedit laborum reiciendis cumque. Molestiae repellat sequi fuga sed.