I haven’t spoken too much about my position as a manager since I started last March. Mostly because I was still getting settled, and figuring out who I was in this position, but also because I felt a certain discomfort writing on my blog about anything personal, or even professional, to some extent. I wasn’t sure what I could or couldn’t write, and I didn’t want anyone on my team to get the wrong impression about me. I juggle a lot of hats in my life, and this was one hat I just wasn’t completely sure of yet.

Right before I started, I asked my previous manager for some advice – the first thing she told me was “You can’t make everyone like you.” I thought, Well, duh, I learned that in middle school when the kids would oink at me in the hallway. Yes, I was that chubby student with the baggy jeans and a bandana.

But man, was she right. I’m not saying that I’m not liked, I’m just saying that that thought definitely crossed my mind more than once as I realized I’m no longer one of the “team members.” It’s actually kind of a joke – Jock and I have been watching back to back episodes of “The Office” – and as you watch Steve Carrell’s character Michael Scott cry, pander and beg to be ‘friends’ with his employees, you start to realize that he is acting on what most first-time managers initially feel when starting out.

However, what you soon figure out after that is that it doesn’t matter. It’s an adjustment, but ultimately it doesn’t matter if they like you or not. What matters is that you are a good leader, that everyone on the team is doing their best work, and that the company is thriving. I’m so appreciative of what my team is doing, and that everyday I become more and more proud to be on a team with people who actually care what they are doing, and who are OK with pushing themselves harder to do better and more quality work for their clients everyday. That is my only hope for working in this job, and I can’t wait to see what else we come up with.

I feel very lucky to be where I am, and I only hope that I am doing justice to the wonderful bosses I’ve had in my past (oh sure, there’s been some nasty ones – you can read my book to get a sense of one in particular – DISCLAIMER: All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental…)

Yes, indeed.

Regardless, I think you will always care what people think of you, but it’s about moving forward, putting your head down, and getting on with it. After all, there is work to be done.