When I left my Startup/business efforts and started contracting I wanted to move to a Permanent role if possible. The company I was contracting with had some potential openings and I asked my then manager if I could be considered for the role and he told me in a very polite way that I was not very manageable.

He said manageable and I also heard employable and I was a bit taken aback. I asked him if I was not doing a good job, if I was not delivering up to his expectations. He answered that it was not the reason, he said I was doing well. In fact I have delivered beyond expectation as a contractor. Then he said that the reason was that I come out as someone who will not be easy to Manage.

Really? What does that mean. How do I become more Manageable?

This question made me go on a path of self discovery. I realized that after a few years of trying to run a business, my body language had changed, I looked at things differently, I was a bit rash, I was being a bit too much of a boss. Maybe I was always that way, I don’t know. But I started exploring what manageable really means and how I can learn from it.

While as a contractor we do our job but do not really contribute much for our Manager’s career growth. It is not asked but as direct reports we do add to their career. As contractors we are a temp resource. We are not expected to be connected with the company the way an employee will be. We are temps. We will go away anytime. We are not building a career there. We are a consultant.

Then what is an employee?

This is when I also understood that Permanent positions need people to be part of the company culture. Be in the same boat in both smooth and rough seas. I had never thought about culture before that. I always thought you get hired if you can prove that you can do the job well. No, you get hired if you can prove it and also sound like a good fit to the company culture and team you will be part of.

I later left the company and joined another organization full time. But I always had this question about being Manageable. I translated the word Manageable to the words ‘Employable’ and ‘Valuable’. More on that in the coming days.

But I also worked on myself. Started looking at people as partners. I learned that I needed to be more considerate, listening and observing.

We sometimes take Manageable in a negative way as it makes us feel we are being controlled. No one wants to admit they are being controlled by someone else. But Being Manageable is not being controlled. It is about being in sync, a two way contribution, a form of partnership between two people in different stages their own career journeys.

So yes, I became more Manageable. I have had amazing professional relationships with all my Managers. We thrived on the transparency.

More about that next time!

Categories: Career, Career & Work

Tags: Business, Career, contractors, Culture, growth, job, manageable, manager, team