Managing people according to Reyna Elena

Job losses

See this? It’s unbelievable the number of jobs lost in the United States. Milions. And it is going to even increase further with the bad news in the auto industry. Lucky you if you still have a job. And these headlines brought me back to when I was still working. Managing people.

My Italian boss

Besides the fact that I’m really cute, for all of my working years in the United States, I’ve been so lucky to have moved up to the ranks in Corporate America with my superb talents in social climbing. Leche! Maniwala kayo, pati lola nang boss ko, china-charing ko! Pwera aso. Natakot nung nalamang ako’y Pilipino. Naamoy siguro na possible syang adobo.

Italyano ang boss ko’t mahal na mahal ako kahit alam nyang meron akong anino. Mayayaman sa northen part of Italy. Ambango bango at saksakan nang gwapo! Leche! di ako makapag-trabaho! Pero dala talaga nang ganda ko, I always clicked with my boss’ father and the mother and the grandmother and the grandfather. Pare-parehas ba naman kaming otsenta anyos. Leche!!!

Social climbing

But, one of my tricks that I found na sureball at papatok? Ask mo si lola kung pano sya niligawan ni lolo! I tell you, this crosses racial boundary lines at applicable the worldwide over! One time, in my boss party, indi na ako naka-alpas sa nanay at tatay. Kaming tatlo na lang ang nag-inuman. You know what followed? Prino-mote ako nang boss ko. Ganun. Pero, hoy! Bago nyo ako hatawin, totoo yong diploma ko noh! Pramis! Mga leche kayo! Hehehe!

Boylet People Management

So, I’ve learned a lot in managing people. My talent is not exclusively confined to boylet management. People, mga kunichiwa. And business too. Kaya lang yung last na hinawakan kong business, nabangkrap. Puta. Di bale. Me next time naman di ba?

Although, I admit, I do have special talents in boylet management that could be trasferred in an office situation Hehehe. I won’t tell you! Mga usyusero! Hahaha! Yet, most especially pag nasa upper-level management ka na mga kunichiwa (upper management: yong management office is on the 42nd floor), napapaligiran ka nang user-friendly na mga manggagamet, mga nag-su-sulsul at babayaran ka pa, so there’s a lot of subjective considerations involved, sama mo na mga lecheng pulitika. Morality pa. Leche pag gwapo, taranta ako. Kiver! Put it on hold! Saka na muna yang moralidad! Hahaha! Charing!

Things I learned

So, what did I learned? Eto. Meron talaga akong natutunan.

1. Makinig ka. Lahat tayo kayo nagkakamali. Pwera si Reyna.

Kiver kahit na graduate ka nang best school at summa cum lousy ka pa. It does not follow na just because best school graduate ka eh best student ka na rin. Ano ka? Rock star?! If you’re the boss, you want the best of your staff. As a matter of fact, you’d hire someone which has the topmost qual ever. You want to be surrounded with people who have got high IQ and dress up like GQ. And that’s understandable. But it is impossible for you to know a great deal of everything. Kaya you better stop that know-it-all attitude at work dahil they will tsismis you all day long at sira ang credibility mo.

2. Walk the talk! Make good your word. Paka-lalaki ka! Este, paka-babae ka! Ngek! Basta!

When I am confronted with some issues and problems at work, I round up my staff and ask each and every one of them their opinion and their take on the issue. We discuss each alternative, the implications and the repercussions. We come up with the best solution. But at the end of the day, it could be a tough call, but I have the last word and my department knew that yes, sometimes I just have to make some very difficult calls.

3. Boss ka nga. But you’re still part of the team.

Kaya, work your ass to be part of the team. Dyus ko day! You have no idea how many team leadership chorvalais ang ginagawa namen! It’s almost a religion! Sa totoo lang, iritang irita na talaga ako! Basag na basag na pati sinapupunan ko. But this is something na we all can’t get away with. Ang problema lang sa team are those mahaderang leche bureche who wants to be bida all the time kahit na sugalpak at unworkable ang mga ideas nila. Korek? What’s nice though with being part of a team na swerteng everyone gets along is that not only it is masaya, an dami mo pang natatapos. You’d notice na the hirap and everything is di napapansin. Kaya lang, be careful pag-dating na sa Oscar Awards. Minsan, nakalimutan ka na sa credits. Parang mga magnanakaw nang blog entries! Hahaha!

4. Don’t be greedy, leche ka! say it! compliment!

Say it in their face! Better yet, say it when everyone is around! Let the whole world know. Say it that comes from the hypothalamus of your chorva. No tupperwares. Alam nila yun. Wag ka nang humirit. I mean, mas maganda if you could give them instant salary increases, but if your up to the wall sa department budget mo, compliments will go a long way. Do not wait until Senakulo at sasabihin mo. Kalechehan yun. Impakto ka, wag kang ganid.

5. Angry with your staff? Quit email, close the damn door!

Don’t you ever hit that send button you ballistic nut! Magsisisi ka! Tandaan mo yan! This time around, don’t say it in their face. Calm, collected, professional at parang tao ka, lahat na nang ka-chorvaleyhan gamitin mo na. Tupperware ever and lock the door. Dun mo sya kausapin. Nang matino. Prangka. Deretsa. Slam dunk. Pero use your EQ (discussed on number 9).

6. I handle criticism with humor.

Not that I am telling you that you should too. But, here’s the interesting part. How do you handle criticism? Alam nyo, I was in asset management, equity investments, tax credits and all those sophisticated chorvalais that we deal with Wall Street. And I’m telling you, investors and clients could be ugly at mga walang puso’t apdo. They are never satisfied, honey. Puta, they never compliment. Me regla parati. They’re always angry. I’m always doing something wrong as far at they are concerned. When I finish making them orgazmically happy, I don’t hear shit from them. Not even a bloody thank you. But when its time to criticize? Damn shit, they flood me with putamails. They use up every available space on my voice mail. One time, they called the Executive Director and complained to him. Grrr! You have no idea kung pano ako ni-regla! I just dealt with it in a very nicely way with some touches of humor. (Read: binato ko nang punyal at bawang!) S’abray ka ni ina nya oo!.

7. Don’t be a thief!

Thieves. Leche! Lahat nang ina-akala nateng role models sa Pinas, puro magnanakaw! They are all over the agencies dyan sa turd world kawntri naten. S’abray ka ni ina ninda. But, please, don’t make them your role model. Once your employer trusted you with their finances, monies, funds, budgets, contracts and everything return the trust back, unconditionally. At pag-uwi mo nang Pilipinas? Paki-usap, wag nyo namang baklasin yong TV sa eroplano lalo na sa Northwest Airlines. Lahat tuloy kaming mga Pinoy natitira at pinag-iinitan nang Northwest. Mga puta kayo!

8. Your staff? They’re not chairs!

I did have a staff, a very, very difficult staff who thinks that she’s doing the company such a big favor. Like if she quit, we’d file bankruptcy. I came very close to slapping that bitch shithead with her god-complex. Malaman-laman ko sa resume nang gaga, BS Degree sa online sum’tin sum’tin. Leche talaga oo! (Nan-down ba ako?! Sorry ho! Hahaha!)

When I was managing people, I never owned them. I never acted like they were my herd or that they were my fixed assets. As a matter of fact, iniiwanan ko sila to work because kahit ako, ayoko yong boss kong nasa likuran ko minu-minuto. This actually provided me a window as to whether my staff has leadership qualities or not. I know it’s a case to case basis, but I’m not into micro-management. Besides, it gives them a kick when I give them responsibilities at pag wagi ang projects and then they shine? Nakaaa! Kala mo mahahati na mga muka sa ngiti. That’s how I was able to gain respect.

9. Got EQ?

If you were not born with an EQ, napa-pag-aralan sya. What is emotional intelligence? In the early 1990s, Dr. John Mayer, Ph.D., and Dr. Peter Salovey, Ph.D., introduced the term “emotional intelligence” in the Journal of Personality Assessment. They used this term to describe a person’s ability to understand his or her own emotions and the emotions of others and to act appropriately based on this understanding. Then in 1995, psychologist Daniel Goleman popularized this term with his book Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.

Dramatista ako at work and they love it. Yong secretary namen? Puno nang surprises saken. One time, on Valentine’s I sent her husband roses. Yeap, addressed sa husband. Inside was a card, addressed to her. Minura ako nang minura sa opisina for years! Hangga’t ngayon di nakakalimutan. Ako lang daw ang gumawa nang katarantaduhang yun sa kanya. When I quit my job, binibigay na saken asawa nya! Leche! Ayoko nga!

10. You don’t have to be GQ but dress appropriately and look successful.

How you dress tells much about you. Kaya wag kang magpaka-pokpok. I was working in Princeton then. Sosyal na lugar. Classy. Puro mga Ivy-leaguers. Ako lang ang feeling rosas. It was there na binira ako ni Mike (my former boss) many times. “Which rock concert are you going this time?!” Ang galet nya saken was uber. Of course I knew what “Dress to be successful” shit means. Ewan ko ba. I think I must have became so comfortable, ginawa kong bahay ang opisina namen. Unan na lang ang kulang. I changed. Pinagbayad ko sya nang mga damit ko. I was lucky. Mabait sya. And Tasha, our friend who frequents London kept telling us this… “It’s better to be over-dressed than under-dressed.” He was right because you never know where your client will take you or that you might look like one kargador nang staff mo.

Mike was a very big influence on me. How he managed me was pretty much how I manage people now. Yet, learning is an everyday thing. I’m sure once na nag-ka-trabaho uli ako, I’m fully equipped again to face whatever office challenges would be ahead of me. I might have to tweak things around. But I’m sure the basics will still be the same.

Pero eto, advice nang Reyna, wag kayong mag-re-resign gaya nang iba dyan ha?! Lunukin nyo na lang para magkaron kayo nang WORLD PEACE sa opis nyo! Tingnan nyo, 6 months na! wa pa me work! Sa’bray ka-ni-na nya! Grrr! Hahaha!

NGA PALA!

Nasa FACEBOOK na ang reyna elena. Dun ako manggugulo. Hanapin nyo lang ako. For now, sarili ko munang kinakausap ko dun. Two days old chick pa lang ako and I have no clue kung ano anong pinipitik ko dun. Leche!!!

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Tagged as: Bailout, Best boss, Business & Economy, Career & Education, Financial Crisis, job and employment, Job Interview, Job Offers, Jobs, Jobs & Employment, Layoffs, Subprime