Bak to skool

At school, I remember being given my first gold star for good behaviour. In my case its entirely possible that this was for not running in front of a car or throwing myself off the stage. It was at Miss Leaney’s a kindergarten in Chelsea. They remembered me for some time… The absurd pride that I felt at receiving the gold star was only matched by the irritation that I felt that I could not wear it. What was the point of it being on a board? What kind of bragging rights was that ?

Today of course I get to carry around a business card. Its very grown up and it says Managing Director. I get to hand it out to people to show them how brilliant I am…

Traditionally promotion in Investment bank trading floors has been based on production. (S)He who produced most won. They got promoted. They were given a shiny badge that said “Head of Hedge Funds Europe” or “Head of French Corp Sales Europe” or whatever. They became managers. It is possibly the worst possible way to judge the worth a manger that I can think of.

“I know. Let’s give the job of managing a group to a chest beating alpha (fe)male who shouts the loudest and pushes everybody around”…. Hmmm or (b)

Whilst it’s possible that the individual concerned is a subject matter expert and likely that they have charisma it is also probable that they are egocentric and lucky. There are all sorts of reasons why somebody can become a big producer and luck often plays a significant part. Very little attention is paid to who is actually organising the desk and driving the rest of the team forwards.

Worse still once the badge is handed out there is assumption that it comes with a magic aura that endows the new manager with the ability to be able to manage a team, produce budgets, plans, strategy and tactics. Oh.. and they are still expected to produce at the same level as they had been doing. Go figure.

The demands of a manager are myriad and whilst the training afforded has improved its very rarely practical and almost never from anybody that has actually lived and breathed the trading floors rising from managing a team, to multiple teams, to a floor to a division. The nitty gritty of hiring, team synergy planning, strategy, tactics, budgeting, team building, trader/sales relations, market position optimisation, personnel management, maternity, paternity, bereavement and personal management philosophy are essential but never properly delivered. New managers are also generally terrified of asking for help lest they be seen as weak

The net result is that new managers are left flailing and typically end up angry and frustrated. Often this manifests in the martinet approach to management, possibly to significant production drop off and all in the context where the responsibilities of being a manager under the new regulatory framework involves personal responsibility, 7 year deferment and 7 year clawback. Something usually gives.

Nurturing your team requires not only passion but also time and experience. Cost pressures within the industry has seen an unprecedented exodus of senior and experienced management who would be a source of such coaching. It has also delayered structures leading the already stretched leadership with as much time to do so as the proverbial one legged man. Allied to this new managers feel ever more nervous to ask internally for support, lest it be seen as inability.

Here at Fineosis we offer individual and group coaching tailored around the extensive experience gained by the managing directors in managing teams, groups and divisions over decades. It was an aspect of the job that we felt passionately about and continue to do so.

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