First Thing Monday #6
This week we discuss the importance of work culture, managing change, and self-reflection ☕ 🪙 🪞
☀️ Good morning, y’all! In case you’re wondering if anything momentous happened on August 21 in the past: Carrie-Anne Moss, Kim Cattrall, and Usain Bolt were all born on this day. And if we’re being alarmist, the holidays are around the corner!
☑️ FTM is a weekly newsletter that includes a recap of all the news Millennial and Gen Z leaders need to know to help make better decisions about their careers. Each issue also includes four tips for developing better relationships in your workplace. Weekly issues come out on Monday mornings!
This week we debut, “The Water Cooler” where I break down the pop culture you might’ve missed over the weekend so you can be a cool person at work. Can’t wait to hear what you think!
❓ Have burning questions or topics you’d like us to discuss? Drop me a line 📱 misterfantastiksubstack@gmail.com or leave us a comment below!
I’m Jon Cochran, a consumer goods executive with 15 years of experience leading sales, marketing, and product development teams and working with brands like J.Crew, Hilton, and Mattel. I want to provide resources to help you take control of your career and maximize your satisfaction in the workplace.
⏰ What to read before your first meeting:
How to stop generalising generations without ignoring them (HR Magazine): Describing generations with broad strokes makes any sort of thoughtful analysis or dialogue pretty difficult.
Gen Z workers don’t love their jobs—so, they’re changing work culture (Fast Company): Too often we talk about “office culture” in vague terms. But companies continue to find that whatever it is that makes “good culture” is the difference between short-term and long-term success for both recruiters and employees.
Adjusting work culture and recruitment practices may help agencies court young talent, report says (Marketing Brew): This piece complements the previous article in its analysis of the changing nature of recruiting Millennial and Gen Z employees. The lack of interest in pitching as part of marketing agency work is interesting to me because the 20th century was so focused on the pitch—hello, Mad Men.
Beyond quiet quitting: Tips for leaving a job you no longer want (Washington Post): Common knowledge: being thoughtful about leaving your job can be the difference between burning bridges and getting a solid reference. Furthermore, as a great philosopher once wrote: “Always stay gracious, best revenge is your paper.”
Looking to the Future: The Leadership Styles Gen Z Brings to the Workplace (HR News): Research continues to show that Gen Z loves authenticity and purpose-driven leadership. But my question: Is this a long-term shift or a trend that may change as more Gen Z employees enter the workplace?
🚰 The Water Cooler
I couldn’t look away from Bama Rush TikTok last week!
breaks it all down for us over at .Usher and Keke Palmer continue to rule my internet. His new song, “Boyfriend” came out last week, and she has a starring role in the music video. It’s been on repeat ever since.
Britney Spears and Sam Asghari broke up. She’s getting a horse when it’s all over.
Have you ever seen “The O.C.”? This Gen Z writer just watched it for the first time. Long live Ben McKenzie!
Folks have many opinions on this year’s September issue of Vogue Magazine. I’m just here to say Christy Turlington is my fave!
📖 Reflections for this week:
For yourself: How often are you committed to being right in conversations? As a young professional, I didn’t realize how often I would approach people determined to make sure they understood my point. Focusing on being heard too often comes at the cost of not listening. Inattentiveness may come across as stubbornness. This week, commit to active listening instead of point-making in your next conversation and see how it goes.
For your boss: What behaviors do you accommodate to manage your relationship with your supervisor? Do you put up with them calling your name brusquely across the busy office? Have you resigned yourself to knowing they will never have a cheery attitude? There will always be some behaviors we look past in our relationship with a supervisor for the sake of employment. Take a few minutes this week to think about this relationship and if there is anything you need to look AT, and not PAST.
For your direct report(s): What changes have happened to a process or technology in your workplace lately? Do you know how your team is responding? Moving from Office365 to Google and getting no follow-up from IT can be profoundly frustrating. Or maybe there is a new way to reconcile expenses and everyone actually hates it. Talk to your team about recent process changes and make sure they feel supported.
For your co-workers: How do you show up in meetings of larger groups? Serious? Silly? Silent? Does this persona match how you want your colleagues to think of you? As I wrote this reflection I remembered that in my first managerial role, I often came into meetings with a joke-y attitude. A little bit like, “This redundant meeting is now a stage for me to win you over with my tight five.” I don’t think that behavior helped the persona I actually wanted to cultivate. There is a time and place for jokes! But if the presenter makes eye contact with you while you and Beth are LOL’ing, it is not cute! And it certainly doesn’t set a good example.
⚡️ And one last thing…
New managers can find it difficult to balance personal tasks and responsibilities with the additional demands of leading a team. I know I did! Once I moved into management, I realized I had two major areas of responsibility: the duties associated with my personal deliverables and then the responsibilities I had to the people who now reported to me. Consider mapping how you spend time each week on your primary duties as well as tasks related to management. In a previous position, my job would see half of the day dedicated to client-facing activity while the other half would be dedicated to managing my team. When I could, I’d aim to complete 2-3 big tasks for each per day. If you have meetings or other responsibilities, you may not be able to complete six big tasks each day—that’s what tomorrow is for! Work with your own supervisor to make sure you’re prioritizing the right things for your projects, and mirror those processes with your team. And be gentle on yourself if this is your first management position especially if you’re used to blasting through a bunch of tasks every day. Management is a different pace of work!
Until next week,
Jon
I took the supermodel quiz. I'm a Cindy! https://www.vogue.com/article/which-supermodel-are-you-quiz
This is a good read