It’s been three months since I started my managerial position. Three months of new experiences and learning things I never knew I needed to know. Three months of unexpected challenges and thousands of What The Fuck™️ moments. So, to help me process everything, and to pass on my newly discovered knowledge, I made a list of things I learned. Most of these points seem obvious, but every day I realize just how many people the American education system has failed. I hope you learn something from this, too.

1. A little communication goes a long way.

   1. As little as “Hi! You doing okay today?” If you have the emotional intelligence and maturity to check in with others, please do. Because those gifts become more rare every day.

2. Managing isn’t just guiding employees how to be better at their jobs, it’s also helping them become better people.

   1. Some people’s parents aren’t as parent-y as other parents, which means life lessons that are typically taught at home aren’t learned. Like how to show humility, and apologize.

3. Not everything is teachable (by your manager at work.)

   1. Creativity? Personal responsibility? Human decency?

4. A lot of adults don’t have critical thinking skills in their toolbox, yet

   1. IS CRITICAL THINKING TEACHABLE AND IF SO, PLEASE SEND A LESSON PLAN

5. Communication is queen

   1. Please refer to first bullet point

6. Most people have the capacity to surprise you, both in good and bad ways

7. It’s almost always better to over-communicate

   1. Please refer to first and fifth bullet points

8. You may walk in to work thinking it’s going to be an easy day, and then all of the sudden your employees decide to start WWIII

   1. Just…hydrate and caffeinate.

9. High school never ends

   1. Bitches be petty. Didn’t your mom teach you not to gossip and name-call at school?

10. COMMUNICATION

    1. Please refer to first, fifth, and seventh bullet points. Am I over-communicating yet?