The path to becoming an awesome manager usually begins with being a bad manager.  My first time managing people was in college; I was running a non-profit organization and I had nearly two dozen of my fellow undergraduates on my team.  I was cranky, I was depressed (I really wanted to be back in the classroom teaching rather than dealing with unhappy parents and misbehaving teens), and I wasn’t ready to be a good manager.

But those mistakes — with apologies to my then-teachers — helped me stumble my way into what I hope is not-too-shabby boss-ville.  And you, too, can learn from mistakes — either mine, your own or other people’s — and fumble your way towards awesome manager-hood.

Yesterday, Adam Kleinberg wrote the following for iMedia connection:

Micro-management and complete hands-off management are both paths to hatred

Don’t make commitments without checking with your people

Follow your own rules, don’t lie, and stop being so scary

You can read the text of “7 reasons your people hate you” in full by clicking here.

[thx!]