Q: What was going on in your career that made you want to participate in the Electives New Manager Training Series?

Carlos: Salsify had recently opened an office in Lisbon when I joined roughly three years ago, as a software engineer. What appealed to me was the fact that it was a small office in Portugal within a larger global company. It was also a company with growth that promoted autonomy and empowered their employees. That speaks a lot to me, as this is the type of environment I seek in a workplace . I have been growing in the company ever since I started. I had an awesome manager who invested in my growth and wanted to help not only my career, but help me help others grow. That is when the opportunity rose to become an engineering manager at Salsify. I had a lot of coaching and mentoring, I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was actually already running a small team without realizing I was doing it. The new manager cohort was timed quite nicely as it was recommended to me by my manager, just about the same time I was becoming a new manager, and thought it would be a great opportunity to learn and get experience from others doing the same. Alongside this, I have had a lot of support from other engineering managers who shared materials and resources.

Q: Why should companies (like Salsify) invest in new manager training?

Carlos: I am pretty aligned with the culture at Salsify. They value diversity and inclusion. While I am in Portugal, there are companies here who are behind in this area, and there is a long way to go. It is good to work for a company that has this top of mind. Empowerment is a big value for Salsify and  I can say without doubt these values resonate for me including;  we care deeply, we are empowered to take action, we trust in the power of our team, and we are problem solvers. The company values are literally printed and hanging in the Boston office.

Q: What impact did the Electives New Manager Training Series have on you? 

Carlos: There are several sessions that stuck out to me, all in really good ways! Some of which were more practical, they gave me more understanding for day to day management including Skill vs Will, Giving Effective Feedback, and Asking Better Questions. I leverage something from these every week and I actually printed materials from the giving feedback and asking better questions sessions and glued them to my desk so I wouldn’t forget it.

I have a feeling that I jump to conclusions because I want to participate and start talking when I should be listening. The frameworks are really helpful when having difficult conversations.

Skill vs Will was really memorable for me. Consider looking at the same thing from a different perspective. There is a difference between “I can do it, vs I don’t want to” you have to be motivated and easily identify situations. Your approach should be totally different from someone that can do it but lacks motivation. That has made me revisit decisions I have taken and change them because of it.

Q: How did the virtual live learning experience benefit the Electives New Manager Training Series? 

Carlos: I really enjoyed the variety of teachers and the fact that it was live. Learning together as a cohort worked wonders. By session six, I really felt like I knew folks. The breakout sessions were all great in theory, and more often than not, some of them could have used adjustments in time because they were too short!

Breakout rooms were the place where we actually got to know each other. The exercises were strategic to promote collaboration and sharing. This also couldn’t have been duplicated if it was pre-recorded. The live sessions worked really well because we wouldn’t have  had the opportunity to share with one another. All of the participants are folks who are in manager roles and felt confident and comfortable sharing with the larger group.

Q: What was the best part about learning alongside peers from other companies during the Electives New Manager Training Series?  

Carlos: I really liked that we mixed with other companies! If we were to do this just at our company, I feel that some people would be less inclined to be 100% sincere knowing there are other colleagues trying to extrapolate things.  While I didn’t feel that way, in fact, Salsify is large enough that I met my colleagues for the first time in the cohort which was an interesting experience.

Q: Who do you believe can benefit from Electives new manager training?

Carlos: It was equal parts inspiration and a toolbox. By toolbox, I mean that the person then has to put the tools to work and practice and use them. There was a lot in the cohort, but one can’t just expect that they will attend the sessions and then magically digest everything. If you want to really get the most out of it, you need to put those skills into practice. I found the classes were focused on the toolbox with the techniques, which gave me a lot to work with my team. The final session with Niren Chaudhary, CEO of Panera Brands was really inspirational and has still stuck with me. The teacher stated his purpose and it was a great final session, super memorable to bring the experience full circle.

Q: What was going on in your career that made you want to participate in the Electives New Manager Training Series?
Carlos: Salsify had recently opened an office in Lisbon when I joined roughly three years ago, as a software engineer. What appealed to me was the fact that it was a small office in Portugal within a larger global company. It was also a company with growth that promoted autonomy and empowered their employees. That speaks a lot to me, as this is the type of environment I seek in a workplace . I have been growing in the company ever since I started. I had an awesome manager who invested in my growth and wanted to help not only my career, but help me help others grow. That is when the opportunity rose to become an engineering manager at Salsify. I had a lot of coaching and mentoring, I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was actually already running a small team without realizing I was doing it. The new manager cohort was timed quite nicely as it was recommended to me by my manager, just about the same time I was becoming a new manager, and thought it would be a great opportunity to learn and get experience from others doing the same. Alongside this, I have had a lot of support from other engineering managers who shared materials and resources.

Q: Why should companies (like Salsify) invest in new manager training?
Carlos: I am pretty aligned with the culture at Salsify. They value diversity and inclusion. While I am in Portugal, there are companies here who are behind in this area, and there is a long way to go. It is good to work for a company that has this top of mind. Empowerment is a big value for Salsify and  I can say without doubt these values resonate for me including;  we care deeply, we are empowered to take action, we trust in the power of our team, and we are problem solvers. The company values are literally printed and hanging in the Boston office.

Q: What impact did the Electives New Manager Training Series have on you? 
Carlos: There are several sessions that stuck out to me, all in really good ways! Some of which were more practical, they gave me more understanding for day to day management including Skill vs Will, Giving Effective Feedback, and Asking Better Questions. I leverage something from these every week and I actually printed materials from the giving feedback and asking better questions sessions and glued them to my desk so I wouldn’t forget it.

I have a feeling that I jump to conclusions because I want to participate and start talking when I should be listening. The frameworks are really helpful when having difficult conversations.

Skill vs Will was really memorable for me. Consider looking at the same thing from a different perspective. There is a difference between “I can do it, vs I don’t want to” you have to be motivated and easily identify situations. Your approach should be totally different from someone that can do it but lacks motivation. That has made me revisit decisions I have taken and change them because of it.

Q: How did the virtual live learning experience benefit the Electives New Manager Training Series? 
Carlos: I really enjoyed the variety of teachers and the fact that it was live. Learning together as a cohort worked wonders. By session six, I really felt like I knew folks. The breakout sessions were all great in theory, and more often than not, some of them could have used adjustments in time because they were too short!
Breakout rooms were the place where we actually got to know each other. The exercises were strategic to promote collaboration and sharing. This also couldn’t have been duplicated if it was pre-recorded. The live sessions worked really well because we wouldn’t have  had the opportunity to share with one another. All of the participants are folks who are in manager roles and felt confident and comfortable sharing with the larger group.

Q: What was the best part about learning alongside peers from other companies during the Electives New Manager Training Series?  
Carlos: I really liked that we mixed with other companies! If we were to do this just at our company, I feel that some people would be less inclined to be 100% sincere knowing there are other colleagues trying to extrapolate things.  While I didn’t feel that way, in fact, Salsify is large enough that I met my colleagues for the first time in the cohort which was an interesting experience.

Q: Who do you believe can benefit from Electives new manager training?
Carlos: It was equal parts inspiration and a toolbox. By toolbox, I mean that the person then has to put the tools to work and practice and use them. There was a lot in the cohort, but one can’t just expect that they will attend the sessions and then magically digest everything. If you want to really get the most out of it, you need to put those skills into practice. I found the classes were focused on the toolbox with the techniques, which gave me a lot to work with my team. The final session with Niren Chaudhary, CEO of Panera Brands was really inspirational and has still stuck with me. The teacher stated his purpose and it was a great final session, super memorable to bring the experience full circle.

CALL TO ACTION

Carlos Fraga (Salsify employee) shares a recap of his experience after participating in the Electives New Manager Training Series

Carlos Fraga of Salsify Shares Insights After Participating In Electives New Manager Training Series

Wed May 18 2022

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