How I became a manager by 24

How did I become a manager by age 24? The short answer is I’m a perfectionist. Now I’m sure you’ve read plenty of articles demonizing managers who are perfectionists. A quick google search pulls up headlines such as “How to deal with a boss that is a perfectionist” and “11 signs your boss is a perfectionist.”

Some of the perfectionist signs from the Business Insider article include the inability to delegate, being easily stressed and intolerance of mistakes. “Perfectionist managers don’t just hurt themselves — they can bring down their entire team with their ridiculous standards and inability to lead,” Áine Cain wrote in the article.

If perfectionist bosses are such ineffective leaders, how did I rise to manager level as a perfectionist?

Caring about the details

I have always been detail-oriented, to put it nicely, or crazy OCD to put it more accurately. I like everything to be just so, and I don’t like mistakes. My attention to detail can be most obviously seen in my writing (and re-writing). I can never just write something and call it good. I have to re-read it and copy edit it, time and time again until it is perfect – or at least up to my impossible standards.

Even as far back as elementary school, I was a copy editor. One of my early short stories “Halloween Night” from when I was only in single digits clearly has copy editing marks on it where I went back later and edited it. When I had to turn in school papers, I would print them out and read them out loud multiple times, making edits and repeating until I was satisfied with the final result.

Copy editing was (and still is) my passion. I was copy editor of my high school newspaper, and I ended up pursuing a degree in News Editing from the Missouri School of Journalism. Luckily for me, I was able to translate my attention to detail into a college degree, professional career and ultimately a manager position by age 24.

If I see a problem, I have to fix it (and I’m not afraid to speak up)

Here’s the problem with being crazy detail-oriented: If I notice something that is wrong, I have to fix it. I can’t just stand by and let things go, even if it’s not my job. For example, at my high school newspaper, we didn’t have the position of copy editor until I created it. I saw a problem (the newspaper was full of grammatical errors), so I made it my problem to fix, and I stepped up to copy edit all the newspaper articles prior to publication.

Similarly, when I started my first job out of college as a proposal coordinator for CGI’s Financial Solutions, I saw problems with the proposal process, and I couldn’t help myself from fixing them. I didn’t like that we didn’t have standard proposal templates, so I created them. I streamlined processes and created process documentation. No one asked me to do any of these things, but for better or worse, I made it my problem and stepped up to fix it.

Another important part of my journey to manager was that I wasn’t (and still am not) afraid to speak up when I see a problem even when I am not in a position of power. In the previous two examples, I was a lowly high school student and a recent college graduate. Who was I to know what was best for the newspaper or proposals? But I didn’t let that stop me from voicing my opinions. I’m not sure what it is about me that makes me so unafraid to speak up and suggest ideas for improvement, but it has been a pivotal part of my professional success.

By speaking up, I was able to assert my desire to contribute, improve processes and ultimately take ownership.

My natural rise to leadership

My compulsion for perfection has made it natural for me to step up and lead over the years. Every group project in school, I wouldn’t trust anyone else to do it correctly, so I would automatically assume a position of leadership to make sure it got done right. I have always taken ownership of things that were not my responsibility, which has allowed me to move up into positions of leadership.

Editor-in-chief of my high school newspaper

My first real leadership position was editor-in-chief of my high school newspaper, the Star Gazer, when I was 16. I don’t think I was ever particularly assigned the job, but I made it my job because I wanted the newspaper to be a success. If I was going to be a part of it and put my name on it, I was going to make sure it was perfect. I loved taking ownership of overseeing the content budget and making sure everything came together into the “perfect” publication.

Print desk manager of my college newspaper

My second real leadership position, and the job that really made me into the leader I am today, was print desk manager for the Columbia Missourian in August 2014 when I was 21. When I decided to pursue a degree in journalism, I had to ultimately pick a focus area, and News Editing seemed like the right fit with all my previous experience and interest in copy editing. I was on the copy editing desk at the newspaper for a semester as part of one of my required classes, and I really enjoyed it. The next semester, I was entrusted with managing the publication of our print newspaper every Monday night and some Saturday nights.

I’m not really sure why I was given the job because every other night, it was a professor managing the print production, not a lowly student. But again, similar to managing the production of my high school newspaper, I loved managing the content of the print newspaper and making sure everything came together into a final publication by our daily midnight deadline. It was a stressful job on many nights, as stories would appear or disappear on the budget, and I would have to quickly adjust under deadline. But the stress really didn’t bother me; if anything, it fueled my passion and desire for management. Taking ownership of the print newspaper and seeing it to final publication was a pivotal moment in my career. I realized I thrive managing processes and people. I realized I was meant to be a manager.

Proposal lead for CGI’s financial solutions

My third real leadership position was proposal lead for CGI’s Financial Solutions in January 2017 when I was 23, one and a half years after starting as a proposal coordinator. When I started at CGI, I quickly mastered proposal coordination a few months in and singlehandedly trained another member of the team only four months after joining the team myself. I was constantly trying to improve processes and go above and beyond because of my compulsion for perfection. So when my former boss brought the idea to me of becoming proposal lead, I jumped at it. I would be responsible for assigning and overseeing the proposals of the entire group. No big deal, right?

It was challenging at first, as is typical with any new responsibility, but I soon felt right at home managing the proposal process and my fellow colleagues. While I wasn’t the direct manager of the proposal team, I had a lot of management responsibilities, making sure all the team’s proposals went out the door with top notch quality and by the required client deadlines. Again, this ownership and added responsibility felt like a natural next step for me because I just can’t help but step up and lead, no matter what I do.

Proposal manager for CGI’s financial and insurance solutions

Then came my first real “manager” position as the proposal manager for CGI’s Financial and Insurance Solutions in January 2018 when I was 24, one year after receiving the proposal lead position when my former boss decided to pursue her career interests elsewhere. When I was asked to take over my boss’ job, it came as no surprise to me because I had been leading the team more or less the past year anyway as proposal lead. The real difference would be that the training wheels would be off. I wouldn’t have my boss to depend on and ask for advice. I would not just be responsible for the team’s proposals, but I would also be responsible for everything our group did, including shaping the direction of the group, performance management, etc.

I wasn’t afraid to take on the new challenge because it just felt natural to continue stepping up and leading the group (albeit more officially now). I had ideas of where I wanted to take the group, and I finally had the authority to put them into action. Six months into my first manager position, I’m now 25, and I’ve learned so much.

I’ve learned that not everyone responds to the same management style, so I have to adapt when managing different employees. I’ve learned that I have to give up some control and delegate in order to move up the ladder.

While everything my team does might not be 100% exactly how I would do it, that’s okay because I’ve passed on my knowledge and expertise to them and have to trust that they can do things successfully in their own way — and sometimes even better than I could.

What’s next for this “perfectionist boss”?

While I realize that some perfectionist bosses can drive their employees crazy with their unrealistic standards, I like to think that I am both a perfectionist and a boss but not a perfectionist boss. What I mean by that is that in my own work, I will always be a perfectionist. I will re-read, re-write and edit until I am satisfied with the final result. That’s just who I am, and I am okay with that. But I don’t expect my team to be perfect. Every member of my team has her strengths (my team is entirely female at the moment), and I do my best to utilize everyone’s best qualities. What’s next for me?

For now, I’m going to strive to be a “perfect” manager (of course, would you expect anything less from me?) and continue leading and shaping my team into the best team possible.

Was it really all about being a perfectionist?

The short answer is no, of course not. My rise to management has largely been due to the many influential female leaders in my life. I’ve been extremely lucky to have had so many excellent role models as managers. I have looked up to them and tried to emulate their management styles. I have asked myself many times, “What would Allison do?” of my former boss who I replaced.

I don’t think you need to be a perfectionist to be a manager by any means, but for me perfectionism is what led me to where I am today, a manager by 24. Because I care about the details, I make it my mission to improve anything and everything I am involved in. I take ownership of things that are not my responsibility because I want to ensure their success. I’m not afraid to speak up and voice my opinions, even when I am not in a position of power. All these things, and a little bit of luck, have helped me become a manager by 24.