Yusuf Aytas's Blog, page 3

Representing the Business

The other day, someone asked me why we even need managers. What do they actually do? I think it’s a fair question, and honestly, people get it wrong a lot. You can throw usual fluff to this question. Managers make sure things get done, keep people on track, and handle logistics. Obviously, that’s part of it. But you know yourself, that’s just the tip of the iceberg in many ways…

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Why Do We Need Managers?

The other day, someone asked me why we even need managers. What do they actually do? I think it’s a fair question, and honestly, people get it wrong a lot. You can throw usual fluff to this question. Managers make sure things get done, keep people on track, and handle logistics. Obviously, that’s part of it. But you know yourself, that’s just the tip of the iceberg in many ways…

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New Manager Survival Guide

Alright, this is gonna be a long one. And not just a one-time thing. I’ll keep updating it as I write more about leadership. I’ll try to link everything I’ve written before. This one’s the one, just like in the Matrix. All the things I wish I had when I first stepped into managing. There are so many damn questions when you start managing. What should I be doing? Am I doing it right?

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Take Self Reviews Seriously

This isn’t the first and definitely won’t be the last time I find myself in a conversation about the importance of self check-ins, performance reviews, and all that so-called “reflection” stuff. It’s funny how this mindset shows up at every level. Everyone including people leaders seems to have this fun little idea that they don’t need to take it seriously. The weirdest part? Most of those same…

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Chasing Real Respect

You can fake a lot of things in business. Authority. Expertise. Competence. But you can’t fake certain traits, like respect. Think about the managers you’ve had in the past. The good ones. The bad ones. People do respect good managers. Why? You remember how it felt to work with them. I bet it felt safe, challenged, trusted and a few more. In contrast, no one respects the bad ones. Not really.

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The Invisible Difference

There are plenty of skills you can pick up along the way. Some come from books, some through experience. A lot of it is just trial and error. And some from self reflection. You figure things out such as writing a better email, managing your time, and so forth. If you’ve done even a little research, you’ll hear the usual suspects: communication, delegation, leadership, productivity.

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Learning the Johari Window

When I wrote this piece on setting goals, I focused on the practical side: clarity, motivation, breaking down complexity. But here’s the thing. Even the clearest goal doesn’t mean much if you don’t understand who you are. It’s beyond MBTI kind of stuff. I’m referring to a closer look at yourself. That’s where the Johari Window comes in. It’s a model from the 1950s that still slaps today.

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Management is a Lonely Place

Yes, it is. If you’re in it, you already know. It sucks. You can’t talk to your boss about many things because, let’s be honest, they probably don’t have that much time to hear it. And they can’t really talk to you either, because they have their own version of this loneliness. You also can’t share everything with your direct reports because some things aren’t meant to be passed down.

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Simple Task Management

I don’t have the best memory. Hell, I barely remember what I did yesterday. Over the years, I’ve tried countless apps to track my tasks, but most of them are too complex. Sign-ins, corporate policies, integrations, fancy UIs. I don’t have time for that crap. I believe in KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid). It was one of the first principles I learned, probably in my Computer Architecture or Computer…

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AI Balance in Work

I use AI, you use AI, and almost everyone uses AI. I don’t think that’s going to change. But how should we use it? I’ve seen people turn five bullet points into three pages — I got completely lost. We should use AI where it makes sense; otherwise, it’s just overwhelming. I think others have had similar experiences. I’ll edit this post with AI. You can see the raw content versus how it’s presented…

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