JEAN PHILIP DE TENDER

I no longer watch a lot of television. It used to be a full-time job as an executive TV Director. Today I prefer reading over watching, and I’m picky about what I watch. 

Out of boredom, I watched an episode of “Owning Manhattan” on Netflix, and I got hooked. This was something similar to “The Real Housewives of …”, sort of “The Real Brokers of Manhattan”.  I was watching the same surreal people whose coiffure, manicure, dress code and botox were often a bit out of balance. I admit,  this is Manhattan, which doesn’t compare to Brussels or Geneva. 

Surreal, plastic people,  yet I was fascinated by Andy Sherhant, the CEO of Sherhant, one of the bigger real estate offices in New York. Andy came to New York to make it as an actor but was unsuccessful …  Acting now seems to serve him well in his new role.

I’m intrigued by what good management can be, so the reason why I got into this series was observing Andy Sherhant. In a nutshell, I think Andy is an excellent manager. 

This is why

• He is an excellent communicator. Eloquent, engaged and direct. There is no way you will misread his words.
• His feedback is always constructive. Even if staff have it wrong, he will never blame them but will turn that into a learning opportunity.
• He has a vision for the company: to become the top broker in New York and to do that in a different (more contemporary way) than his opponents.
• He asks for honest feedback on his performance. I assume he self-reflects on his behaviour and on what is good or wrong.
• He has a knack for discovering new talent and seeing the potential in them.
• He does retention planning for his key performers. (Yes, I know not everybody has the HR budget to buy Cartier watches).
• Finally, he handles toxic behaviour. He doesn’t shy away from letting people go, but then doesn’t badmouth about that person.

I cannot wait for the second series to be released later this year.