If you're reading this text, it means you're great. Great enough that either you're already managing projects or at least interested in the topic.
1.Find a mentor (even if that person doesn't know they're your mentor).
Becoming a manager is not an easy task, there is no one effective recipe for it, just like there is no one effective recipe for becoming a good chess player. Beth started her chess career by working with a mentor, Mr. Shaibel (Beth would surely be happy to hear his name mentioned here!). As human beings, we are all different and work in different organizations, not all of us are lucky enough to work in an organization that has officially implemented and functioning mentoring programs. Nevertheless, I am sure that in every company, you will find someone you can observe and learn from. Take advantage of this and observe as much as you can!
2.Temper your ego and ask for feedback to avoid getting stuck in the tunnel vision of your own genius.
Everyone makes mistakes, Beth couldn't find any false steps or bad moves in her games when she reviewed them. Benny helped her see beyond her tunnel vision by pointing out a mistake that could have cost her the win in the Kentucky State Championship. In my opinion, this is another great lesson and warning for every manager. No matter how big our successes are and how much we feed our ego, we are not immune to making mistakes. Feedback and challenging ourselves by asking for the opinions of others may sometimes hurt our ego, but trust me - in the long run, it will only do us good.
3.Play as a team
Management is a team game (as it turns out, so are chess). Beth worked alone for a very long time after leaving the orphanage. Borgov, whether with his KGB entourage or with other grandmasters at a tournament in the USSR, worked with a team. The turning point in her career was when she began to seek the support of other chess players. Working in different organizations, we may get the impression that we have to fight for budgets and resources, and sometimes we may feel that we are also fighting against clients. However, what counts at the end of the day is the good of the projects and the good of the company. We always play for one goal with all the people involved in the project, and using the strengths of the people around us is a powerful weapon we have at our disposal - let's not be afraid to use it.
4.Remember that hard work every day is the key to success in your job.
You’re bored with ordinary (chess) tasks
In our daily work, we face various tasks. Some are more exciting than others (let's face it - describing tasks for developers or keeping project documentation in check is much less fascinating than impressing clients or planning company strategy). Nevertheless, it was precisely studying the ordinary chess games of grandmasters that led Beth to success in her final showdown with Borgov.
5.Give yourself time to rest.
There's little that can exhaust us mentally as much as (chess) management.
Probably each of us has caught ourselves thinking that we're working too hard and burning out too quickly. (By the way, Igor Mróz from Zero Bullshit Management wrote a very good article on the trap of work and personal development - I recommend it!) Beth's story of a rollercoaster of hard work and decompressing through alcohol and drugs. It was only when she took a break and gave herself time for rest and recovery that she was able to defeat her nemesis.
6.Let's be humble!
King Kendrick Lamar once called for humility. For Beth, the greatest hero in her life wasn't the grandmasters she faced, but the janitor who taught her the rules of the game. After her victorious game against Borgov, she didn't fly to meet the president but went to the nearest park where she continued to play chess, this time with people sitting in the park. Each of us and the people around us at work have their own problems, both in and outside of work. Just as they have no idea what we're struggling with, we have no idea what they're dealing with, whether it's in the company or in their personal life. The business world would be a much better place if we took more account of other people in our daily struggles.
As a complete amateur in both chess and cultural analysis, I'm strongly convinced that this text doesn't exhaust the topic of what managerial lessons we can draw from the story told in "The Queen's Gambit." It certainly hasn't exhausted any of the six conclusions I described above. Therefore, as part of the CTA, feel free to let me know if you have your own takeaways from watching this series. Of course, if you have a different perspective on Beth's story, also let me know - challenges are always welcome!
*All passages described in italics are more or less faithful quotes from the series 😉
