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Transitioning to Management
Mugsley
DelawareRegistered User regular
DelawareRegistered User regular
I currently work in a technical Engineering position and I'm at the top tier of my earnings. We are starting to go through a wave of retirements and movement at the Management levels; and I'm starting to get interested in moving away from my current position. I absolutely love the technical side of the work, so a step like this is very much out of my realm of comfort.
I've had this transition be described as, "going from managing Projects to managing People," and that seems very apt. So while I decide whether this is a direction I should move career-wise, are there any resources that you've used to start to better understand the management mindset? Any books worth reading?
I plan to find some time in the near future to sit down with other managers to get their take on the position and what it entails; as well as suggestions for the interview process.
I've had this transition be described as, "going from managing Projects to managing People," and that seems very apt. So while I decide whether this is a direction I should move career-wise, are there any resources that you've used to start to better understand the management mindset? Any books worth reading?
I plan to find some time in the near future to sit down with other managers to get their take on the position and what it entails; as well as suggestions for the interview process.
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One thing you need to know by Marcus Buckingham is pretty decent.
Good to Great by Jim Collins is good too.
But you will need to contextualize the information. Please don't apply square peg to round hole.
While I imagine everyone's experience could be different I never got a better feeling in my career than when I watched the people on my team grow and succeed. While that sounds cheesy it is 100% the truth. You'd also have the advantage of having "been in the trenches" along with your team which goes a long way towards building trust and respect.
So, in short, you should go for it.
Still, the thought of tracking funding, viewing/approving travel, dealing with personality clashes, writing performance evals, and interviewing new hires all sound both daunting and Not Fun. Which is why I'm still at a personal crossroads regarding whether it's something I actually want to do. But mostly, I feel like I don't have the skills to do the job (for example, outside of people doing work at my house, I've never interviewed anyone and wouldn't know what questions to ask).
Also it would entail me becoming supervisor of ~20 people from zero. The most people I've "managed" at one time was about 7 [which was less direct management and more making sure the contractor did what we asked them to do].
Being the lead or manager means you work harder than everyone else on the team. Arrive earlier, stay later. Work harder, care about the outcome more.
If that isn't what you are doing, you aren't doing your position right.
Though remember this: it's about your people, not you. You should only be doing work when there's no one else.to do it. The glory and good opportunities belong to your people now.
A good friend of mine is a senior manager, and often describes himself as a "shit umbrella" for his team. He has a pretty great podcast specifically answering questions about leadership that you might find interesting.
You can't give someone a pirate ship in one game, and then take it back in the next game. It's rude.
- most of the time I'm organising multiple projects and the resources required to fullfil.
- I have to still keep up-to-date on tech my team uses even if not in a practical sense in an ability to call them out for its improper use point of view
- shit umbrella mentioned above is pretty apt.
- I love it, challenge is different and I get to be the change I wanted from management when I was an engineer.
But heed this well:
Don't move up for inertia's sake, make sure there is something in the job description you have a genuine passion for.
The higher I rise, the more agency I have to make the awesome projects I love happen, but the less I get to actually enjoy them. I found new opportunities for job satisfaction in the success of my team, or more strategic successes, but I can't live on that; I need a creative outlet.
"We think you'd be good at it" is not the same as "You will enjoy it." Because, in my case, the former will not exist for long without the latter.
Hopefully some of the managers you talk to will have come from where you are or know you well enough that they can give you a clear idea of how, specifically, you can translate your passions, or if it's not really for you.
That’s just part of the gig.
I work for the Government as a mechanical engineer. Basically to go beyond where I am now, I have to manage people or manage money.
The shit umbrella stance makes a lot of sense; since my boss has told me on more than one occasion that the management team (i.e. all the bosses on his tier) were trying to change or not change X or Y situation on our behalf -- whether that's additional administrative burden or some sort of change in how we do business
[sorry for the vagaries; the work involves some classified and/or high profile work sometimes]
Speaking to the graphic above, this would be transitioning from a Leader to a Boss.
@mRahmani I'll give that a listen, thanks!
As for out of your comfort zone, I was tapped to do this as well when my manager went on a 1 year leave and had to take on looking after 3 teams. Hindsight, great experience, but I'll never willingly go back into that type of role. See if there is 3/6/9/12 month temporary opportunities before diving in without an option to go back.
Also as Gilbert said Scrum Master, but that is if you are managing software or programming, Scrum Master isn't as useful if your technical engineering is in a different area (Civil, Mechanical, Environmental).
We act as In-Service Engineering Agents; which means we support cradle-to-grave for the systems we cover. For example, I'm in the process of removing equipment from service that I originally helped install 12 years ago (don't get old, kids).
https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/PaulTozour/20150126/235024/The_Game_Outcomes_Project_Part_5_What_Great_Teams_Do.php
Book recos:
5 dysfunctions of a team
Humble inquiry
Lean startup (good for understanding change)
PM me if you want my deeper take on management, but I think these are some good bullet points:
You are there to protect your team's time an energy to be focused on value creation, not vanity or bs
you cannot be friends with your team. You can be friendly, but it's like being a parent, you're there to help them develop and be better people first, not to be liked.
When looking at opportunities, it's not about if they're ready, it's if they're capable.
Let them fail when it's safe. Lessons are learned better through doing vs telling.
You will be who they look to around buy in on organizational initiatives, so be careful about the reactions you model.
Above all: just smile and try to be positive. Do your best to hide your bad days. It's amazing how powerful having a constant source of positivity is.
Counter - even if they're a top performer, curb toxic behaviors ASAP, they poison the team.
Hi. New manager here myself.
I've used https://www.manager-tools.com/ a lot. Find their older podcasts, scroll down, and start listening. There's some serious wisdom within - some of which may not be applicable to what you do, but is a solid car drive's worth of learning, and you can digest slowly.
The biggest take away's that have helped me so far is, well, that there isn't really a book/training that prepares you for the experience of being a manager. You can find some good advice and counsel! But the actual 'doing' bit, well...that's mostly OTJ. My personal experiences are that you have to be disciplined as a manager - build your people management into a routine and then stick to it. Do weekly 1 on 1's with your peeps, provide mentoring and growth, enable them with the right resources, and then let them work and get out of the way. If you've hired wisely, you'll find that smart motivated people find a way to succeed. Just make sure their efforts are directed the right way.
The most important thing is that a manger takes care of their people. Shield them from the bad stuff. Encourage, grow, support, resource. Just take care of peeps.