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Ciao,
suppose that you are the number 2 in an organization.
Suppose that your boss have been promoted.
Suppose that you now are the boss.
What’s first in your tasks list?
PierG

Mark's picture
Admin Role Badge

Meet with my team immediately.

Mark

PierG's picture

Yes, for sure.
ANY specific idea about the fact that YOU were a part of that team you are now leading?
PierG

ctomasi's picture

Boy this sounds familiar... Didn't AManagerTool just post about this?

I'm in the same situation. I'm managing all my former peers.

PierG's picture

Ooopsss, I missed that! Can you find that post?
PierG

Mark's picture
Admin Role Badge

Isn't technology wonderful? I'm on the subway in Atlanta, headed to the airpprt to pick Mike up for 2 days of client work here. Got the post notification email, and used the browser on my phone to go grab the cite.

www.manager-tools.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=887&highlight=

There's more to say about this subject....

Mark

TimBryce's picture

No, I wouldn't meet with the team immediately. First, I would
do a little homework; e.g., list my priorities and determine
a preliminary action plan. Also, since I am a Number 2 moving
up to Number 1, I would itemize my department's strengths and
weaknesses. Then, I would meet with my team. In other words,
I don't believe in going into any meeting without doing a little
groundwork first.

All the Best,

ctomasi's picture

A fair volley, Tim.

I started to assume we all do planning before any meeting. :-)

To clarify my "immediately" tag, I meant "Don't a month or two before getting to it. Set it up to happen in the next week or two."

PierG's picture

Thank you all guys. I agree with you that is all a matter of: people, communication and priority.
Let me ask something more" what are the three questions you'd ask to your new directs to define priorities?
PierG

TimBryce's picture

1. What are you currently working on (your priorities)?
2. What is the distribution of time you are spending against the
various priorities (time assessment)?
3. Where do we need to make improvements in the department?

All of which should be compared against your own personal assessment
of the department. Their feedback will confirm your assessment
and give you input for formulating policy. It will also tell them you
are getting your arms around everything, and you are interested
in their feedback (the first step in employee empowerment).

All the Best,

jasdf's picture

Speaking as the "managed," meet with me, ask me the questions Tim mentioned, listen to my answers and you get my first helping of loyalty, even in the reconfigured relationship.

I've worked for peers before, and I've been the "promoted peer" once. In that case, I did a better job communicating with my peers who were less close. I did work it out eventually, though, with my friends.

btw - Mark, I hope your Marta experience was above average. It's no DC Metro. I'd wager $1 that you were headed to the Perimeter area, or at least north of midtown Atlanta.

AManagerTool's picture

I have something to add. In one of my one-on-ones with my directs, one of them told me that it was a good thing that I didn't walk in to our first meeting with alot of newbie manager nonsense. They liked that I didn't change anything...yet. They liked that I just gathered data...by asking [b]them[/b] for it as well as our customers. Believe me it has been an excersise in patience for this high D not to come into this position "Swinging for the bleachers".

I initially wanted to do just what Tim advised. Call a meeting, present my "vision" and strategy for the group. I figured since I worked in the department for 5 years prior to ascending, I knew what the issues were. I would have been wrong. The view from the throne is MUCH different than I thought it would be. Some of the issues that I thought were one way turned out to be another and some were just what I thought they would be and need to change.

My advice is to take your time. Unless there is a crisis, gather data through personal interactions (O3's, Staff meetings, "water cooler" conversations) with your team and your customers. WRITE THIS DATA DOWN IN A NOTEBOOK. Analyze it and then make changes.

TimBryce's picture

I think you misunderstood what I was saying. The purpose of the first
meeting is to get your arms around what is going on (unless there is
some sort of crisis where you have to step in and get things moving).
The intent is to clarify your perceptions with those of the staff.

You're right in respect that people do not know what it is like until you
sit in the manager's chair. It is a totally different perspective.

All the Best,

ctomasi's picture

Tim, I have to agree with you on the Manager's chair thing. My role as an IT Manager is still new enough that I can remember quite well what my guys are doing, thinking, and feeling. At times I would get glimpses of confidential information, but nothing like the dynamics of today. My decisions involve not only my directs, but financials (forecasted and past), resource availability from other departments, political factors... well, you all know because you're in the same boat.

Quite a different view.

AManagerTool's picture

Sorry Tim,

I did indeed misinterpret. I need to stop reading these boards on my smartphone.