Submitted by vinnyavallone@g... on
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Wasn't sure if I had this in the right forum, so I moved it the General Question an Comments.
Really appreciate all the help MT has been to me. Thanks. Here is my situation. I was at a job for about 3 years. I was promoted to Director of IT and hired a System Administrator and help desk person that I managed. We had a really good team and the IT department was humming along. I was looking to spread my wings as a manager and left that job for another. However, after 9 months, I have had some regrets and am returning to my previous job. I will have a few other responsibilities, including Director of IT. When I left, I was able to get my Sys Admin a promotion to IT manager and raise. I got he help desk person the same. Now that I am coming back, I have been met with some resistance. Essentially my IT manager feels he is getting a demotion, since he will now be reporting to me again and not directly to the VP, which is who he has been reporting to while I was gone. Fortunately, my relationship with the guys is pretty solid and we have had an open and honest conversations about how they feel. They are also dealing with feeling under appreciated, which I am going to work hard to change. I am looking for any advice on how to be succesful with these guys and get back to what we once had. What can I do to make my rentry as smooth as possible? Any thoughts? Thanks.
A learning opportunity.
This is a good example to your team of "I do not lose, I win or I learn". Sometimes organizational decisions really are outside of our control. You can do everything right - get promoted, prepare to take over for a departing boss, and yet sometimes things still don't work out the way you'd want them to.
I think I would sell them on the improved recognition opportunity. There is something in ths for them.
The other point is - you're making a decision that they would make in your place. If they left for what they thought was greener pastures and then you gave them the opportunity to come back, they would certainly take it.
Just because gratification doesn't happen TO-DAY doesn't mean it won't happen some day. When good things happen, people forget the ebbs and flows.
I'd use this as an opportunity to get your team on the same page, rally them around a cause and inspire them to do great things.
Shouldn't be too difficult.
Re-Roll Out
Can I suggest that you start by "starting over" a bit by re-Rolling Out the Trinity? It sounds like the biggest issue you have is going to be your relationship with your team. In that case, even though you've been there before, it might be helpful to start over Rolling Out the Trinity. Give them three weeks, start One on Ones, then wait for feedback, coaching, delegation, etc. (Here is the link to the Rollout cast: Rolling Out the Manager Tools Trinity.)
There are two advantages here. First, you can re-establish your relationships and remind your team that you still care, are still you, and that you are still going to work to be the best manager you can be. Second, you can see how things have changed under your IT manager’s time as lead. He might have done some things that you want to adopt. He might have new ideas on how to run things. Giving it time before you start everything will allow for insight into those things.
The First 90 Days casts might be helpful here too. Even though you’re not technically new; some of the issues are still applicable. Let your IT Manager know that you want to see how he did things, how you can learn from that. Open, honest communication sounds like a great place to start. Keep in mind- you cant be friends with your directs (Can I Be Friends With My Directs?). It might be a bit of a change to go from friends back to manager. There might be some tension there. Being aware of it might make it easier to understand how they feel.
Best of luck!
Kate Horstman
Thanks
Thanks for the feedback. It is very helpful and it make sense to me. I start on Thursday.
That was short
Well, after 3 days back my IT Manager resigned. I didn't even have a chance to get settled in. Me coming back definitely wasn't the ONLY reason, but did play a part. I did get to use the guidance from the podcast about my direct resigning.though. Now, on to the hiring process. :-)
Sorry to hear that
Im so sorry to hear that. I do hope things are better now or that you feel more settled in.
Kate