Submitted by JayGGS on
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A bit of background. So I've always been aiming for a management role as "that's where you need to be, that's the goal in life" and having been at the same company for 11 years now we've grown from 3 of us, the 2 owners and myself to 18 people.
I've been listening to the pod casts on and off about 2 years, brought in O3's around that time and even though I wasn't technically management, just a senior employee I was doing them with my co-workers, I was also having an O3 with my boss, one of the owners, where we would have a shorter O3 as he didn't quite get them but we'd also discuss projects and other employees etc but those eventually faded as he was too busy and the O3's I was doing also faded.
I've now been made manager of 10 people in the team, again my boss was pushed into the announcement by another senior employee to "just get it done", but we hadn't discussed anything other than "you'll be managing the team and having a pay increase" - a big mistake on his part and I made it clear to him in no uncertain circumstance I wasn't happy with the announcement to the team and lack of discussion. I get it he's busy, his business partner doesn't help him and when he does try to help makes things more difficult, I won't go into that too much. We both know that needs addresssing, but he won't.
I've never had great management above me, so don't really know how a great manager should be, what they should say or do etc which is why I listen to the podcasts when I can, but when it comes to doing it in practice I feel like I'm failing the teachings in the podcasts. I do feel I'm in over my head at times. Maybe this will get better in time as I get more practice at doing these things.
We don't have an in house HR person, I've just been introduced to our HR consultant who is helping advise me with some difficult employee's and even she's said whilst in front my my boss "So you're the TS Manager and HR manager now" I looked over at my boss and said "yeah, starting to look that way...
I'm getting frustrated and stressed because I was given a team which was in a bad way in some aspects and I'm now dealing with the clean up and trying to get the 'house' in order and getting push back from at least 2 problematic employees, which I won't go into to much about deal in this post.
Wow this post turned into a bit more than I planned and a bit of a rant... Sorry about that.
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JG
Let's "make the best of the situation" - Eric Clapton
I understadnd your situation, and I'm sorry that you feel rushed into this new managerial position. I hear your frustration, but you also seem like the best person for this role. In fact, that you feel this way is in itself a good thing: it shows that you care and want to do your best. You must, however, give yourself a honeymoon period. If you're as close as you say you are with other senior employees (or are they employers?), I'm sure they will understand that you'd like to take some time to get a good feel the role and, more importantly, the people you'd be guiding. Even the best managers began somewhere. The podcasts, I'm sure, are helpful. As long as we examine the podcast from our own professional experience and vice versa, they are an excellent resource. You could also actively take up management-related reading. There's a lotta management pulp out there. Some of it is even funny (and educative), which means they can double up as a stress-buster. Don't restrict yourself, though. Read different kinds of management-related texts. If you're looking for what the cool college kids are being taught or expected to read in North American management schools and colleges, take a look at this page on Management. Keeping up with jargon may be useful if you want to hire somebody else for your role. You will know what college kids are expected to read/ are reading these days. It might make your hiring process easier.
If the stress still does not subside, you could consider having a pet at work (a dog; cat; or a fish, or several fish). This has worked wonders at so many places. Just ensure that you take good very very very care of them. They are not mere tools, after all.
Else, you could take up cycling, if your schedule permits. I cycle, and it's the best way I've found to unwind.
Hope this helps!
You're in a classic situation
You're in a classic situation that most new managers deal with. They're give a "promotion" to manager, with no training, maybe a bump in pay, an increase in responsibility and stress, and they're thrown to the wolves. "Go out there and manage!"
I was promoted to manager four different times in my life, different businesses, and each time it was without any management training, or even a discussion about what responsibilities my new role would require. The last time (high stakes) I took it upon myselr to get the training I needed and realized that throwing someone into the role would he like taking an athletic person who has never played contact sports before and expecting them to perform well on a a pro football team.
Get in-person management training. Management tools have seminars. Invest in them. There are many reputable management training seminars that are less intensive, maybe one-day seminars at a hotel, but they're crucial. Ongoing training is something necessary not only for beginning managers, but the top managers in the world also contiually train. If you try to go by your bootstraps it will be nothing but frustration. If you get good management training, it will open up a whole new world for you, and will make your life easier and more productive.
Thank you Mainer for your
Thank you Mainer for your kind words, I'm across the pond in the UK. I've bought a couple udemy leadership and management courses (on the company card ;) ) I already have Mark's book, I just need to finish it. I've also got an ACAS training course in performance management booked for later this month.
My relationship with my bosses is good, I can speak pretty freely with them. I think part of the problem is that I've worked her so long and they've never been good managers, sure they're good to me as my bosses (they are co-owners of the business), but they're not good managers - if that makes sense!
I used to play rugby which was a great way to vent and destress, but I stopped that a couple years ago due to a knee injury.
mrreliable, you've summed it up pretty well there. I would love to get that training from Manager Tools, I wanted it this year just before I was made manager, however it was too short notice. Maybe next year when they're back in the UK.