November 22, 2004
Copyright © 2004 by Bill Dueease
Most people aspire to eventually be promoted into a position
to manage other people. Doing so normally brings more prestige, more
authority (read power), more recognition and more money. However,
there also numerous hidden pitfalls that comes with the first time management
position. Unfortunately, these pitfalls are rarely recognized and are
frequently ignored. Serious conflicts and stress occur, causing numerous
problems. Consequently, the initial transition into management is frequently
less than successful.
Most people are promoted into their first management position because
they appear to do a better job at their non-management position. The
best systems analysts are frequently promoted to team leaders. The best
sales people are most often promoted to sales team managers. The best
customer service people are regularly promoted to shift supervisors.
The normal thinking is that the best workers will easily translate their
working success into management success. These new managers are expected
to perform as well in their new management position as they did on their
regular job. But this transition is much more difficult than it appears.
Here are some of the important additional requirements placed on first
time managers that create problems and additional stresses.
Most companies expect first time managers to continue performing their
previous job AND ALSO carry out the duties and responsibilities of the
new management position. The sales person is expected to continue producing
the best sales results and to motivate and manage the other sales people
in their group. Both positions are extremely different and will require
you to change your thinking and perspectives dramatically each time
you switch from one to the other. This will create confusion and conflicts
and will challenge your strength and resolve.
In addition to your continued work success, you will also be responsible
for the results of the members of your group. You will have to concern
yourself with the personalities, the performances, the behaviors, the
attitudes, and the directions of the people in your group. You will
have to learn how to observe and recognize the activities and results
of your people. How to reward their successful and desirable behaviors,
within the limits imposed upon you by the company. How to communicate
the existence of undesirable behaviors shown by your group and how to
teach and convince them to alter their activities and attitudes to improve
their results. You will normally be required to perform all of these
and other "management" functions, like attending management
meetings, budgeting, planning, and reporting to upper management. Not
recognizing that these many new duties and responsibilities are now
required and not knowing how to easily and effectively perform them
will normally create considerable conflicts and stress.
You will have to find time from your normal workday to perform all of
the additional management functions. This will require you to either
perform your regular job duties as well as before in much less time,
or add more hours to your work day (normally without any additional
pay other than the raise you received with the promotion, if you received
any.) You will have to attend meetings, perform added management functions
as a supervisor to your group, and provide required reports and presentations
to upper management, while you continue your other position. This sudden,
continuous, and heavy demand on your time will create considerable stress
and conflicts. Many first line managers adapt by coming in earlier and
leaving later (at the expense of their personal and family lives)
or they forgo mid day meals (at the expense of their health)
or both.
When you performed your line job, you normally had almost total control
over the things you did and the results you achieved. For example, you
controlled the energy you expended and what you said to customers as
a sales person or customer service person. Or you controlled the programming
you did as a systems analysts. But as a manager, you loose considerable
control over the results you became responsible for. You must now rely
on the efforts and activities of the people in your group to produce
the results you desire for the group. This loss of control is frequently
misunderstood and can be devastating. An unexpected feeling of powerlessness
frequently occurs. Many new managers react to this loss of control by
micromanaging their employees (at the expense of the attitude and
performance of their employees) to recover some sense of control.
Normally you will receive almost instant gratification while performing
your line job. You get instant satisfaction when a customer accepts
a sale. You get instant gratification when you complete a computer trouble
shoot. However, as a manager you will have to wait from a day to almost
a week to learn of the results and successes (if any) of the
people in your group. In this day and age of ever increasing instant
gratification, these unrecognized delays in gratification can become
troublesome. Many new managers try to speed up gratification by micromanaging
and demanding additional hourly and daily information and reports about
and from employees (at the expense of employee performance and attitudes)
When you were in your line job, you were part of the performers and
many times the backbone of the company. You felt part of a group and
you probably enjoyed a sense of camaraderie and belonging. There might
have been some feeling of competition within your work group, but it
was most likely only based upon job performance. However, when you become
a line manager, your personal and professional relationships with your
past fellow workers will change. You will no longer be one of the group.
You and they will look at each other and treat each other differently.
You will become part of the company. You now will have powers to evaluate,
reward and discipline. You will have to relay and frequently enforce
company policies, and demands. Many times these policies will be unpleasant
and frequently you will not agree with them.
You will enter the more competitive and cutthroat realm of management.
You will feel a need to establish new relationships, and alliances.
But it will not be easy and it will take time. These new relationships
will create conflicts, confusion and a feeling of insecurity.
You will want to evaluate whether you really want to accept the promotion
and all of the pitfalls that come with it. If you are very successful
as a sales person and earn considerable commissions, you might want
to seriously consider staying where you are rather than moving into
management. Ask yourself whether the extra perks you gain offset the
additional conflicts and pressures of management.
Research why you were selected and what the management job really entails.
Try to find out why the previous manager departed and what he or she
can tell you about what the job really entails. Find out what you will
be expected to do and what results and problems exist within the group
that you will have to solve early on.
Recognize the new requirements and changes you will have to make to
become successful in your new position. They are dramatic. Determine
for yourself whether you want to make these changes, and if they are
worth it. If you can, (normally with assistance from the right person)
determine what it would take from the company to accept the new position
to suit your priorities, talents, values and passions. Then ask for
it.
Get as much help and support as you can. Going into this lonely arena
by yourself can be devastating. Connecting with previous managers will
be very helpful. But, the most important help you can get is from outside
objective supporters who will assist you to learn more about yourself
to grow and improve as a person to be successful in the new position
in a manner that best suits you.
.
The first managerial step is exciting and an ego boost. It is often
presented as an easy transition process. It is frequently the most dramatic
single career step you will ever make. This initial management position
is not as successfully performed as it appears. You want to treat it
with the respect, seriousness, and importance it deserves. You will
want to get strong support from others to be able to successfully transition
through these very big steps.
We welcome your opinions and comments.
Bill Dueease
Editor
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