I would like to get into the minds of existing managers, especially if you are an IT manager. Many of us plan to be in management someday and your answers will provide us valuable insight.
1) I work in IT as an individual contributor. My day is very process oriented. Many days I don't need to rely on other people to get my work done. I'm very good at what I do.
Fast forward. Now I am in management and no longer work directly on the detail processes. Help us with this mode shift. Were you a little confused with how to go about your day at first?
2) Let's say you are a manager of a team of 10-12 directs. Do you pretty much take marching orders from your directors and officers and effectively delegate the work to your team? If so, how is your performance measured from your manager?
3) I've had many managers that have pretty much stayed front line managers for 25-30 years. Do you as a manager have ambitions to be a director or officer?
4) We've always heard that managers are the first to go if a company down sizes. How do you deal with this tension? (How do you convey this to your spouse or loved ones). Personally, I don't live in fear of the "what if''s", but there has to be someone out there that lives in this tension.
Any answers to one or all of the questions would be helpful for those wanting a glimpse into the "other" side.
Thank you!
DK
Perhaps increase your exposure?
I am also in an indivdual contributor role but mine is very different. I run improvement projects in a very weak matrix organization. Meaning I need people to get stuff done but have 0 role power.
I would suggest trying to get out there in project management, even if its a very small project. I think running projects helps prepare for the transition.
Of coarse I don't know your organization but if it's anything like mine there are plenty of projects & initiatives you can run or champion. Good luck on your path!
Quick answers
2) (sidenote: 10-12 directs is too many to effectively manage. 8 is my hard limit, and 4 for anyone who isn't a dedicated manager) I don't take a lot of direction from my immediate boss, because he doesn't provide a whole lot of "you will do this" kind of direction. He and I talk about the challenges facing the business in our O3s, and I'll usually come up with initiatives to tackle problems off my own bat. My boss assesses my performance based on Oijia board and sticking a wet finger in the air.
3) For now, I've met my immediate ambitions (I'm about to take on the role of "manager of all technical people" in my smallish organisation). My long-term career plan is to learn how to be a better manager of people at the operational levels of an organisation for the next 8-10 years, and then move either into management consulting, or a larger-scale role managing a large organisation.
4) I don't worry about being cut. I've got a reasonable network, a strong track record of delivering, and about 9 months of living expenses saved, so I'm not overly concerned about being laid off. It also helps that I'm close enough to the top of the organisation to have a good feel for how well the company is (or isn't) doing.