Any managers that aren't natural managers

Soldato
Joined
1 Dec 2003
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3,489
i've a job opportunity that is at manager level, i don't know the exact duties but in the job description it says about managing a team or group so...
thing is i'm an introvert , i don't like being the centre of attention. i'm not a chatty man and just say what's needed in meeting etc you get the idea
wondering if there's any other people out there like that, that took a manager position?
did you find it hard but eventually adapted
did you take the job to advance yourself
any advice/anecdotes appreciated
 
Soldato
Joined
20 Dec 2004
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15,762
You don't have to be an extrovert or crave the center of attention to be a good manager.

I've got aspergers, I find small talk excruciating and come across as quite dry and boring socially probably, which I'm fine with. I'm not a wallflower when it comes to work though, I'm quite happy presenting to hundreds of people and the like if it's a subject I'm interested in, like work. I've been a manager for 10+ years now and I've always been promoted into more senior management and had positive feedback from my teams over the years.

I don't know if I find managing people more or less tiring than a neurotypical extrovert, it's definitely hard work compared to just being a team member, but I enjoy it.
 
Associate
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You don’t need to be a people person to be a good Manager.

In fact, I would go so far as to say some of the worse Managers I have encountered have been bubbly extroverts with little to no other skills.

A good manager has clarity of vision, the ability to organise a team and workloads to be productive, bring projects in on time and within budget, deal with their team while being empathic but commanding, deal with problems head on and shoulder responsibility.
An excellent manager can do all this and negotiate the politics they will inevitably be drawn into.

You will find it difficult, you will adapt, you will get better as a result.
If you are finding it easy, you are probably doing it wrong.

My advice - go for it, but don't get taken advantage of.
 
Man of Honour
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I'm relatively introverted but I took a job managing a team of about 15 which I grew to 30-something. Many years ago before I was a manager I was talking with a friend (a headteacher) about it and said I was worried about the responsibility that came with management, having to deal with problems etc. He made a very valid point which was that yes you have more problems to deal with, but also you are empowered to deal with them - so in some ways it's easier because you have more influence. Unfortunately there will be some things you can't influence sufficiently but that's just part of management, being able to accept 'bad decisions' made outside your control, explain them to the team (even if you don't fully agree) and move on.

As mentioned above sometimes people tend to think of management positions purely in terms of people skills but leadership is also about:
  • Articulating and disseminating the vision
  • Being clear about what is expected of people
  • 'Fighting the corner' for the team i.e. listening to concerns and working to address them
  • Being a sounding board
  • Sound decision making
I also found one of the more rewarding elements of management that I hadn't really anticipated beforehand was seeing people progressing, e.g. hiring someone in a junior role and then getting them a promotion. To the point above about influencing things, as the team grew I was able to implement a hierarchy under me for the perms so they had clearer development pathways whilst also giving some of my team management responsibility (and keeping my number of direct reports in check). So I actually came to enjoy the people development aspect of management and I contributed a lot in leadership team discussions around performance appraisals, employee engagement etc etc.

I think it's a misconception that managers should always be extroverts; charisma can help with things like instilling confidence, setting out the vision etc but conversely introverts can often have strong decision quality, thinking through the consequences of something rather than charging in to a rash decision.

Finally you will find that as with most things, the more you do something the more confident you get with it. When I first started interviewing people, I was a bit nervous myself and did quite a lot of prep work, but over time it started to come quite naturally (stuff like explaining who I am, what the team does, the company etc just rolled off the tongue). The same with running big team meetings, if you are used to sitting quietly in the corner chipping in with the odd comment it may feel a bit daunting but get a few under your belt and it will feel more natural.
 
Soldato
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You don't have to be an extrovert or crave the center of attention to be a good manager.

I've got aspergers, I find small talk excruciating and come across as quite dry and boring socially probably, which I'm fine with. I'm not a wallflower when it comes to work though, I'm quite happy presenting to hundreds of people and the like if it's a subject I'm interested in, like work. I've been a manager for 10+ years now and I've always been promoted into more senior management and had positive feedback from my teams over the years.

I don't know if I find managing people more or less tiring than a neurotypical extrovert, it's definitely hard work compared to just being a team member, but I enjoy it.

Interesting to read as I was in the same situation down to being an Aspie. In my current role I am not having to manage anyone (although still mgmt level) which is a welcome change but I am prepared for it at least when I get promoted, although that doesn't necessarily mean I'll have people to manage depending on what I decide to do.
 
Soldato
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15,762
Interesting to read as I was in the same situation down to being an Aspie. In my current role I am not having to manage anyone (although still mgmt level) which is a welcome change but I am prepared for it at least when I get promoted, although that doesn't necessarily mean I'll have people to manage depending on what I decide to do.

Many of the traits are really beneficial as a manager. In particular my need to have a clear schedule for everything extends to my team so everyone always knows exactly what they should be doing and working towards. I don't flap or get stressed under pressure.

The main challenge I find is the interruptions, it's not easy to context switch between tasks, so if I've got a chunk of work to do but my team are coming to me for this and that, it can really ruin my personal productivity. I've tended to work early hours so I always have plenty of time in the morning to get stuff done without interruption, to compensate. Works for me.
 
Soldato
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Anywhere but here
Many of the traits are really beneficial as a manager. In particular my need to have a clear schedule for everything extends to my team so everyone always knows exactly what they should be doing and working towards. I don't flap or get stressed under pressure.

The main challenge I find is the interruptions, it's not easy to context switch between tasks, so if I've got a chunk of work to do but my team are coming to me for this and that, it can really ruin my personal productivity. I've tended to work early hours so I always have plenty of time in the morning to get stuff done without interruption, to compensate. Works for me.

Yes! We are exactly the same in that regard. This is why I'm enjoying working from home currently but the downside is a lot of Skype meetings so I only get 1-2h segments for productivity at times. I found wearing headphones really useful in my last job but I can't do that in current one for security reasons unfortunately. Although now I mention it, I'm sure I could sit on another floorplate if I asked to where I could.
 
Soldato
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Key to managing is being organised and getting things done. In my opinion you don't have to be a people person and many managers aren't.

Bad managers generally are very bad at those two things.
 
Man of Honour
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90,805
I'm not exactly a manager but a supervisor who covers the duty manager role (I directly lead a team of 3-7 depending on circumstances and another ~7 who report to me) - I am really really not a people person. Ultimately you just have to go for it really. The hardest part for me has been effectively managing people I've been peers or even friends with for a long time - it can be very hard to keep the kind of relationship you want with them while effectively pushing them on the business side.

You don't need to be overly sociable though - as long as you can greet people and the bare necessities of small talk - how they are doing, the weather or whatever you'll get by in that respect.

To be really an effective manager you need to be able to think a step ahead even under pressure and some people have a knack for it and others don't (I don't) - even simple things like not having people go from one side of the building to the other twice when you can combine the immediate work and some later requirements in one go, etc.

You don’t need to be a people person to be a good Manager.

In fact, I would go so far as to say some of the worse Managers I have encountered have been bubbly extroverts with little to no other skills.

A good manager has clarity of vision, the ability to organise a team and workloads to be productive, bring projects in on time and within budget, deal with their team while being empathic but commanding, deal with problems head on and shoulder responsibility.
An excellent manager can do all this and negotiate the politics they will inevitably be drawn into.

You will find it difficult, you will adapt, you will get better as a result.
If you are finding it easy, you are probably doing it wrong.

My advice - go for it, but don't get taken advantage of.

A good manager needs some understanding there is a human element and shrewdness when it comes to people i.e. being able to differentiate between when someone is having a one off bad day and someone who never even tries, etc. find the best way to utilise people for their strengths and weaknesses and/or where and how development can happen.

I had a manager awhile back who was excellent on the business side, top notch instincts and understanding but absolutely zero people skills one of the most obnoxious, nasty (not intentionally just had no concept of what it was like on the other end of it) people I've encountered and the closest I've ever come to punching someone in a professional context - the way he treated some female staff (not bigotry or sexism - just less expectation of them pushing back) I'm surprised their partners didn't beat him up. Someone could give 110% 364 days of the year and have one bad day and he'd chew them out the same as someone who had poor work ethic, etc.
 
Associate
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A good manager needs some understanding there is a human element and shrewdness when it comes to people i.e. being able to differentiate between when someone is having a one off bad day and someone who never even tries, etc. find the best way to utilise people for their strengths and weaknesses and/or where and how development can happen.

I had a manager awhile back who was excellent on the business side, top notch instincts and understanding but absolutely zero people skills one of the most obnoxious, nasty (not intentionally just had no concept of what it was like on the other end of it) people I've encountered and the closest I've ever come to punching someone in a professional context - the way he treated some female staff (not bigotry or sexism - just less expectation of them pushing back) I'm surprised their partners didn't beat him up. Someone could give 110% 364 days of the year and have one bad day and he'd chew them out the same as someone who had poor work ethic, etc.

I would say they are not an excellent manager at all. As I sad empathetic but commanding.
If he has his staff that riled up then I can guarantee they are not working effectively, and that makes him a poor manager in my opinion.

You don’t need to be friendly, as you said it becomes more difficult to manage people if you are friends with them.
But you do need to know how to get the best from your staff and how to engage them and task them so they become productive.
Having them wandering around planning on punching you in the face is probably not it… :D
 
Man of Honour
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Personally I didn't find it that hard taking over management of a team I was in i.e. moving from a peer to a manager. In fact I think it was easier than had I took over a random team, because a) I knew the people, what motivated them, their personalities etc; and b) I had their respect because they knew I was competent in their discipline rather than a generic manager parachuted in (that's not to say domain knowledge is necessary to be a good manager, but it can help make the team more at ease).
 
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