New Manager

Xelene

Xelene

Xelene

Soldato
Joined
27 Sep 2005
Posts
4,633
Location
London innit
So I've been hired to look after a team that has never had a Manager before, and I'm coming in from outside the Business so don't have any real ideas of the day to day business. I'm pretty nervous about the whole situation as it's quite new to me. Any tips? I've generally acted as a tech team lead until now.
 
How big is this team, what do they do?

Have a get together where they give you a presentation on what they are doing and future plans followed by a drink/meal to get to know them. Talk to your peers.
 
Maximum Triceratops said:
Be friendly, dont make any drastic changes and learrn how things operate as quick as you can, this will enable you to manage it properly.
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Gilly said:
It'll be easier than you man aging people you were level with previously, mark my words!

Just don't be a ****, but equally don't be a pushover :)
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simulatorman said:
How big is this team, what do they do?

Have a get together where they give you a presentation on what they are doing and future plans followed by a drink/meal to get to know them. Talk to your peers.
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Thanks for the good tips, this is pretty much what i've read before. Have been a well respected team lead before, but that's on the strength of my technical ability and understanding of the business so coming into somewhere new is a challenge.

I'm pretty laid back, and pretty hands on - and I guess understanding of the fact not to throw massive change at the team or make them worried about their jobs from day one.

Edit: There's about 4 of them I think, a couple of Sysadmins and a couple of Programmers.
 
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Yeah, if you come in trying to change the world you'll only have problems down the line. Try to introduce changes over time, and finding out what changes they believe would be good to see is a good start. Within reason, obviously. It's a management bull**** word but empowering people can have real effects - if they don't want to be a drone that is. Empowering the wrong people only stresses them out.

I manage a group of people the vast majority of whom are older than I am. It gets easier with time.
 
Do external research - read up on the sector you're working in. Take each employee to the side and have an informal chat about what they like/dislike and how they think things could be improved. Establish a workplace where employees feel they can come to you with any work related problems, this might help you get a better feel for the culture of the team. Don't make huge changes straight away. Make sure they are all well aware of any changes that are incoming. One last important thing which should be obvious, learn each persons personality and adapt how you deal with each individual to tailor their work style, while still getting the same message accross.
 
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The thing is there is a huge amount of change going on in the organisation, and they brought me in for my experience and ideas of specific parts and processes that they want to change to. I guess it has to be a long term goal, and a balance between change and staying the same way.

I think i'll have to spend the early time reassuring and measuring things, but put in a long time goal of aligning things towards what I was hired to do.
 
I was in a similar situation about 2 years ago. I made sure that I have an hour "chat" with each of my new team in the first couple of days. That really helped me to understand them, their personalities etc, they felt valued and it gave us all a baseline.
Other than that, some great advice already offered.

Good luck.
 
TFleming said:
Do external research - read up on the sector you're working in. Take each employee to the side and have an informal chat about what they like/dislike and how they think things could be improved. Establish a workplace where employees feel they can come to you with any work related problems, this might help you get a better feel for the culture of the team. Don't make huge changes straight away. Make sure they are all well aware of any changes that are incoming.
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I think i'm okay on this side, really it's just the initial couple of weeks and impressions i'm nervous about.
 
Hire and fire!

Lay down the law on the first day and you'll command respect and fear in equal measure!
 
Gilly said:
It gets easier with time.
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this is so true.

I remember the first senior position i had, i was a bit of a pushover because i wanted to be liked, unfortunately you don't get respect that way. I'm in my 3rd senior position now, i came into my position where i am now as management and although, we have a laugh at the best of times, i also get respect from my team, i found it difficult at first in my first position.
 
Don't micromanage - let people do their jobs. Offer advice or assistance if necessary.

Make sure you stand up for your team if something goes wrong, don't put them on the spot to try to justify their actions in front of a client/other managers/customers/etc.

Talk to your team; check in on them occassionally and see how they're doing on a personal level. I have had a new manager for 2 months now and I still haven't met the guy and only talked to him on the phone once. He should have introduced himself to me very soon after coming aboard.
 
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