Looking for advice
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At work I've recently started to be in charge of others, that is, setting work, giving advice on any problems people encounter, liaising with the client with regards to change/issues etc, keeping track of tasks, checking work, keeping upper level management informed; that sort of thing. And to me this is quite stressful. I mean, I'm quite happy to be given a project work on it all on my own, plan out tasks/timescales, stick to milestones, liaise with the client, management etc - essentially run my own shop - and I find that easy, enjoyable even. Throw in the 'management' of people, listening to all the problems and being a focal point for all the habitual moaning that we, as British, are all accustomed to do, speaking in a 'managementy' way that doesn't offend anyone - and it does stress me out. I've been doing this for a number of months now, and although it has got easier, I think I still need to work at it. Now, I was wondering if anyone could recommend books, techniques, websites - anything that I could look into to help with how to be a better 'manger' of people and to speak in a more 'managementy' way - that is to speak from the head not the heart (if you know what I mean, normally I say what I think - this is not what a good manager does however!) I know Google is a wealth of information, but I have literally no idea what I actually should be reading to start with, and have no idea how to separate out the wheat from the chaff. Thanks in advance :)
"Benjamin is nobody's friend. If Benjamin were an ice cream flavor, he'd be pralines and dick." ~ Garth Algar "If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." ~ Paul Neal "Red" Adair
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At work I've recently started to be in charge of others, that is, setting work, giving advice on any problems people encounter, liaising with the client with regards to change/issues etc, keeping track of tasks, checking work, keeping upper level management informed; that sort of thing. And to me this is quite stressful. I mean, I'm quite happy to be given a project work on it all on my own, plan out tasks/timescales, stick to milestones, liaise with the client, management etc - essentially run my own shop - and I find that easy, enjoyable even. Throw in the 'management' of people, listening to all the problems and being a focal point for all the habitual moaning that we, as British, are all accustomed to do, speaking in a 'managementy' way that doesn't offend anyone - and it does stress me out. I've been doing this for a number of months now, and although it has got easier, I think I still need to work at it. Now, I was wondering if anyone could recommend books, techniques, websites - anything that I could look into to help with how to be a better 'manger' of people and to speak in a more 'managementy' way - that is to speak from the head not the heart (if you know what I mean, normally I say what I think - this is not what a good manager does however!) I know Google is a wealth of information, but I have literally no idea what I actually should be reading to start with, and have no idea how to separate out the wheat from the chaff. Thanks in advance :)
"Benjamin is nobody's friend. If Benjamin were an ice cream flavor, he'd be pralines and dick." ~ Garth Algar "If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." ~ Paul Neal "Red" Adair
I've still got two books on my main bookshelf which puts them a cut above 'the rest', though neither are about software specifically: The Rise of the Player Manager : How professionals manage whilst they work, by Philip Augar & Joy Palmer and the one I wish I'd bought and understood earlier (though I was too busy coding) Successful Project Managers : Leading your team to success by Jeffrey K. Pinto & O.P. Kharabanda I'd make a point of attending any leadership, communication, change, project management etc. courses your employer offers. And if they don't offer them make a point of picking some out and getting them to send you on them. Just chatting to people in the same boat does help, you realise you're not the only one with similar problems. Now points from books or courses often pop back into my mind when certain circumstances occur. The sort of once a month evening meetings local professional associations put on can also help out. Maybe an institution you belong to runs a Mentor scheme? or maybe your organization does? The other thing you need is support from your manager, especially if he or she was in charge before you got promoted. You might get sick of hearing variations of the phrase "XXXXX didn't use to do it this way". If this is a problem, have a conversation and sort out who's in charge of who, and politely put across any points to prevent any undermining of your position. This is bringing it all back, I think I'll go and lie down.
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I've still got two books on my main bookshelf which puts them a cut above 'the rest', though neither are about software specifically: The Rise of the Player Manager : How professionals manage whilst they work, by Philip Augar & Joy Palmer and the one I wish I'd bought and understood earlier (though I was too busy coding) Successful Project Managers : Leading your team to success by Jeffrey K. Pinto & O.P. Kharabanda I'd make a point of attending any leadership, communication, change, project management etc. courses your employer offers. And if they don't offer them make a point of picking some out and getting them to send you on them. Just chatting to people in the same boat does help, you realise you're not the only one with similar problems. Now points from books or courses often pop back into my mind when certain circumstances occur. The sort of once a month evening meetings local professional associations put on can also help out. Maybe an institution you belong to runs a Mentor scheme? or maybe your organization does? The other thing you need is support from your manager, especially if he or she was in charge before you got promoted. You might get sick of hearing variations of the phrase "XXXXX didn't use to do it this way". If this is a problem, have a conversation and sort out who's in charge of who, and politely put across any points to prevent any undermining of your position. This is bringing it all back, I think I'll go and lie down.
Great, thanks for the advice! I'll look those books up and invest some reading time :) In terms of my employer, being self employed, that would be me! So no easy route to training and mentoring - but at least the current lot who are hiring me think I can do this sort of a role, so I must show some good traits; I just know I could do better, and I need to override my normal responses to certain things. Anyway, enough of my ramblings, thanks for the advice, much appreciated :thumbsup:
"Benjamin is nobody's friend. If Benjamin were an ice cream flavor, he'd be pralines and dick." ~ Garth Algar "If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." ~ Paul Neal "Red" Adair
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Great, thanks for the advice! I'll look those books up and invest some reading time :) In terms of my employer, being self employed, that would be me! So no easy route to training and mentoring - but at least the current lot who are hiring me think I can do this sort of a role, so I must show some good traits; I just know I could do better, and I need to override my normal responses to certain things. Anyway, enough of my ramblings, thanks for the advice, much appreciated :thumbsup:
"Benjamin is nobody's friend. If Benjamin were an ice cream flavor, he'd be pralines and dick." ~ Garth Algar "If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." ~ Paul Neal "Red" Adair
Firstly, don't sweat it. It's never easy making the move from managing yourself to managing others. There's no magic formula to being a good manager but a couple of things that will help are: Be honest with people and don't bottle things up (that's when it becomes personal rather than business) If someone isn't pulling their weight take them aside and let them know it. Then work with them to resolve any blockers to their progress and between the two of you come up with a plan to get back on track. Make everyone aware of their responsibilities. Although you need to manage them, they are responsible for their own work and they should feed back to you exactly how it's going (a potted version of this is usually enough to cover your progress report to management). If you have people on the team who are under-utilised, make use of them. Give them a little more responsibility, something like putting together progress reports or doing some resource planning. They will usually appreciate you having faith in their abilities. Although you can still have a bit of fun with the team (and sometimes humour does help) it's important to remember that you still need to be impartial so don't get dragged into petty squabbles. It's also handy if you can get yourself some kind of coach to help you work through the tougher times and help maintain your sanity (I found a coach to be so helpful, I started doing it myself). Coaching is also an easy thing to pick up the basics of, and can be used with your team. It gets away from the bitching and whining and works on the issue. If time is short, invest in one of the DK Essential Manager Manuals. This gives a potted summary of all aspects of management and can get you off to a quick start. Although it's quite a thick book, it doesn't go into too much detail and you can dip in and out of it. I hope this helps and things start going smoother. :)