Are all management jobs like this?

[soupcxan]

Got "promoted" to management...moved to a new business unit I had no experience with or networks in, in a brand new team that was just formed, with fresh meat that had no experience in the tasks we're responsible for, and no formal support from other departments we need to get anything done.

Is this SOP or did I just get lucky?

 

[braumeister]

Explained pretty well here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_principle

the selection of a candidate for a position is based on the candidate's performance in their current role, rather than on abilities relevant to the intended role. Thus, employees only stop being promoted once they can no longer perform effectively, and "managers rise to the level of their incompetence".

 

[ls99]

OP can now deflect criticism by frequently applying the DOT principle.

DOT=Dwell On Trivia

DOT concept I beleive, is the invention of Dr. Peter

 

[MBAustin]

I would say it is more common than it should be and I definitely experienced it multiple times in my career. A few tips:
- ask lots of questions and listen carefully - you'll figure out quickly who knows what's going on and will be the ones you can rely on, as well as the other ones
- take the initiative to meet with your management peers in the departments you need support from; ask questions, listen, and especially find out what you can do for them
- don't be afraid to ask questions of your manager; if they are any good, they will know that is a sign of competence, not weakness
- try not to make any major decisions (organizational in particular) for 90 days if that's possible
- take lots of notes on what you observe and review all of them periodically - you'll see trends as well as things that appeared one way at the beginning but are really another way once you have more data

Good luck!

 

[38Chevy454]

Any new job has a learning curve. Some are just steeper than others. MBAustin has some good advice. Having confidence to overcome is a positive trait.

 

[pacergal]

I would say it is more common than it should be and I definitely experienced it multiple times in my career. A few tips:
- ask lots of questions and listen carefully - you'll figure out quickly who knows what's going on and will be the ones you can rely on, as well as the other ones
- take the initiative to meet with your management peers in the departments you need support from; ask questions, listen, and especially find out what you can do for them
- don't be afraid to ask questions of your manager; if they are any good, they will know that is a sign of competence, not weakness
- try not to make any major decisions (organizational in particular) for 90 days if that's possible
- take lots of notes on what you observe and review all of them periodically - you'll see trends as well as things that appeared one way at the beginning but are really another way once you have more data

Good luck!

+1
I've been there. Networking and meetings will be your friend for several months.
They promoted you, they have faith and belief that you are able to do the job.
Have faith in yourself!

 

[MRG]

Got "promoted" to management...moved to a new business unit I had no experience with or networks in, in a brand new team that was just formed, with fresh meat that had no experience in the tasks we're responsible for, and no formal support from other departments we need to get anything done.

Is this SOP or did I just get lucky?

Who are your clients? Internal? Then can you start talking about their expectations? Be careful some may send you off in directions you should not go.

I'm assuming you report somewhere. What are their expectations? Do you have existing deliverables or is this a totally new part of the organization.

New groups can be great. I've had the opportunity to create a couple. Sometimes you get to define the job.

 

[Jeffman52]

A lot of good advice above.

If I had anything to add it would be:

- Understand your new departments responsibilities. What is the full scope of what your team is doing? What are the expectations of the business and/or the executives.

- if none are already in place, create some KPI's to measure your teams effectiveness in accomplishing their goals. Measure at both the macro and micro level. The micro level will tell you if there is a weak link in your team so you can address it as early as possible.

- Always have a plan and if you don't have one then create one. Be specific about what should accomplished and set some milestones (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly).

-Your team and their accomplishments makes you successful. I don't care how good you are at what you do, if your team isn't successful, you will still fail as a leader.

-Last but not least, make sure you are always training your replacement. You can never move up, if you become so critical to the job you do, that the business cant do without you being in that position.

 

[jollystomper]

Could be worse. I once received a management assignment where my new manager (the 2nd line manager) told me what the group I was managing would be doing. Naturally when I meet with them they had no clue of this and were vehemently opposed to it. Several of had alternate suggestions that seemed to make sense, but when I took these to my manager to discuss she refused to listen. She told me she had no need to talk to the group about it since "that is what I brought you on to do". The truth was there were a lot of senior people in that group that she was afraid to challenge and hired me to be a buffer between them and her.

I knew that I had to get out of the position when, at a quarterly department meeting one of the folks in the group made a suggestion, and my manager turned to me and said "that makes sense, why haven't you worked on that?" It was one of the suggestions I brought to her earlier that she refused to listen to.

 

[candrew]

OP can now deflect criticism by frequently applying the DOT principle.

DOT=Dwell On Trivia

DOT concept I beleive, is the invention of Dr. Peter

Another frequently used principle - Admit nothing, deny everything, begin immediate counter-accusations.

 

[Amethyst]

It happens a lot. As my highly technical friend said when he was tapped for management, "I was the one who stepped forward, when all others knew to take a step back."

Often, it means upper management are testing you to see how you handle a mid-level manager's usual feast table, consisting of stuff nobody else wants to deal with. Usually it means you have demonstrated some kind of ability, and they want to see how much of it you have. [Anyone who feels compelled, may insert snarky speculation about the type of "ability" here, but I am thinking in a positive vein]. Note: The feast doesn't get much better in upper management; only the pay and perks improve.

 

[Amethyst]

BTW, how are your back issues doing these days? Just wondering, since they were giving you grief a while back.

Got "promoted" to management...m?

 

[travelover]

Could be worse. I once received a management assignment where my new manager (the 2nd line manager) told me what the group I was managing would be doing. Naturally when I meet with them they had no clue of this and were vehemently opposed to it. Several of had alternate suggestions that seemed to make sense, but when I took these to my manager to discuss she refused to listen. She told me she had no need to talk to the group about it since "that is what I brought you on to do". The truth was there were a lot of senior people in that group that she was afraid to challenge and hired me to be a buffer between them and her. ...........

This reminds me of the Ken Burns Vietnam series where he talks about all the junior officers that got fragged for similar behavior.

 

[timo2]

Got "promoted" to management...moved to a new business unit I had no experience with or networks in, in a brand new team that was just formed, with fresh meat that had no experience in the tasks we're responsible for, and no formal support from other departments we need to get anything done.

Is this SOP or did I just get lucky?

Yes, it is both SOP and you did get lucky: for SOP This is what happens to Project Managers all of the time, they when things go south, the PM is blamed and a new one brought in.

For good luck, you get a clean new team that has to do the form, storm, norm, perform thing, and that is quite challenging and fun,IMO. You get to develop the team how you wish.

 

[bingybear]

Part of the reason they promote someone to management in something they are not expert in is so they don't try to do the work. They promoted you to manage, not do. You need to develop the team.

 

[davismills]

Not true in every case, but when I was promoted to management I realized that the turmoil was near the top of the boiling cauldron. I hated I ever accepted the position.

 

[soupcxan]

BTW, how are your back issues doing these days? Just wondering, since they were giving you grief a while back.

Thanks it has been less of a problem lately although not 100% gone. Going to the gym has helped. For lack of any medical clarity, I think those muscles between my shoulder blades just get super tensed up sometimes and can't relax.

 

[Texas Proud]

Sometimes the workers know a lot about what is happening, but the new manager does not...

That happened to me which led to me getting laid off...

Some higher up woman wanted to promote some lower level and put one young lady in charge of our dept... she knew nothing about it.... had worked in consulting prior to joining the firm.... at first she was getting a lot of knowledge from some of us who knew what was going on.... we thought that was a good sign...

But, she had 'great ideas' she wanted to implement.... some of us had already gone through her ideas and they failed.... she did not like our attitude.... so over the next couple of years she got rid of all the people with knowledge....

Two things that I learned after I was let go.... she did not know what all that I did... even though I had told her and others just before I left... there were a few items where she would notice something was not done and ask 'who is supposed to do this?'... and get the answer 'Texas Proud always knew how to do it'.... the other one that I really got a tickle about was when she and her boss went over to London and did not have a clue about the exchange rates.... the people who were in London actually called me to ask who was stupid enough to put someone in charge who did not have a clue what needed to be done...

I think she lasted one or so years after she got rid of me an two others... we were the last of the old group and it went downhill fast... but, knowing how the politics worked I bet she moved on before all the crap landed on her....

 

[pb4uski]

Got "promoted" to management...moved to a new business unit I had no experience with or networks in, in a brand new team that was just formed, with fresh meat that had no experience in the tasks we're responsible for, and no formal support from other departments we need to get anything done.

Is this SOP or did I just get lucky?

IME you were unlucky. My first job in management was replacing someone who had died.... while his staff was intact and knew a lot about what was going on there were certain things that only the boss did that they had no idea about... so I had to just wing it. I had a whole lateral file of stuff that I might have needed "someday" that I ended up pitching after a year.

My second job in management was to replace a manager who had retired... we both had the same boss but I was an individual conributor and he had a department of about 10.... the only rub there was a long-time employee who thought that she should have been promoted into the manager job... it took while but she eventually came around.

 

[Bamaman]

My megacorp purchased a big competitor and comparable divisions were merged.

Our division was extremely well managed and profitable. Of course they used the inferior division's 1965 model computer system that was a joke. The good company's management was essentially ignored.

We stumbled along until 2008 when the combined company overreacted to economic conditions. Everyone 55 years old was retired with no notice at a great cost. Best thing to ever happen to us as individuals and fortunately our pensions are well funded.

 

[Totoro]

Got "promoted" to management...moved to a new business unit I had no experience with or networks in, in a brand new team that was just formed, with fresh meat that had no experience in the tasks we're responsible for, and no formal support from other departments we need to get anything done.

Is this SOP or did I just get lucky?

Just a side note, with a caveat since I obviously don't know the full context: if this isn't what you want, don't do it. Take control of your life and career, don't let someone else make "promotion" decisions for you.

 

[soupcxan]

I actually really like the job and the area itself, the issue is I had no prior experience in it, so I'm figuring it out as I go, which I'm perfectly capable of - but it's harder to get my reports to fake it as well when they are either brand new to the company with no prior experience in this area, or sitting alone in another country and also with no prior experience. Not a recipe for high output.