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Ask HN: Given opportunity to become manager. What do I do?

• kapv89 10y ago
  https://medium.com/@jessenoller/zen-of-python-applied-to-management-424cf5bf9ea6#.oij4xohfj https://medium.com/@jessenoller/zen-of-python-applied-to-man...
• viraptor 10y ago
  1) You can always ask for a raise. If you work in a very large enterprise then likely you've got a predefined levels / brackets for most positions up to a VP or similar. If not, just ask them what the raise is for that position. There's also a good podcast which may help you (http://www.kalzumeus.com/2016/06/03/kalzumeus-podcast-episode-12-salary-negotiation-with-josh-doody/ http://www.kalzumeus.com/2016/06/03/kalzumeus-podcast-episod...)
• mikeleeorg 10y ago
  1) Sure, it never hurts to ask for a raise. The range would depend on a bunch of factors, such as your location. Try looking up the salary of your position online, such as "technical manager salary" or "engineering manager salary" or something like that. 2) Assuming you will be managing individual contributors (and not managers), there are two basic types of first-line software managers: 2.1) Managers who need to still be individual contributors. These are the types where you will still be expected to do some of the former work you did before. It's a lot like being a technical lead, except you are suddenly now thrust into a world of people management. Most technology companies view first-line managers as having this kind of a responsibility, though larger corporations with more established hierarchies may not. 2.2) Managers who are not expected to be individual contributors anymore. This is a role where your responsibilities are managing the projects and people on your team. (If your company has project managers, then that aspect of the role won't be necessary.) In terms of people management, the responsibilities include managing the career growth of the individual contributors in your team, removing roadblocks from their paths (i.e. political, bureaucratic, etc), potentially moving them around from project to project to better allocate your resources to company priorities, recruit and retain people on your team, mentor and train junior employees, set and reinforce a team culture, and think strategically about how to make your entire team more productive. 3) If your company offers management training, take it. If you like to read, there are a ton of great management books out there. One of my personal favs is "Now, Discover Your Strengths", though you can find plenty of recommendations online if you search around. Talk to managers, senior managers, directors, and VPs that you admire; interview them and ask them how they do their jobs. HR or your manager will likely give you a bunch of information on how to do performance reviews for your team. The art of delivering constructive feedback can totally be learned, though if you are new to it, it may take some time to become comfortable doing it. This is all just off the top of my head. I'm sure I'm missing a lot of other info, but this ought to be a good start. Being a manager is not for everyone. Some call it "herding cats," which it may sometimes feel like. But it can also be a tremendously rewarding role, especially when you can set everyone up for success and can see them humming along efficiently and effectively. Good luck!
• oneshoe 10y ago
  For sake of perspective I am a VP of my IT department (smaller company, about 300 employees, about 40 reporting to me) 1) Me, personally: I wouldn't ask for a raise (and this might be me just being pedantic) but I'd ask IF the role change has a scheduled raise and what is to be expected. I'd use this answer to help me make a decision. I'd (me, personally) would assume the role would have a minor raise and future raises based on my performance in that new job. I'd try to secure a 15-20 percent increase in pay for moving to a manager role - which, btw, is hard. Moving into a manager role means learning a new job - this isn't (or shouldn't be) your other job with a couple new responsibilities. This is an entirely new job that isn't your old job... sure, you can help people when they ask but that is entirely different than hiring/firing, writing people up, or trying to determine what sort of a raise somebody deserves. 2) Be humble. Find a mentor. Read a lot. Be humble. Be humble, be humble. I believe that power exposes more than it corrupts but it can also corrupt. Work from goals. Give clear expectations. Also, you may not like this role. I've hired a lot of developers leaving their company because they were great developers that were put into management roles and learned to hate it. Good luck! Me, I love it. (to each their own) 3) Learn. Read. Read. Learn. Read... and remember: In theory practice always works, in practice theory doesn't - You are now dealing with PEOPLE not COMPUTERS. People are emotional beings and often unknowingly irrational. HOW you say something is much more important than WHAT you say. Lastly - learn to manage UP as much as you learn to manage DOWN. Best of luck!
  • big_bing 10y ago
    Thanks for the excellent reply. I happen to enjoy reading and I am looking forward to it. Any books you recommend. Primary management skills where I lack: - I tend to look at people through my tech lens. if someone is more technically skilled than me, I look up to them and I cannot accept laziness, non-commitment, bullshit etc. Now I understand that I need to stop doing that and see people as just people who have different moods on a daily basis. What books would you recommend to become non-judgemental, and empathetic - What do I do about actually non-competent people. You see, while I am excited about the role, I am also scared. I have been very good in my tech role and my management career will depend upon my team. But, in the fast few years, my team has accumulated a lot of baggage and a lot of people are totally unmotivated and non-committed. I feel like I am being given this role because noone else wants it. any suggestions?
• JakeAl 10y ago
  When you become a manager expect to train as a supervisor first. Ask or accept a salary hike as a supervisor that is half of what you expect as a full blown manager. Work your way to manager because if you don't have management experience on resume by the time you are 40 expect nothing but freelance work over the age 40 if you lose your job. Management experience is what separate the expendable labor from the non-expendable staff. Management sucks, I mean having authority is great but having to hire and fire sucks. It's a great deal of responsibility and needs to be taken seriously and to be good you really need to work hard at being empathetic, unemotional, and balancing risk versus reward at the risk of your own career. To not do so just means you are a riding a paycheck and not contributing a whole lot. I made the mistake of going for the job of doing things I enjoy, worked on a lot of really cool incredible projects for well known companies and found myself unemployed over the age of 40 without the ability to get an interview despite my knowledge and experience all because I was a go to guy who got the most complex jobs done but was not a manager. Don't be me. Be humble, tell your superiors you want to work your way up to management and spend time as asupervisor first so you can train in the role as someone who must manage people and deal with HR issues while not being a manager first. Set goals and mnilestones alonga timeline and make sure they are checked off as accomplishments in your reviews. You need to train as someone who has to get your staff to do what you want despite their personalities but not make decisions about the company. Being a manager means both. Once you become numb to taking a chance on employees and learning how to communicate or have crucial converstions (read the book Crucial Conversations) it becomes second nature to make business decisions and not get hung up on the risk. I'd say set a goal of being an entry elevel manager at the age of 35. By 40 tha would make you a skilled intermediate to entry level senior manager that every one repects because you've learned to master the skills.
  • big_bing 10y ago
    Thanks you for sharing the experience. I totally understand what you are saying. Especially the part about 40+ and getting only freelance jobs. But I have a question: As an entry manager, how do I go about managing the incompetent team members. The reason I am being given the opportunity is that they don't have anyone to take this role and the senior manager is finding it hard to deal with so many people. But I have been working with the team as a lead and it has been quite frustrating a few times due to total lack of motivation,commitment and in many cases ability to learn from many members. I am now being given the responsibility to manage them. I worry that I might be getting into a role set for failure from the beginning itself.
• debacle 10y ago
  1. In my experience, managers in professional fields don't make vastly more money than the people below them. If it's an addition of responsibilities, I would ask for more money. If it's just a change, then does it make sense to ask for more money? 2. Learn, try and find a good mentor, get feedback, and set objective goals. The hardest part about management is playing the carrot and stick game without turning a report's life into a carrot and stick game.
  • GFischer 10y ago
    About 1), that depends on the country. Everywhere but in the U.S. (and a few other exceptions), managers make vastly more money than ICs.
• djb_hackernews 10y ago
  Just some feedback I haven't seen yet. Most very large enterprises have 2 tracks: IC and management. Typically most employees start out at IC and through defined and mutually agreed to career development plans train for the management track. This may take a few years. When the time comes for you to be a manager you have been operating in a management role for some time. This is the Peter Principle. I'd be extremely wary of a surprise promotion in to management where a discussion about that possibility hasn't happened. I've seen this before and it can lead to disaster. You may be setting yourself up for failure or even worse someone is setting you up for failure.