First day as the new boss

[pseudoreality]

Today was my first day as the new boss. It was very surreal. After eight years in the same position, working with good people, in a job I liked, doing something of value, I accepted a position in senior management. I went from being an engineering lead in HQ to a regional superintendent. It all happened really fast with a call on Friday to the formal offer on Tuesday and starting today (Thursday).

It went pretty well. I was in early and brought coffee and muffins for everyone. I spent the first hour of the day BSing with staff. I wanted to let them know that I am a fun guy before I start building spreadsheets over-analyzing everything they do.

I don't know though. I have mixed feelings and already miss my friends back at the old office. Has anyone here made a move up they regretted? I'm obviously not there yet, but I thought I'd be happier about this career move than I am. Right now I just don't know how to feel.

[PeteMoss]

I'd say you'll get used to it, but there will probably be things you hate. Both from the managing people side - you'll have some annoying people who report to you and then the company side - talking about head count like they aren't real people is one for me.

[nieuwy-89]

Sounds like you are off to a good start. My best advice is twofold:

1 - Trust and empower your people, it will pay off.
2 - Be friendly and approachable. But don’t mistake that for the same as being friends. Keep a bit of distance.

[CaptainCrunch]

Nice move, come in with the coffee and muffins, talk to them, you know get to know them. Then on monday introduce them to your Johnny a$$kicker persona who's there to kick a$$ and chew bubble gum, but you're all out of bubble gum.



Yeah lull them into a false sense of security, that new boss, he's just swell. Then handcuff them to the grinding machine known as KPI measurements.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Nice move, come in with the coffee and muffins, talk to them, you know get to know them. Then on monday introduce them to your Johnny a$$kicker persona who's there to kick a$$ and chew bubble gum, but you're all out of bubble gum.



Yeah lull them into a false sense of security, that new boss, he's just swell. Then handcuff them to the grinding machine known as KPI measurements.

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by nieuwy-89

Sounds like you are off to a good start. My best advice is twofold:

1 - Trust and empower your people, it will pay off.
2 - Be friendly and approachable. But don’t mistake that for the same as being friends. Keep a bit of distance.

#2 here for sure. don't try and be their buddy. you'll make them uncomfortable and they'll come to resent you. It's also a good way for people to think you're playing favorites if you become better friends with one over another.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Congrats.

Best thing you can do is support your employees.

I have said to every employee I've ever had "I want you to grow and do your best. If you're in a position where you need to make a decision, so long as you can give me a reasonable reason for why you made that decision, I will support that decision 100% even if it's wrong. I just want you to think it through first."

Stand behind your employees, give then opportunity to grow and develop. If you support them, they'll walk through fire for you.

Correct, don't punish. "Let's try it this way" rather than "Don't do that".

You have no idea how much little things do to help improve someone's workplace.

Make it somewhere they enjoy being, not stressful.

Be fair, and consistent.

Oh and reach out for help when you need to.

Send me a PM on here and I'll answer any question you've got.

[Northendzone]

while i am not a supervior, and likely enver will be - the following advice may be useless - but i would suggest thinking about how you would like to be managed and trying to manage that way

[Ruttiger]

Congrats on the promotion - it can be exciting and daunting at the same time. I've been fortunate to fool enough of the right people over the years that I've found myself in several supervisory/management positions along the way. I don't profess to be any sort of expert and I know I've made more than my share of mistakes along the way, but here are a few pieces of advice I've been given that have resonated and stuck with me:

- Be firm but fair. There are boundaries that have to be adhered to and lines that can't be crossed. Be consistent in holding people to that and treat them fairly and you're well on your way. Whether they realize it or not, most people do want a little bit of structure and perform better when it's provided.

- It's easier to be a little harder up front and then ease off the reigns than it is to come in too soft and too friendly and too afraid to rub some people the wrong way and then realize you have to reign it in when people are taking advantage of your good nature.

- Be friendly, but you're not their friend. Already spoken to previously - I concur with this one.

Not saying I've followed each of these 100% of the time, but they all ring true based on experience. Good luck in the new role!

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by pseudoreality

Today was my first day as the new boss. It was very surreal. After eight years in the same position, working with good people, in a job I liked, doing something of value, I accepted a position in senior management. I went from being an engineering lead in HQ to a regional superintendent. It all happened really fast with a call on Friday to the formal offer on Tuesday and starting today (Thursday).

It went pretty well. I was in early and brought coffee and muffins for everyone. I spent the first hour of the day BSing with staff. I wanted to let them know that I am a fun guy before I start building spreadsheets over-analyzing everything they do.

I don't know though. I have mixed feelings and already miss my friends back at the old office. Has anyone here made a move up they regretted? I'm obviously not there yet, but I thought I'd be happier about this career move than I am. Right now I just don't know how to feel.

Originally Posted by nieuwy-89

Sounds like you are off to a good start. My best advice is twofold:

1 - Trust and empower your people, it will pay off.
2 - Be friendly and approachable. But don’t mistake that for the same as being friends. Keep a bit of distance.

This is some good advice.

I have found myself back in charge or people that were my contemporaries 10-12 years ago. Often the pain points we work on together are those I displayed 10-12 years ago. It can be difficult coaching while they sit there thinking "Yeah mate you had the same issues". All you can do is own it and point out why it is better to do things the way it is being asked.

Also, congrats.

Enjoy the executive ####ter

[Nufy]

Hiring ??

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by nieuwy-89

Sounds like you are off to a good start. My best advice is twofold:

1 - Trust and empower your people, it will pay off.
2 - Be friendly and approachable. But don’t mistake that for the same as being friends. Keep a bit of distance.

This is great advice.

I cut a senior guy five days into being the new boss. It needed to be done anyway (performance) but I think it put everyone else on notice the new boss won't screw around.

Maybe try that?

[Shazam]

Make sure to ask for TPS reports.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

Solid advice!

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

while i am not a supervior, and likely enver will be - the following advice may be useless - but i would suggest thinking about how you would like to be managed and trying to manage that way

It's not 'useless' advice, really. But it's not terribly applicable advice. For an overall sort of management STYLE, sure, think of how you'd like to be managed and try to go with that.

But you are managing people, and they all have different ways they need to be managed. You may need to be the 'hard@$$' with one guy, riding his butt constantly to ensure best performance, while another employee is a soft touch where a small suggestion can work wonders. You may have an employee who breaks down with any criticism at all, so you need to figure out how to handle that and correct them while still getting the work out of the them. You may have someone who's a 'creative dreamer', and they'll run wild with an idea....while you have to reign them back in. All of them require a different approach from you, their manager.

I have, personally, rarely found managing easy, but when you hit that spot and get all the 'parts' working together well...it's pretty dang rewarding, too.

[Scornfire]

So uh

Don't date your employees

ya

yaaa

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Scornfire

So uh

Don't date your employees

ya

yaaa

Unless you use it as a motivational tool to get the best work out of them.

[indes]

The biggest one I can think of is to let people do their jobs.

It is on the onus of the employee to do their job, there is a huge difference between mentoring and micromanaging. Micromanaging neither helps the employee grow or promotes good morale.

If they can't complete their job without continuous intervention on your behalf, let them go and keep hiring and firing until you have a competent staff.

[Regular_John]

Assuming you haven’t already, start reading up on leadership, and if you can find a mentor (someone who’s already leading teams) and set up some regular coffee chats.

I informally stepped into management almost a year ago, and more formally in the last quarter, but prior to either of those I was reading leadership books, blogs, and as I said above meeting with a manager within our org (not that I report to) on a monthly basis to discuss the challenges and approaches to consider at each stage of my transition.

A few pieces that helped me:
The Effective Manager, by Mark Horstman
Mark really pushes for the value of regular 1:1s with your team, and giving effective feedback. While I don’t agree with everything he recommends (his hiring advise is bit too black/white for my taste) overall he provides a great framework for leading teams and having workplace conversations.

https://www.askamanager.org/
I follow this account on twitter, but it often links back to the blog, they regularly post questions from employees & managers about workplace conflict, and do a great job of providing an outside perspective.

Radical Candor: Be a Kickass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity, by Kim Scott
Firstly off, this is a bit of a dry read so don’t go in expecting a light summer breeze… read it on company time if you can. But Kim’s focus is very much on the qualitative side of communication with your people, good conversations, tough conversations, focusing on the intent & outcomes you need, much less so than beating around the bush. She’s in no way advocating that you rule like a jerk with an iron fist, but she does a good job of illuminating the real harm caused by not seeing the whole picture, or worst not making a decision.

I certainly don’t have it all figured out, but I found immersing myself in training materials from a number of different sources gave me a broad perspective on where my skills where lacking, and the adjustments I need to be making as I shift from individual contributor roles.

[Locke]

The first thing you need to do is find the strongest person in the room....and then beat the crap out of them to assert your dominance!