Submitted by egaskell on
in
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I am looking for first steps on how to effectively move from being a role as individual contributor in small company to a management position in another small company.
Background: I have been with one company for almost 6 years ( part of which I took off for baby breaks and then worked part-time). I am an individual contributor (software developer) with some project management responsibilities. I love the project management work, and want to do more of that, but my current company cannot provide me with the opportunities to do more project management or management for that matter. So, I have been looking for opportunities outside of my company.
I have now received an offer from another small company to move into a management role there. I am very excited about this, but I am also worried about being an effective manager, without having had lots of experience or any formal training. The MT podcasts have been both a confirmation of how i feel about some parts as well as just pure enlightenment in other areas of (project) management. I will probably listen to the MT Basics again.
Have you got any advice for me on where do I go from here? What should my focus be when developing into an effective Manager. Do I need to get formal training?
Please excuse my grammar, I am not a native English speaker.
You're already ahead of the game
CT,
If you have already been listening to the MT podcasts and learning the basics, you're off to a great start. If you take this new position with the smaller company, you are going to be coming in brand new, which is a much easier introduction to management then to be promoted over your current peers. There are MT podcasts for how to handle the first 90 days at your new job, and I would listen to them. If I remember correctly, the advice was to listen, learn, and just generally try to "fit in". You will hopefully have a long and successful management career, don't go crazy trying to change everything right off the bat. Start one-on-ones within a few weeks and get to know your directs. Then, continue to roll out the trinity by-the-book. You can go to employer-sponsored training or other management courses, but by no means is formal training necessary. Experience is the best teacher. I have been to several corporate "leadership" training events and in every instance, it was a more poorly delivered form of the MT guidance.
Best of luck in your new role. The podcasts and the forums will be here for you when you need them. In my experience, even the "tough" management questions can be reduced down to the fundamentals and answered with MT guidance.
-JD