Advice on how to advance career 5

[KSor]

I am looking for some advice on the advancement of my career. I am looking to get out of mainly technical work, and get into management and project management. What is the best way to go about doing this? What advice do people who have gone thru this transition have?

 

[ykee]

Depends on your company. Show some leadership and the ability to take charge of projects, and you will be given the responsibility. The important thing is for you to show initiative. No one wants a manager (project or technical) that does not show initiative!

Back this up with some formal training -- and there is plenty of this through various avenues, and you should be able to achieve your goals.

 

[whyun]

Screw up on your project once.

If you want a less dramatic alternative, demonstrate your ability to delegate work to others (and ensure that the work gets done).

Being "too good" technically is actually a disadvantage when it comes to advancement (into management).

 

[ash9144]

If possible offer to field supervise some contract work on going. Even if not your project, it'll show initiative, teamwork, and demonstrate your leadership ability. If you have a major project or turn around on going offer to cover night shifts. No one ever wants to cover nights and you would be the only sheriff in town so to speak and as long as all goes well you will get positive credit.

 

[Comcokid]

Funny. I never thought of going into management as "advancement" in a career. To paraphrase the conclusion of one Dilbert - Engineering requires a degree and years of experience, to be a manager requires no training or education what-so-ever. I have worked under engineering managers who had only a high-school diploma - no education beyond that, and an R&D manager who had the diploma and a two-year business associate from a community college. One of these individuals was possibly the best manager I ever worked under. The other two were the worst. The R&D manager once asked me "What's the difference between a frequency and a volt"?.

Seriously, If you want to go this route, PLEASE get training and if possible, some form of certification. I would suggest a MBA. There is a serious need for changes in qualifications of 'managers'.

 

[tygerdawg]

Good one, Whyun, thanks for making me chuckle. A star for you. Several times in my career I was told I was too good at my job to be promoted to management. Friends told me I should bomb a project once in a while to get promoted.

TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Advanced Robotics & Automation Engineering

http://www.bluetechnik.com

 

[TheTick]

Hard work and integrity are definitely not the keys, but at least I sleep well at night.

 

[IRstuff]

I think that it varies with the company. In other companies, there's an expectation that senior, and the more capable, engineers take the lead, since they'll be in a better position to mentor and nurture new engineers.

As for getting into management, that's usually not much of an issue; it's simply a matter volunteering for duty. We usually have more product team lead positions than bodies to fill them, since most engineers don't want to be bothered with grundging the managerial aspects of a job.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[KSor]

Do you think it is easier to advance into such a position in the same company, or to move to a new position? My problem may partly be as Whyun and Tygerdawg mentioned, I do too much of the actual "work" around here.

 

[IRstuff]

If you have no experience, then it's usually easier within the same company, as you are a known quantity.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[KENAT]

OK, I resisted so far but after this week so far 2 all hands meetings and significant lay-offs, at least some due to poor management etc.

To become a manager have a lobotomy and/or sell your soul to the Devil/turn to the dark side.

Not all managers do this but an awful lot seem to.






KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[whyun]

The purpose of delegating work is basically to assign a scapegoat when the need arises. If you are doing all the work yourself, and we all being human make mistakes, you will be held responsible. Sadly, I'm not being sarcastic.

Its been too long since being loyal to one employer actually hurts your career advancement. Though there are exceptions, many young executives in their early thirties got there by switching firms. Sad, but it is reality.

 

[IRstuff]

That's a human nature and an evil one, at that. At some point, you can't do it all yourself, at least not without spending 12 hrs a day at work, which is absurd and highly not recommended.

Delegation is ideally part of teamwork. That's why a football team has 11 players. A quarterback to start things off, but receivers and backs to delegate ball carrying to, and blockers to protect the quarterback and ball carrier.

Additionally, there's the matter of training new employees. How are they going to learn anything if you do all the work?

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[zuccus]

KSor,

This may seem trivial, but make sure that somebody else can do the same quality of work that you can do. Maybe help bring up to speed a little bit of a junior member in the group.

I once got denined several promotions across about a year, because they flat out asked me:

"If you weren't there, who would get the work done?"

I unfortunately did not understand the question and told them the truth:

"Nobody inhouse currently could do my job."

Cost me a lot of money and a shot at management at the time.

To get promoted I had to change companies to somebody looking for a mid level manager with hands on experience.

Zuccus

 

[Maui]

Ksor, when you eventually find yourself in the managerial ranks you will need to handle a wide variety of difficult situations. A few rules that have served me well as a manager are these:

1.) Never ask an employee to do something that you're not willing to do yourself.

2.) Treat your employees like people, not as direct reports.

3.) Your team will follow your lead. You will usually see in their behavior some reflection of your own. If you display integrity, honesty, and trust in your employees, they will often repay you in kind. If you treat them with distrust, belittle them, and intentionally make their work lives miserable, don't be surprised if they drag their feet in completing their work.

4.) NEVER schedule meetings during lunch unless directly ordered by your boss to do so.

5.) Reward good behavior. How you do it is up to you.

6.) Do not share personal information that is communicated to you in confidence, unless there is a clear and present threat to someone's wellbeing.

7.) Don't worry about the plane that you just missed, the meeting that didn't go as planned, or the co-worker that you can't see eye to eye with at the moment. There's always another plane, you can learn from the outcome of the meeting, and you and your co-worker will likely come to a mutual understanding eventually. Patience is the key.

Maui

 

[Noway2]

"If you weren't there, who would get the work done?"

I unfortunately did not understand the question and told them the truth:

Too many companies learn the hard way the result of this condition. If someone is expressing an honest desire for promotion and is doing what it takes to get it, it stands to reason that they achieve their goal one way or another.

Instead companies like to play ostrich and pretend that their people wont leave. I believe that the company I am at now is doing just that with several individuals.

 

[shelchem]

Wyun / Maui,

Your inputs are thought provoking and have hit the nail on it's head !!!...but there is something else which I believe has not been said explicitly in this thread and that is:

a) being tactful

b) getting help at the appropriate time from a "godfather
fgiure" who is sitting somewhere at the "top of the
pile" in the company

With these two things, most of what you have written may be achievable for a Manager.