Posted by
timothy
on from the don't-be-a-jerk dept.
TrippTDF writes "I just took a new job at a small software company as an assistant project manager. While I have a little management experience, none of it is related to software. What advice can you guys give me on not becoming a PHB? What are qualities that you wish your manager(s) had?"
What advice can you guys give me on not becoming a PHB? What are qualities that you wish your manager(s) had
Speaking as someone who has been on both sides:
Don't be a fake, your people will pick up on it.
Don't pick sides. You aren't there to make friends, you're there to get a job done.
Don't be afraid to say "I don't know" and defer to one of your people. It boosts their morale.
Ensure you can back up your decisions with facts and data. Bad decisions will cost you respect and potential promotions. They may even get you demoted or unemployed.
Don't talk shop with your people outside of work on a social level. Those that don't go out socially could perceive your decisions as biased. Ideally you'll minimize social interaction with small groups of your people.
You can't demand respect from your people, it must be earned.
A good manager should be though of as firm yet fair. Not a friend, not a drinkin' buddy, not someone easily influenced.
Basically: you're a Grown-Up now. Your options are quite simple: take the ball and run with it or fail and go back to where you were. Heh, I re-read that and I thought "Man, you sound old." and I'm only 38...:)
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What advice can you guys give me on not becoming a PHB? What are qualities that you wish your manager(s) had
Speaking as someone who has been on both sides:
Don't be a fake, your people will pick up on it.
Don't pick sides. You aren't there to make friends, you're there to get a job done.
Don't be afraid to say "I don't know" and defer to one of your people. It boosts their morale.
Ensure you can back up your decisions with facts and data. Bad decisions will cost you respect and potential promotions. They may even get you demoted or unemployed.
Don't talk shop with your people outside of work on a social level. Those that don't go out socially could perceive your decisions as biased. Ideally you'll minimize social interaction with small groups of your people.
You can't demand respect from your people, it must be earned.
A good manager should be though of as firm yet fair. Not a friend, not a drinkin' buddy, not someone easily influenced.
:)
Basically: you're a Grown-Up now. Your options are quite simple: take the ball and run with it or fail and go back to where you were. Heh, I re-read that and I thought "Man, you sound old." and I'm only 38...
Trolling is a art,