WARNING: Some of my current connections may remember the incident described at the start of this piece and find the content distressing.
A Long Time Ago in an IT Services Company Far, Far Away…
Picture this: a very young version of me at a company offsite near Newcastle upon Tyne, freshly announced as the manager of a dozen highly skilled technical specialists. The news was met with whoops and cheers. But then, things took a turn.
First, the awards. The top salesperson was celebrated with a ￡1,000 holiday voucher, and the crowd went wild—it was well-deserved. Then came the award for the top techie, one of my new reports. The pride was palpable, and the crowd was ecstatic—until the winner opened the envelope to reveal a ￡50 book token (yes, it was that long ago). Almost instantly a huge wedge was driven between my team and sales. Great. Surely it could not get any worse. Nope, there was another cliff just around the corner.
The operations head stepped up, pressed play on a ghetto blaster (no MP3s back then), and out blasted Carly Simon’s James Bond theme ?“Nobody Does It Better….” The cassette was ejected, and the speaker went on to cement my fate “Why aye pet, but people do do it better, our competition…” (best read in a Geordie accent). The damage was done. My team of 45 minutes was incensed, immediately telling me not to expect them to go above and beyond anymore. There was clearly more to this management than I thought. If only I'd been prepared.
With (many) years of experience now under my belt, managing some incredible teams, including my current one, it’s clear back then I was wholly unprepared for management. I wrongly assumed other, more experienced managers were well-trained. I was wrong. They were winging it, misreading the audience, the business needs, and the team’s needs. Everyone, except the ￡1,000 richer salesperson, who was mentally planning a trip to Benidorm, was now offside.
My baptism of “management” was locked in. Was it worth the shiny new VW Passat and fuel card that came with the job.
Reflecting on Your First Management Role
Do you remember the first time you had “manager” in your title and suddenly found yourself with staff responsibilities? What prepared you for the role? I certainly didn’t have the wisdom to seek training - if I had, my choices might have been an MBA over years, or a few terms of learning at a local college. Ain't nobody got time for that. Well I hadn't, I had a world to change. When was the last time you undertook formal training to sharpen your skills?
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To save you the trouble of looking, the answer to you or your team’s softer skills in management lies here. Remember, when it comes to this sort of material, “Nobody does it better… Makes me feel sad for the rest, Nobody does it half as good as us. Baby, we’re the best.”
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Read my blog: Management Skills, AMA CPM, American Management Association Certification | Lumify Work | Lumify Work AU
Software Sales Engineering Senior Manager at Quest
3 个月I remember the event and incident clearly.