Leaping into Management

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I am having trouble making the leap from senior IT staff to management. I run the day to day operations and am responsible for a staff of 4. I handle most of the things the manager does but not officially.

I started getting my Masters in Technology Management and often wonder if I would be better off getting my MCSE or CNE certifications. I get interviews for management positions fairly easily but usually hear that someone with more experience was hired. How can I make that jump if it won't happen with my current employer?

-- Joanne Stone (founders2@worldnet.attnet), November 02, 2000

Answers

If you current manager is not planning on moving up or out anytime soon, then you probably should not plan on doing this either -- not at your current employer at least.

It sounds to me that you have the experience it takes to be a manager, but perhaps you are not looking for new opportunities in the right place. The best places to cut your teeth are at young aggressive companies that are fairly small but growing quickly. Small companies like these usually have a core group of talented senior managers that you can learn from. You'll also probably be expected to do a little more than just manage. You'll be expected to oversee a small group and roll up your sleeves and build the infrastructure as well as the IT group.

As for certifications, forget them. You'll learn a lot more doing the work than carrying a piece of paper. You probably don't want to work at a company that puts you in a category just because you carry a certification. Large companies tend to do this, meaning they haven't taken the time to learn what value you can bring to the organization. Sound familiar?

-- Todd Emerson (temerson@metacrawler.com), November 02, 2000.


Joanne, one of the things that I have noted, particularly with CIO positions, was a recent trend getting non-IT people in those roles. Since that time, the position of CTO have begun to become more trendy and the intial tide began to reverse.

This however brings us to the fundamental problem in IT, IT people a great at getting more technically adept (and they have to), my brother who is a partner in our company is on a continous learning mode, the learning never stops, he can't afford it to. The problem is that it is harder to find someone who has the technical skills that are accompanied with the people skills, that management roles require (and hence why that strange twist in CIO hiring occurred).

The question you should be asking is this. Am I losing management opportunties because I am showing too much of technical skills and not enough in terms of managing people and resources?

Your talking about getting Microsoft and Novell certifications but that won't necessarily help you secure a management job. One of the magazines I get apart from Fast Company is CIO magazine. I think you should have a look at the stuff at http://www.cio.com, as well as the stuff at Fast Company.

When they say that someone with more experience was hired, do you ask what it was about their experience that gave them that job. If you leave those interviews without knowing the nature of the deficiency, you can be looking at sorts of courses and still not nail the problem down pat.

A smaller company may give you a greater shot at getting into management because you are more visible, but a large company still has more opportunity routes and have the resources to extend your management skills once you have landed yourself a job. Unless you are planning to be a hotshot, try the truste routes.

-- Mark Zorro (zorromark@consultant.com), November 02, 2000.


Not sure how to interpret your question -- you want to take the step into management but you're feeling restrained? Or you're not sure if you want to move into management even though you've been fulfilling a pseudo-management role?

If the latter, this article might hit the mark. It's the first piece I ever wrote for Fast Company. http://www.fastcompany.com/online/13/ m4me.html and its sidebar http://www.fastcompany.com/online/13/ 9faces.html

Heath

-- Heath Row (heath@fastcompany.com), November 03, 2000.


Hi:

I don't know if you are still interested in answers or not, but the question I have for you is--is management really where you want to be? I wasn't entirely convinced by your question that it was. If you really like the technical track then that is where you should focus because that is where your talent is.

I find that many folks want to move up into management because it is a promotion--not necessarily a good fit. This is a question you really need to ask yourself. As you get more and more into management, you get further and further away from the technical side of things.

The answer might be to find a company that honors its technical folks as well as managers and pays deserving salaries for the talent.

Just things to think about.

-- Sibby Tower (sibbytower@aol.com), February 25, 2001.


I was where you are 2 years ago. I now have the title that goes with doing the day to day operations. I had to move to a start-up in order to get there.

Some things to think about: When I got into the position, other managers coached me to make sure I knew the business. Not just what the company sold or did, but how and why. Also, build a network of co-managers. They can either make you or break you. Even if you are not in that position yet, they can help you get there. Your direct report will not do it for you.

Problem: Current market conditions make start-ups not very safe. I am now looking for a new position as a result. Choose very carefully. Network a lot, it's the only way that you are going to convince the next executive to give you that position. I have been doing my networking for 60+ days and finally I am starting to see some hint of positions. Of course that has to do a lot with the area that I live in, and the market conditions here.

Best of Luck.

-- William Mannion (billmannion@worldnet.att.net), March 19, 2001.



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