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Thread: new manager

  1. #1
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    new manager

    so any good advice for a web design manager?
    all I have done was websites, and my boss liked my work enought o make me manager, but i've never managed anyone before. i barely manage life, but if anyone has some tips, please let me know I really don't wanna mess this oportunity up.

  2. #2
    Hire someone smart to boss around.

    Go to lunch.

    You are a manager.
    Onelife - No idea

  3. #3
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    Pick your staff carefully. Like onelife said, hire(if possible) a couple smart people, that way you don't have to manage as much.

  4. #4
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    Hire me; I'm smart.

  5. #5
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    Originally posted by gSOLO_01
    Hire me; I'm smart.
    I second that...he is smart

  6. #6
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    thanks, i realize i need people who can work independently as well as with others since i maybe traveling too.
    anyone with experience in los angeles, hit me back and I'll see what I can do.

  7. #7
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    no telecommuting or relocation?

  8. #8
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    r u serious

    naw, none of that. but i must say it is WORTH it.

  9. #9
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    I previously supervised a department of 8 Macintosh operators in a production environment. It wasn't web work, but some of my experience might apply.

    [list=1][*]Treat people with respect when giving "orders." We had a lot of rush jobs that required me to figure out which operator could best jump on it. Rather than just demanding they drop what they are doing, I'd ask how much longer til they completed that job. Depending on their answer, I'd either let them know that I need them to put it aside, or else that they should begin the rush job as soon as they finished.
    [*]Be firm (not bossy). If you are wimpy when making requests, it will be harder for you to get work through. I had this problem when I first took over. I found that a certain person would come up with reasons why he couldn't do what I requested, so I'd end up running around the department to find another operator. I finally got firmer by not backing down and reiterating my request.
    [*]Don't overmanage. Unless someone demonstrates otherwise, assume that they will be responsible to get the job done.
    [*]We have a database that contains every job in house. I would print a list out each day to keep track of what jobs were in the system. We also had a job log: each operator would log the job when he was finished, or if there was a problem that prevented completion, he would log that. This helped me keep track of job status. (We had 50-80 jobs passing through on any given day.)
    [*]Find out the strengths and weaknesses of your staff and use that to your advantage. For example, I had a few people that loved to do the special, odd-ball projects that took several days. Then I has those that only liked to do "typical" jobs, but could bang out a tremendous amount of work each day. Knowing this helped tremendously when assigning jobs.
    [*]Have fun managing personality conflicts between your staff. I don't have any quick answers on that one. I always use to tell myself, "I didn't know that I needed a psychology degree to work here."[/list=1]

  10. #10
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    hey thanks for the advise I'm sure it will help when I get started. I guess its the thought of so much work that gets me nervous, being that its a huge new company.
    I just hope whoever works for me doesn't mind me being the youngest in the company

  11. #11
    oh... and learn to play golf.
    Onelife - No idea

  12. #12
    Senior Member webcorps's Avatar
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    everything johntabita said AND shield your designers from management, in other words be there for them as a protector. You will be respected for this and you will get much better work out of them by not letting them be hassled by everyone else.

  13. #13
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    I just hope whoever works for me doesn't mind me being the youngest in the company
    Let that be their problem, not yours. I was the "youngest" in terms of seniority. When I was placed in the supervisory position, I had only been here 6 months. Everyone else in the department had been there longer.

    One person made a stink about it. He felt that he was equally qualified and should get the position due to seniority. Management didn't see it that way. Fortunately, he didn't hold a grudge and I also relied heavily upon his experience. He found that I was open to many of his ideas on how to improve the department and we worked together to implement them. In a practical sense, we "co-led" the department, and he took it over when I moved into my current position.

  14. #14
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    I will definitely strive not to be like certain managers I've delt with, I want my dept. to run smoothly. I've also observed someone hold more then a grudge against a girl i knew who got promoted over this man who'd been there longer and I just hope not to go through that, especially on my first time as manager.
    I guess I just want to make sure everybody is happy with how I'll run thangs.
    if ya'll curious, I'll be sure to put up some of our work so you can see how things go.

    Thank you all for the good advise!

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