Management

WarDoctor

I’m close to testing for the CCNA as it’s still my goal to persue a career in the IT field. Future goals include better understanding of the security aspect, cloud, & wireless area (Wi-Fi & Cellular). 
IMO, my recent promotion to management changes things slightly. I feel that to manage a group in a particular job function , you should have experience in said job.

My question is:
Other than obtaining certifications/degrees, how would one move from one position in management to another position, without the experience of doing the job you are managing ?

UnixGuy

WarDoctor said:

.... I feel that to manage a group in a particular job function , you should have experience in said job.
...

I agree...however I found this rarely to be the case unfortunately....

To move to another management position, you get enough managerial experience and transferable skills that you either get 'promoted' or take on more duties or you simply apply to another company

Say you're managing a networking engineering team, but you interact a lot with the servers team, it shouldn't be too hard to manage an infrastructure team for example. It's not ideal but that's what I've seen happen

paul78

WarDoctor said:

.... my recent promotion to management changes things slightly. I feel that to manage a group in a particular job function , you should have experience in said job. ...

Congratulations on your promotion.

I've been in management for over 2 decades and management isn't the same as being the technical subject matter expert of a department. It more about leadership and helping your team and department to execute successfully on their charter. The skills and talent to be a good manager and leader isn't the same as being a good engineer, developer, etc. While it helps to have some of the specific tech background, a general background and understanding is usually sufficient.

At a certain point, managers are not valued or judged on their technical proficiency in a particular subject area - but instead on their leadership, ability to organize, team motivation, and their business judgement. 

If you want to be in management and your goal is to move up the management track, you may want to focus on developing other non-tech skills and traits. That doesn't mean you should stop development of your technical skills - but you have to consider soft skills and leadership talent as a higher percentage of your career development.

WarDoctor

paul78 said:

WarDoctor said:

.... my recent promotion to management changes things slightly. I feel that to manage a group in a particular job function , you should have experience in said job. ...

Congratulations on your promotion.

...but you have to consider soft skills and leadership talent as a higher percentage of your career development. 

Thanks ! After 22 years as an associate, it was a surprise to myself that I accepted the management position, as it was never in the forefront of my mind. That last 2 years I was a trainer which has helped me transition to my current role. 

With that in mind, the managerial perspective is partially new to me. The statement:  "The parts are greater than the whole"  is fundamental in this position. Once I have begun to understand the "How" to get something accomplished, the "Why" makes more sense. There are just so many tasks that need to be tackled, and prioritizing what IS the most important task right now has served me well thus far.

As for the soft skills, there are plenty of training sessions scheduled for other managers and I this year alone. I'm just hoping my passion for computer science and internetworking do not become just a hobby, but a part of my career. 

JDMurray

paul78 said:

At a certain point, managers are not valued or judged on their technical proficiency in a particular subject area - but instead on their leadership, ability to organize, team motivation, and their business judgement. 

I've been in management for three years now. I was "reorged" into a management position from the technical track, not because I was good at managerial things, but merely for the sake of convenience to the business. I have found that letting go of the technical duties of being an analyst has been hard, but trying to figure out how to be a leader/motivator and organizer/project manager has been the most difficult. I've actually enrolled in an MBA program to help myself become more well-rounded at all things managerial.

I would say to get promoted to a managerial position in the more traditional way starts with you already acting like a manager. Based on what @paul78 said, you need to show leadership, motivation of others, organization, and an understanding of the needs of the business in your present position to be recognized as management material worthy of promotion.

EANx

Ultimately, management is all about getting things done that bring value to the organization. Line-managers need to keep everyone motivated and working in the same direction. As someone moves up through the management ranks, it's more about the "big picture" and ensuring your team(s) have the resources they need to get the job done. Also, the higher up you go, the less you'll say and the more you'll ask. A manager past a team-lead should never be the smartest person in a technical conversation with engineers. Ask questions, get others thinking about the right answers and let them have the ego boost of being the smart guy.