First time as manager

gonzoflick

I will be moving from the purely technical world to a new job as department manager. Can someone point me in the direction of some good first time IT manager resources that I can begin to study. Things like basic IT project management and IT budgets and things of that nature.

I appreciate it.

bertieb

Simple. Just shout a lot, wave your arms about when your colleagues miss deadlines and bully your new minions into submission. Then cut their pay by 15% and force them to work longer hours. It's easy this management lark

I'm only joking of course! Firstly, congrats and good luck in your new role. You may want to look at PMP/Prince2 for Project Management type skills (not sure which country you are in) and I know Microsoft have their 'AlignIT' portal that has a few resources and podcasts for planners and IT managers Align IT: IT Manager Resource Portal

Don't forget your soft skills too! You need to be confident, a great communicator to people in technical/non-technical roles and be able to motivate your team which I'm sure you can do already as you got the new role

I'm sure some of the other folks on here have more advice on actual resources, but good luck one again.

skrpune

Congrats!

Project management is one of those weird things that I have a hard time admitting can be studied taught in a class. There are certain techniques that can be used to keep things on track, but a large part of it is how you work with the people you're managing. It's a hard balance, but you have to know how to treat them as real live humans and think of them as "resources" at the same time. I took a class on using MS Project a while back, and the idea of people being categorized at resources struck me as odd at first, but it makes sense when you think about it.

Have you considered going for the CompTIA Project+ cert? It's not the most prestigious of the project management certs, but it doesn't require previous experience or schooling and can give you a good foundation of the basics of project management. You could always just use the study resources for it and not take the exam too if you don't want to have to shell out the money for the test.

Also, you might want to check your local community colleges & universities for classes - this will be a bit more expensive, but perhaps you can argue for some tuition reimbursement. The uni I'm attending now has a project management class on the masters level available to grad students or second bachelors students or grad students at large (not enrolled/admitted fully but taking grad classes).

captobvious

Five business books every IT manager should read!

I have read many of these books, and I'm not an It manager (yet). Came in handy in my business career.

dynamik

Amazon.com: Time Management for System Administrators (9780596007836): Thomas Limoncelli: Books is another related read.

Nice list Captobvious, I'll check those out.

eMeS

I'll diverge a bit from the advice you've received, primarily because managing a department is not the same as managing projects. Project management certs aren't logical unless you do significant project management work. You might, I don't know, but you might also be managing a group that does day to day operational activities as a primary focus.

I will also ask the question, do you have budgetary authority? If you do you might want to start learning your organization's budget process and how you can best make that work for you and your team. Being adept politically is indispensable when it comes time to define and maintain budgets.

You've received some good advice in terms of reading. Read as much as possible. I've always learned a lot by reading the biographies of others, and I learn a lot by reading things with which I wholeheartedly disagree.

Another approach you might take is to find someone that is a manager that you admire and establish a mentor/mentee relationship. Observe the things that that person does well copy them. Ask them what worked for them and what didn't work for them when they first entered the ranks of management.

Congratulations on your new role and good luck!

MS

bellhead

One of the best management books ever.

Kaminsky

A manager is a figurehead of a team, put there to get the best out of that team whilst looking after their admin, training and work they do. They are also answerable for their team's actions, inactions, failures and rewards. Similarly, it's the team that is important to the business to do the work that they are there to do. The manager can easily be replaced if they are innefectual at running that team.

> Learn to Delegate ! < Very important and a lot easier said than done >
> Start to distance yourself from your team. < You can't be their best friend and their boss - it will come to tears if you try to be both >
> Be fair but firm. < You will be appreciated for it >
> Never yell or lose your cool when something goes wrong. < you will not be appreciated for it >
> Never tell anyone off in front of others. Always take it inconspicuously behind closed doors. < you will be respected for it >
> Remember who your boss is and what they want from you and your team. < this is how you will be noticed and may climb further >

A team is not there to prop you up or elevate you higher. It's completely the other way around.