Promotion, or an express trip to regretsville

[Canuck223]

So it looks like at the end of the summer, my boss may be transfered. I've had such a good working relationship with her, it's unlikely her replacement will be able to meet or exceed her standard. As a foreman in a union environment, having a manager who knows how to give me the tools to do my job properly is a godsend. I've got a problem child staff member who eats into my day with regularity, dealing with his defects and managing his quirks.

As it happens, the foreman at the workplace closest to my home is retiring in October. It's a bigger place. The job is far more supervision and less grunt work. The pay is better. There is more opportunity for overtime. My back and shoulders are telling me this is a good idea. The downside is instead of one problem child, I'd be supervising several.

I figure I'm a fool if I don't try for it. It's not like the extra cash and smaller work load won't be welcome. Worst case scenario is I don't get the job and stay put.

[GrumpyOne]

Sounds like to me that you have already made your mind up. I've had several oppurtunities like that and let them pass by, thinking (and knowing at the time of the oppurtunity) that I wasn't the right fit for that situation. I now realize that I may have been wrong. While I am still happy in my present situation (top dawg in a very respectable telecom installation company), I know now that I could be top dawg in a higher position in said company. Even my boss (and his boss!) wants me to move forward and take supervision and/or a quality control position, which I know I could both with relative ease, I'm still, to this day, hesistant about doing it. I've passed these chances by for 15 years now, and the body is beginning to wear down. I'm thinking I should have taken one of them. I'm no one to tell you what to do in this matter (look at my record!), but if I were you, I'd think very seriously about it. You deal with screwups every day, what's a couple of more? My .02....

[smokshwn]

Keep in mind, as a supervisor the shittiest thing I do is babysit problem children. However, whether working beside them or supervising them they are never out of the equation. At times I have found it easier to supervise several problem children rather than just one, you can be a collective hardass without the appearance of picking on one individual.

Take the jump.

[Canuck223]

I've pretty much decided to go for it. If it plays out like I expect, the only risk is losing out on a promotion to a workplace that is chaotic and remaining at a job that's likely to become chaotic.

[Flexmoney]

Go for it.

[3quartertime]

Go for it.

+1!

I did much the same thing a little over two years ago. I've never enjoyed working in my career field more!

[Larry White]

How chaotic a thing is depends on where you view it from, I always prefered looking from above, more control from there. And if you aint the lead dog the view never changes.-------------Larry

Edited May 17, 2010 by Larry White

[sfchorn]

What an opportunity to make a positive impact on others.

You say there are several problem children in the potential new organization. I'm sure that if you've recognized it, their coworkers recognized it long ago. I'm willing to bet the coworkers have to carry extra workload to make up for the miscreants. I think they would LOVE to have someone take care of the issues and improve the organizational climate.

As a manager, I recognize most of the employee problems are not caused by bad employees - they are caused by bad management.

Be a great leader, and you will be amazed to find that you work with great people. Yeah, you may have to make some unpleasant decisions with the problem children. But in the end they will straighten up, leave, or screw themselves out of a job. The folks left remaining will thank you for it.

[lneel]

Having been on both sides of the fence, I find the key to being a manager is very simple. Communicate. Any news/direction is better than nothing.

I say go for it!

Lee

Edited May 19, 2010 by lneel

[pjb45]

Managers are made not born. I was lucky enough in my graduate school days to work for an organization that trained new city government managers, then for a healthcare system that realized that it promoted the best tech not the best manager and instituted a management training program. I had a friend who was a nursing manager and she taught me how not to get walk-on.

I still have some people that swear at me but a whole lot that swear by me.

Here are some guidelines

Listen and respond with empathy

Maintain and enhance self-esteem

Ask others for help

Tell them what is expected of them, tell them immediately when they are not meeting expectations and document in a log every interaction that concerns performance. Never ever be afraid of invoking a corrective action program. Bring the shop steward in sooner rather than later-get them on your side.

Problem children can cease to be a problem child when handled properly.

You can be a great manager.

[Ron Ankeny]

Worst case scenario is I don't get the job and stay put.

Is that true way down the road? How long until retirement and is the position secure? What are the ramifications for you, for your family, and for your future as far as sanity/stress, health, and finances? Depending on your age, those may or may not be very important issues. I would imagine you are using the forum just to think out loud...and that's a good idea. Good luck.

[CSEMARTIN]

I can't imagine what it's like dealing with union workers, but I still think you should go for it.

[Singlestack]

This Hate rant has turned into a discussion, which is beyond the bounds of the rules for the Hate Forum. Thus, it must be closed.

Please review the Hate Forum Rules:

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8097

[note: this is a generic response]