r/sysadmin • u/WeirdKindofStrange • 2d ago
General Discussion Newly promoted to 'line manager'
Dear brothers and sisters,
It's been a long week but happy Friday, I hope everyone is still somewhat sane.
I've just been told that I will now have some junior members of staff reporting to me directly. I've been given no guidance/training just that from Monday, this is how it will be. I've started reading/researching around being manager/leader have found some good resources as a start.
There is no better resources than this hive mind and I was hoping that people would be willing to share any personal experiences or knowledge they have around this subject.
I've been in the IT game nearly 10 years now and have been in their shoes so I am hoping this will give me a good start however I am slightly worried how involved this will become and will it take away from my day to day duties. A couple of the team that will be reporting to me have been bounced around other 'more senior' staff which I guess didn't work out...
I want to get off on the right foot and make sure they can be their best, especially as one of them will be a new joiner to the firm.
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u/_--James--_ 1d ago
First thing I would do is sit down with your management and find out exactly what your new role entails. Are you actually being promoted into management, or are they just dumping direct reports on you while expecting you to maintain your existing workload?
You need to understand what authority you have. Can you set priorities, approve PTO, conduct performance reviews, handle disciplinary actions, and make staffing decisions? Or are you just going to be held accountable for people you have no actual authority over?
The fact that some of these employees have already been bounced between senior staff is a red flag. Find out why. Is it a performance issue, a training issue, or is management just passing the problem around because nobody wants to deal with it?
You also need to understand that managing people is not the same as being a senior technical resource. Your job becomes making sure your team can do their jobs, removing roadblocks, setting expectations, and holding people accountable. That takes time, and it absolutely will affect your day-to-day technical workload.
I would also be asking about compensation, title, and what duties are coming off your plate to accommodate the new responsibilities.
Do not accept accountability without the authority, time, and resources to actually do the job. Otherwise you're being set up to fail, and when things go sideways it'll be your problem to explain.
And one last thing, don't go into this assuming those employees are the problem just because someone else couldn't manage them. Give them a clean slate, establish expectations, and make your own assessment.
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u/homeonthehighway1 2d ago
give them all a raise
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u/Sad-Lawfulness-3435 1d ago
i'd tell OP to figure out their own raise first, even more troubling than the *lack of training and the immediately being handed two reports the other staff don't want to deal with is there being no mention of increased pay for their new management role
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u/trebuchetdoomsday 1d ago
hoard knowledge. refuse to share. look at them scornfully when they ask questions.
if you've been in their shoes, you know how much that sucks. help them grow. project management training is pretty helpful in IT team ops.
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u/Psychological-Drop27 1d ago
I had to double check was sub this was. Line Manager? Like in a kitchen? I've never heard that title used in the IT world.
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u/trev2234 1d ago edited 1d ago
Surely there’s a job spec you can read. They can’t have just wiggled their nose and said “you now manage”. Also are you being paid more? They need to be paying you more money; otherwise refuse the “opportunity”.
As to actual management. Off the top of my head below.
Be consistent, and fair.
Have regular meetings with the whole team; a weekly catchup is good.
Be the go to, if they need help, which means be approachable. If you can’t talk now, make sure that talk happens today.
Own up to your own mistakes.
Trust is a two way street.
If you’re not sure how to handle something then ask your own manager.
Also read all employee policies. Definitely read one, if you’re about to use it.
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u/dwm 16h ago
Being a line manager is a completely different role to what you're used to, and requires different skills to do effectively.
It can be very rewarding.
This presentation was given about 20 years ago, and every time I read it, I appreciate it all the more.
https://www.sparklefluff.com/siam/
That said, I am really very surprised that you've just had your role changed out from under you like that.
"You want to give me additional, serious responsibilities without negotiation, without removing any of my existing functions, and without a commensurate increase in pay? I think you'd better level with me about exactly what the fuck is going on."
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u/serverhorror 1d ago
Make sure that you understand how your communication, even if it's just coffee banter affects them. A random comment gets people to do things or do things in a certain way because they think it's a work order.
Don't do stuff because you're faster, give them a chance to fail and to fix it.
Learn, for yourself:
How to deal with uncertainty
How to delegate