Making the leap

So you're thinking you are ready to make the leap into IT management. You have held down a technology job for a few years and you are tired of working for someone else. You have more hands on experience than those you have worked for in the past and you are thinking "so what is the big deal? I can handle it." Maybe yes, and maybe no.

I have had the pleasure of mentoring a number of technical people making the move into their first management position in IT. It has always been fun and interesting to see them succeed beyond the level they thought they would achieve. Not to say that there have not been bumps in the road along the way. Having assisted in this transition a fair bit I have come to the conclusion that there are a few qualities that are essential to making the transition a success.

• The person has to really want the job.

Like with most things in life if the desire is genuine then things tend to work out. If you are the slightest bit hesitant about taking on a management "challenge" then perhaps it is not for you. There is a difference between being nervous about your first position and not being fully committed to the task. I look for a genuine commitment before promoting someone to be responsible for the work of others.

• Life and work experience is essential.

If you are going to be supervising the work done by others then you had better done some of the work yourself. This means having served on some project teams doing some of the tasks you will be supervising in your new position. If you have not done this then get yourself assigned to a team that is actively doing a relevant project. Get your hands dirty. Along with that, get some experience interviewing and mentoring others. Be prepared to make a decision or have input on the hiring of others to do work for your organization. You could be making selections on contractors or full time staff, either one is fine for now. It will help in the long run if you have had to gather information about people and make a choice based on your efforts. Living with your choices can be hard.

• Do not think that you can learn management from a book.

Do not make the mistake in thinking that all management techniques can be learned from an MBA course. If it was only that easy we would all have MBAs. Don't get me wrong, book learning is great and I try to do a lot of it myself but in a different way. I read a lot of materials about others successes and failures ( the Harvard MBA program does this same thing). Corporate histories are a great source of information about what do to and what not to do in management situations. Learning from others mistakes is a good thing in most cases.

• Learn from everyone, both good and bad.

Everyone has had good bosses and bad ones. I contend that you can learn a lot from both. Clearly you want the good ones to provide you with lots of guidance on how to manage people and projects. Taking lessons from the bad ones is a bit trickier but essentially involves applying "I would never say or do that to someone" test. Recognizing the bad and filing the experience away for later recall is some of the best lessons available.

• Find a good mentor

Having a good mentor during your early management experience is invaluable. Access to someone who can answer questions, be a sounding board for ideas, and offering gentle corrections when needed can help to ensure success. The trick is how to find a mentor and perhaps this is a good place to start your management career. More on this one next time.