[Closed] Tell me how to be a manager

The people working for you will know the business better than you, so ask their advice first. Best to spend a few months learning the lie of the land before you start changing things.

Stamp your authority from the start, give them an inch and they will take a mile 😆

Think of being in management as like trying to herd cats

One of my best mates made a similar move, too he's working for PGS in Houston after leaving the UK. He started managing a team where all were older and more experienced than him. They also all earned more money than him! He found it hard at first and I certainly can't offer much in the way of advice as all the teams I've managed have been younger more inexperienced people, apart from one who fell out with me and I put on a warning. He jumped before I sacked him.

Generally though, on the practical side of running a team.
Give plenty of feedback, not just on the stuff that goes wrong.
Know when to back off or push it, the guy I mentioned above would have continued to take the piss, you have to gather evidence and have the courage of your convictions to give them a bollocking, then explain to the rest of the team what you've done and why
Don't under estimate the power of a team bonding session. A few hours in the pub can work wonders
Give them an opportunity to get stuff of their chest.
Set proper targets and review them at least once every 3 months.

being a team manager is mostly commons sense with a bit of a framework thrown in, if you are not a 'people' person (and I'm not) then you basically have to force it.!!

Good luck

Listen. Listen.
Question every decision before you make it.
Stick to your decisions.
But be ready to change them.

Listen,
Don't jump to conclusions
treat people as you would wish to be treated
Do NOT take any crap (Otherwise you turn into a WAP manager)
It gets easier with experience as time goes by.
P.S. From my time in NDT welders are Sh*ts and insist everybody uses personal monitors when bombing.

Think of being in management as like trying to herd cats

Cracking. Thanks. 😆

I think the age isn't going to be such a huge issue. I think the US is a bit better on the issues of equality. I'm actually replacing a young female manager, so like I say, not particularly worried.

I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to written work [i][quickly does a spell check of previous posts][/i]. I'd hate to think what sort of documentation this team will produce - reading their CVs hasn't brought me a lot of confidence. Do you just have to accept that some people just are shite at certain things and then let it go?

It's NDT. The reports have to be correct!
Working on the Refinery's over here half of the teams check the other's work.Somebody will always try to toss it off and just fill the report sheet in.
If somebody is "shite" offer training ,give an oppertunity to improve.If they don't procedure with disciplinary based on capability.
Change the people or change the people

Do you just have to accept that some people just are shite at certain things and then let it go?

Coach and train where you can. But accept that people have strengths and weaknesses.

Part of the skill of Managing is building teams - complimentary strengths and weaknesses etc. Deploy people in the areas that suit their strengths.

I'm definatley of the 'less is more' ethos when it comes to people management. Apart from a few to$$ers most people just want to do thier job to the best of thier abilities, with minimum fuss and go home.
If the team you are going into is doing well then you really don't need to do much in the first few months, if they're not that would be a different story (and as a first time manager the company shouldn't be sending you out there).
Also I'd say that its not that they are shite at things more that you've identified a training need 🙂

"I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to written work [quickly does a spell check of previous posts]. I'd hate to think what sort of documentation this team will produce - reading their CVs hasn't brought me a lot of confidence. Do you just have to accept that some people just are shite at certain things and then let it go?"

Bin the CV's and what others will tell you about the existing staff. There might be a total waste of space there looking at the paper work. YOU might be the difference. Get on site and meet people make them want to work for you.

Remember your job is to help them do their job better, not do their job for them.
You are there to be respected, not there to be liked.
Treat everyone the way you expect to be treated - fairly, with respect, but firmly if necessary
If you don't know, don't be afraid to ask - see first suggestion
Don't wimp out at the first hard decision - see second suggestion
Look for a quick win as soon as you can - coming in from outside you may see something that has been under their noses but has been missed, so use it to make your mark.

how does perfectionist become a manager? perfection doesn't exist, don't waste time and annoy your team looking for it.

Identify the weakest link and sack him asap.

Make sure the rest understand their job is to make you look good, and never forget your job is to make your boss look good.

BTW if you don't have the right to hire and fire, you're not a manager, you're a chief clerk.

Listen and be honest, show them you have the team's best interests at heart, lead by example, push people into good opportunities, identify people's key skills, find a confidante in the team, stick with your decisions, but prepare to accept that some will be wrong.

My management style is throw people in the deep end and tread water next to them. Nobody learns to swim in the shallow end.

People should know how to do their jobs. Find out of they do by letting them.

They know more than you, so enquire and listen, sort and sift what you learn.

Research decisions collectively, accept criticism and learn. But finally, you must decide and they must accept your decision.

With the best advice you will make some mistakes. It doesn't matter if you keep making the decisions that need to be made.

Protect your people and they will protect you.

Be prepared to challenge people who challenge your authority. Either you will finish them, or they will become a strong ally.

You must always have a credible plan. Plan just enough to know what's ahead, but not too much. Everything comes from the planning. And when the plan is wrong, plan again, but not too much. Did I mention that you should plan?

I made all that up. Make of it what you will. And good luck. 🙂

FWIW. I completely disagree with "Nobody learns to swim in the shallow end". It's just a sound-bite.

Some really good advice. Cheers.

Not sure I'll be firing somebody asap - you were joking, right ?!

I'm thinking back to when my last manager started. He came in from outside but took the first few months to get the lie of the land. Travelled around introducing himself to all the key players (other senior managers) and then came back and started working out what is what within the team. The changes he made started off small at first, but seemed obvious, like introducing a library of useful technical data. I'll probably be doing the same. Big changes didn't really start for a whole year.

Understanding the difference between 'managing' and 'leading' helps.

If you can lead, often you don't need to do much managing - especially if you've good quality people.

First task; relaxed one-to-one, but not too relaxed as you are interviewing them - and they, you.

And protect them from senior management (ie, your Manager), and never, ever blame them in public - either other Managers or in the team. But privately, and treat it as a training session.

I'm an early starter, so my staff always knew if they wanted a 'private' chat they just needed to come in early - and always get the first drinks (whether tea/coffee or beers).

Edit - in my first senior management role about the first thing I did was have all contractors (IT Development Dept) take a technical test, after getting rid of two new (and crap) ones by lunch on the Friday...

Not read all of the previous posts but in my experience they need to respect you before you can make any changes. In order to gain their respect show them that you don't expect them to do anything you will not do yourself and always lead by example. Once they are on your side they will adhere to your changes as long as they understand them and you don't implement stuff without explaining your motives first. HTH

starter for 10, remember all the things that managers did to you and liked, remember all the thing you didn't like, and then take into account the fact everybody is different.

make yourself approachable and make youself listen

Praise publicly when appropriate, criticise privately when appropriate, be consistent at all times

Keep an accurate weekly diary on everybody you have to appraise, as then you'll have some facts at the annual review (if they work away/are seconded make sure their site supervisor does the same). (sorry edit, I'd do this 3 monthly so issues get addressed)

I pesonally found it easier not to be 'out of work' mates with people I managed - there is/can be a conflict of interests.

Don't know your industry but - brief weekly team meeting, have a plan, make it public, keep it up to date and achievable (ie get buy in from your team) and honest(and that cuts both ways), what did you do last week, what are you doing next week, are you on time, everything ok , next.

If you ignore problems or issues they'll get bigger/harder and more expensive

Try to bear this is mind. Simple maths, 1 manager 8 employees. If the manager kills himself they might get their output up by 15%, but that will hurt - a lot, you'll achive more by getting 8 people up by 2% nobody dies and the up is the same.

Find out the things that will most likely get you the sack and make sure they don't happen.

The rest just follows naturally.

This bloke could do with some advice, too:

[img] [/img]

fanatic278 - Member
...Not sure I'll be firing somebody asap - you were joking, right ?!

Dead serious. If you want results keep culling the bottom dwellers.

I presume this is private enterprise, not some cuddly bureaucracy.

Dead serious. If you want results keep culling the bottom dwellers.

I presume this is private enterprise, not some cuddly bureaucracy.

You can't do this in reality, it would become too much of a drain on time and cost.

Firing and recruiting suck up more time and cost than anything else imo.

I've never had to manage anyone before, so this is a mystery to me and there's going to be no chance for me get any management training.

I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to written work

Don't worry about being a manager. Sounds like you're a MINO - just there to take the crap and do the paperwork.

as a young manager (26 years old.. started my current position 2 years ago.. so 24) managing staff across 3 sites, most of which have been doing my job for longer than i've been alive... it can be pretty surreal giving advice on how they should be doing their job.

but thats the way i try to see it, its not telling them off, its giving them advice about how to get around challenges... trust in your staff, assume that they want to do a good job that way you'll find yourself getting less annoyed with the idiots as deep down you're know they're not being an idiot on purpose... the ones that are... well there'll be company policy to follow at that point... be fair but not a push-over.

try to give lots of feedback, ideally much more positive than negative, even if its just a "well done on today buddy, i know it hasnt been a fun day!" at the end of a shift... gos a long way and softens the blow when you do need to advise someone of the correct way to do something.

as above.. listen, dont promise things you think you cant do, make sure you're the hardest working man/woman in the room, the other staff will want to justify why you're the manager and earning more instead of them!

smile, dont mess around on a personal mobile if the other staff aren't allowed, try and learn a little about your team but dont try and force a personal history out of them unless they volunteer the info... nobody likes a manager thats trying too hard to be a "friend".

dont be scared to ask questions, but make sure you get as many of them out the way as early into the job as possible (imagine your manager asking you how to do their job 2 years after being there?!) and dont be scared to ask questions of your managers.

as with the staff below you.. try and give good feedback in an upwards direction too.

oh yeah, if you're in charge of rotas... try and work a system that allows people to know as far in advance as possible what they're working.... i've changed it from 1 week ahead to 12 weeks ahead with the ability for my staff to change and swap shifts as much as they want as long as they follow a simple set of criteria... its rare i have to step in and stop certain changes going through.

not sure if much of that makes sense, need to go wake up and defrost my car, good luck dude!

Get a 8" long pointy stick and a 6ft board of ply wood. Tilt the plywood at an angle of about 30 degrees.

Now get some firm dog poo logs and locate them on the plywood with some chocks behind them to stop them rolling backwards.

The logs should be placed on the plywood slope at positions relative to the performance of your staff, closer to the bottom of the ramp means they're poor performers, higher up means they're good performers.

now, sit near the bottom of the plywood slope and get someone to remove all chocks - "chocks away" and then start pointing poo back uphill with your pointy management stick. Obviously the aim is not to let poo hit your hand holding the pointy stick of let it roll onto your lap.

Occasionally one log will roll onto your knees / lap and sometimes a log will get your hand but generally you'll be continually poking poo uphill with your pointy stick. Its a never ending task and you could get covered in poo almost any time. The minute you take your eye off the poo, you'll get covered in sh1t

Folk sometimes make the slope steeper without warning too.

Welcome to management.

I used to work with someone who I thought was a pretty crap manager.
One of the other guys used to be an army officer.
After another one of the managers rants, the ex army guy would often say quietly, out of his earshot, "The way to lead people is to light a fire inside them, not underneath them".

I don't normally like sound bites, but I thought that one was quite good.

Houston in Renfrewshire is not too bad.
If it was Houston in US of A, then you will be just another non-American manager to fail in American. Ask Tony Hayward, and all the other non-US companies that struggle in the US of A.
Further up the Organization by Robert Townsend is an OK book.

The boss of Indigovision has some views on the subject
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00bb1rc

Managing is very much a case of encouraging people to do things; you get better results from people if they think they thought of an answer/way to do something/etc, despite you putting the idea in their head.

Be fair and don't allow your principals to be compromised. Be flexible in the way that you do things and how you see things, but don't be a pushover.

Make sure that any targets or goals that you set, for yourself as well as your team, are SMART - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timebound. I know that bit does sound very David Brent, but having all those defined at the start of a task makes things a lot easier down the road for both you and the team members. It also means that you can record and extend metrics based on the type of task and identify places where people can improve or mentor others.

Lastly though, make sure that your team is just that. Having a collection of individual stars is great, but your job will be to make sure that the whole is better than the sum of the parts.

Shout lots.

Jesusf****ngtit*ychrist.

The STW's with the HND or HNC in bullshit and bluster really stand out in this thread.

2 management styles - leading or shepherding.

If you are a leader then your staff know the direction and will follow you and you don't have too many worries.

If you are a shepherd then you're trying to keep brownian motion organised and you will never be able to relax.

Macavity - Member
...Further up the Organization by Robert Townsend is an OK book.

-snip- (edit)

Haven't read all the above but from my own limited experience I would give just three pieces of advice:

Be yourself

Retain your integrity

Work for your team just as hard as they work for you

All the best and I hope you enjoy your new role!

Managing is relatively easy - you can learn management from books and classes. Leadership is the hard part. People need both and if you are to succeed, you do need to do both. TT's simplified, distilled view of leadership:

Your position means you can make your staff do things. Leadership is making them want to do things.

If you 'get' that, you are going in the right direction.

"The STW's with the HND or HNC in bullshit and bluster really stand out in this thread."

Throwing stones in a glass-house? tsk! Are you Alan Sugar by any chance?

The bottom-dweller comment is revealing. It's true that there are some employees that don't want to be there and should move on. But there are more reasons for under performance than that. Many broken employees just need a little fixing, not firing.

But there are more reasons for under performance than that. Many broken employees just need a little fixing, not firing.

And to the OP, always remember, us ticketed welders have EARNED the right to be Bolshie bastards..
We [u]KNOW[/u] we [u]CAN [/u]do what others [u]THINK[/u] they can do!

buzz-lightyear - Member
...The bottom-dweller comment is revealing. It's true that there are some employees that don't want to be there and should move on. But there are more reasons for under performance than that. Many broken employees just need a little fixing, not firing.

OK, let's be a bit more loving.

Get them re-assigned to somewhere where their lack of performance will not reflect on your management. Release them to the public sector.

Get some training yourself ?? Most companies bigger than puny offer management training modules.

And understand your role when it comes to after work drinkies - buy the first round then rack off home !!

Be an effective bullshit umbrella.

i went to college and lived in Houston for over 6 years, remember Texans are different to most Americans.
Also there are some trails in the Houston area if you fancy some flat riding! most of it is either out in the woodlands or down by the hospital Herman park/memorial park area. Plenty up in Austin.
its a huge place dont under estimate the amount of Brits in Houston, most live and socialse around Rice Uni, village or Richmond ave resteraunts and bars.

The boss of Indigovision has some views on the subject
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00bb1rc

Macavity - I tried to find the article you linked to. Where is it on that page?

Cheers for all the advice. Will have to filter through and see what I shall take on board.

2 management styles - leading or shepherding.

Perhaps if you live in a cardboard box, on your own and don't involve other people, ever, and don't know anything about people or have to manage them in the real world.

Management is process - leadership is giving direction and reason. Leadership slides from dictate to abdicate and everything in between. There is no fixed point of leadership that works all the time with everyone. Flexibility and understanding which approach to take at what time is what succeeds. Being one thing without change will see you fail.

TooTall - Member
'2 management styles - leading or shepherding."
Perhaps if you live in a cardboard box, on your own and don't involve other people, ever, and don't know anything about people or have to manage them in the real world.

My cardboard box enabled me to retire at 40.

epi - can you explain what shepherding means?

and we're back to herding cats 😉

buzz-lightyear - Member
epi - can you explain what shepherding means?

"trying to control a flock of sheep from behind without a dog"

Yeah that doesn't work!

Sod the job, get yourself down to Austin for SXSW music festival.

Let the people do their job and make sure you steer them in the right direction should they falter in your eyes.

Learn and gain respect too. I love leading and when you hear others praise you by accident even better.

Arrange a meeting and fire someone on your first day. And make a move on the secretary, if she isn't attractive, fire her too. If she's a hottie, tell her to wear something more revealing (even if it's revealing anyway - more revealing never hurt anyone).

Then they'll know who's boss.

Never ask anyone to do something you wouldn't be prepared to do yourself..............................

Thread ressurection!

Going to have to kiss goodbye to mountain biking for the foreseeable future. I've accepted a promotion to a management position in Houston. Will miss Aberdeenshire greatly.

So how do you manage? There's a team of 8 plus secretary. Welding, materials and NDT engineers in the oil and gas industry. I've never had to manage anyone before, so this is a mystery to me and there's going to be no chance for me get any management training. What's the best way to start off on the right foot? Start authoritatively or first spend time asking lots of questions of my new slaves staff?

I'm a little worried also that my age is a factor, being (only!) 32. But actually not entirely worried as I am the most qualified for the position and the team is relatively young anyway. Anyone remember Doogie Howser MD ?

Well, I'm here in Houston now and been doing my best at management for 3 months now. I [u]thought[/u] I was doing a good job. The department I inherited turned out to be in a real mess. All the engineers were doing essentially the same task, but doing it in a different manner. This was creating a lack of direction within the department, extra workload and our clients were being badly managed as a result. The engineers also had a very bad relationship with the manufacturing site - they were essentially banned from visiting.

I implemented some changes very quickly. I standardised a lot of practices and smoothed over relationships at site. I asked for a bit of give and take from both parts. Initial feedback from clients and site has been overwhelmingly positive.

Now the problem. My engineers seem to have hated it! I find this out today when one decided to resign. It has left me really in the lurch and a bit personally offended that I'm his #1 reason for leaving (he didn't tell me this directly but via my manager).

So have I gone in too hard and too fast with my changes? Should I be worried about what my staff thinks about my changes if the changes have proved to be successful so far? How do I recover the situation?

Most people hate change.

At our place, it goes like this (communicated by mid / higher level management):

1) There's going to be a change, there needs to be a change because of XYZ.

2) There's going to be a change, here's what it is.

3) There's going to be a change, here's some training on the new process.

4) Lets make the change.

I'd go for a period of letting everyone settle back into regular work, getting used to the new processes etc. The disruption from change means people have to learn, get through their existing work slower for a while and generally get very stressed out.

Add in uncertainty and "let's try this, no let's go that way" type changes and people get very very stressed out.

Now the problem. My engineers seem to have hated it! I find this out today when one decided to resign. It has left me really in the lurch and a bit personally offended that I'm his #1 reason for leaving

That's not a problem. Some people are grumpy buggers. He/She didn't like being told what to do. Tough!

By resigning it means you didn't have to sack them, that's a result.

some people hate change. Could be any number of reasons for his decision, it could be that you are an outsider, age, nationality, etc. It could be that your perfectly sensible actions mean he has to do more work now.

What i want from a boss is support but not interference, and an explanation of what is going on and why. I accept that change happens, but make sure that the change doesn't affect my life, i.e. far more working hours etc. I work to live, i do not live to work.

This. My manager called me in yesterday to offer me a 'new position'. The position was in something i'd never done, no inclination for and no training for. It would also have meant going from 8.5hr shifts mon-fri to 12hr shifts thurs/fri/sat/sun for £30 a week extra.

Turns out i was way down the list of people he'd offered it to and they'd all turned it down - i wonder why?

So have I gone in too hard and too fast with my changes? Should I be worried about what my staff thinks about my changes if the changes have proved to be successful so far? How do I recover the situation?

So have I gone in too hard and too fast with my changes? Should I be worried about what my staff thinks about my changes if the changes have proved to be successful so far? How do I recover the situation?

The situation may well not need recovering - your changes may well be exactly what's needed - but it's possible you need to work on the communications (why, why now, why this speed etc etc).

Then again, every management role I've had (the last 2 decades) has involved me sorting out a department in one way or another. A lot of the time, people don't like change - they were happy plodding along in their own world and something new is to be feared. Some level of pushback is to be expected, and you'll often get someone leaving because they hate your plans. That doesn't mean that your plans were necessarily wrong, and it gives the opportunity to recruit someone who is more on your wavelength.

Do you have a mentor, whether formal or informal? A senior manager or director who you trust, and who you don't report to? If so, pick their brains on this; people have been in your shoes and are usually willing to provide advice, even if all they're doing is acting as a sounding board.

And never get personally offended at someone's reactions - you simply can't allow yourself to get emotional about it.

Was he a good engineer ? Competent, bright, personable, flexible ?

is it with KBR?

A mate (seriously a mate) of mine used to work for one of the local councils here and whilst there they went through all sorts of this "management team building hoooharr" anyhoo's one of his last courses was based around humiliation.. I kid you not. The course module was based around how to humiliate your subordinate into feeling guilty and then working harder. So when my mate had his turn at describing a technique for implimentation he used the "Dunces Chair" complete with dunces hat and a small ditty to accompany the worker who found themselves the target of this "technique". It went like this:

Subordinate sits in the corner of the room, places dunces hat on head, faces into the room so thier face can be seen, whilst all co-workers stand around, point and sing this song.. "You're thick, you're think, you're thick....you're thick...your thick..etc."

The report of my mates attendance was duely send back to his Boss, who read it and actually thought about implimenting this "technique", no seriously he did consider it.

Councils eh..

You could try this route if you are pushed for more mundain techniques.

Or you could just go along to Waterstones and buy up all the 1980's "how to be a....." technique books/manuals that seem to be still used all this time later by the David Brents of this world.

One of the best things I ever did was accidental.

We were required to go on a team-building course with a dreadfully positive and happy-clappy/touchy-feely 'thought facilitator', which was predictably awful, and culminated with a group session where we had to summarise our thoughts on the course. In rap.

I looked at the faces of my team, who were to a man/woman unhappy, recognised my own cringing at the awful thought of middle-aged white folk trying to sound like we were from the 'hood, and called a halt to the thing.

The response from the team was so overwhelmingly positive that I was practically carried from the room shoulder-high. I then took the team to the pub where we bitched about the course, and the in-joke for the team thereafer was to drop bits of sub-MC Hammer rap into conversations and emails.

Get some help by reading a few things. Try the "One Minute Manger" books, they are cheap easy to get through and contain really good advice. A copy of "The One Minute Manger Meets the Monkey" is very good. They are written in an American style so should help a little with the culture of work over there. Also I found a mentor very helpful, if it's a good company this may be encouraged.

If you can try and lead a team from the front but make sure everyone takes there share of responcibilities (see the monkey book).

The very best of luck.

Surely the One Minute Manger should meet the donkey rather than the monkey?

As others have said, implementing any sort of change is often challenging. I'm not one for too much management bo11ocks, but the change curve below (there are various versions all on the same theme) is quite apt I reckon.

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Thanks guys for your positive feedback. I was beating myself up a bit about it, but I'm looking it in a different light now.

I did spend some time at the start talking to everyone about their thoughts on the situation the department was in. My team didn't really give me any constructive feedback, mostly just a lot of whinging. Nevertheless, I spent the first month doing not much in the way of change, just listening. All new changes I implemented were introduced first at a team meeting. Again, I was confronted by a lot of negativity. This continued negativity is just hard to understand, because the results of the change have already proved positive and it has only been 3 months.

So now I have had time to sleep on it, I'm thinking loosing one person may not be the end of the world. I'm sad because he was actually my favorite (he wasn't the worst when it came to negativity). I fear I may loose another person who is way more miserable, but he'd be no great loss if it wasn't for the fact that I'm already short on manpower. I actually think he has poisoned the atmosphere. They all go for lunch together and I imagine they spend the whole time bitching

Cést la vie. I'll survive.

he used the "Dunces Chair" complete with dunces hat and a small ditty to accompany the worker

That HAS to be bullshit. Councils are usually the most careful employers when it comes to HR and all that chair would do is have each sitter wandering off to a solicitor to (quite rightly) successfully sue for constructive dismissal.

For the OP - Whenever you change things, people get annoyed. Some threaten to leave, some actually do leave. Honestly, even if they're the best person in the team, you'll get past it and the team will probably be better for not having someone in it who doesn't want to be there.

And just in case anyone thinks maybe my changes were a bit too radial (e.g. dunces chair), here is a complete rundown:

1) Introduced a formal document review protocol. Previously there was nothing in place to allow for a document to be checked before they got sent to a client.
2) Standardised a lot of working practices (e.g. how a welding inspector should visually inspect a weld). We were in a ridiculous situation where we had about 8 standard practices that were being carried out at site level, but each engineer would be asking them to be done in slightly different ways.
3)Tried to homogenise our philosophy to mechanical testing of welds (we're welding engineers by the way). We were doing a variety of mechanical tests in various different ways with no clear reason for it being done in one way or another. I tried to instill some engineering principles and logic to get us doing the mechanical tests the correct way.
4) Made them submit holiday request forms and created a personnel planner. I had no idea who was where on a particular day.

I really don't think there is anything radical in there. I think items 1 and 4 were pretty unpopular, but how am I supposed to manage a team without having any control over the output (documents) or where they are on a given day.

I was chucked in at the deep end too. I organised 1:1 meetings with all 14 of them in my first 2 weeks there. And, like another poster explained to them why I'd been brought in, what my background and experience was and how they could help me, also asked how I could help them and what had been missing from them not having any line management.

Had a great (well not always) relationship with them after that. most of the first meetings were bitch-fests about other staff so sorted all those issues out first and got a happy team. Consulted staff are happier good communication up and down is a must.

Good luck and congratulations on your promotion

Be an utterly irritating twerp.

Seems to work for my boss.

@fanatic - it sounds like your doing a great job. You can never please everyone. The changes might filter out the dead wood in the team and help everyone move on.

On the other side of things - my manager never makes changes and it drives me mad. I identity a problem, manager dwells on it, takes strange actions and then reverses, repeats every 6 months. Solution - change manager, they're leaving and I will be left to run things.

One word ''consistance''.

Have been a Manager for 10 years myself and made all the mistakes and then some.
The one thing I have learnt is to be consistent.
As soon as you loose that people will spot it and standards will slip, if you want a report or something by Thursday make it clear that there is no adjustment. Come down hard if you dont get it. Slip once and everybody will know Thursay means Friday.
Lastly, dont say ''I want that by Thursday'' Say ''Can you get that to me by Thursday''. If they agree and you dont get it they have let you down on what they promissed not what you asked for.