Management for People Who Hate Management

July 7, 2009 12:20 PM

Management books for someone skeptical about becoming a manager?

My friend did an astrology reading for me a while back, and he said I should look into taking a management class or reading a book about management to prepare for events developing a number of years from now.

I scoffed at the idea because I worked as an editor at my college newspaper from 1995-1997, and I wasn't very good at it. My writers were afraid of me, and I can't say I enjoyed being the boss. In my professional life, I have not sought any supervisory roles, despite feedback indicating I should.

(Actually, a recent review had some feedback that said I ought to take more leadership roles in department initiatives.)

As dismissive as I am about the prediction, my friend has an annoying history of being right. So I'm allowing myself to be cautiously open about the idea. What management books would you recommend for someone who's not sure about becoming a manager?

I have noted the recommendations in this question. Perhaps there is more?

posted by NemesisVex to work & money (10 comments total)

What is it about management that you're not sure about? Can you be more specific? What didn't you enjoy about it?
posted by kitcat at 12:56 PM on July 7

While it's somewhat geared towards technical management, I found Peopleware by Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister worthy of reading and occasional re-reading. I'm not in a management role at the moment, but if another comes up, I'll pick it right up and re-read it front to back.
posted by jquinby at 1:01 PM on July 7

Assuming this is a serious question it is far too vague to be answered. A manager of what? A manager of a dental office is extremely different than a manager of nuclear engineers.
posted by dfriedman at 1:29 PM on July 7

Managing people is hard work. You need to be motivated to be a good and fair manager and you need to enjoy the work. No one wants to work for a manager that hates managing. If your staff doesn't like working for you, you will fail as a manager. Your staff will make sure that you do.

I'm not reading the stars, but I am sharing my experience in managing people and hiring the managers who work for me.

If you really don't want to manage, no book is going to help. Find career alternatives.
posted by 26.2 at 1:45 PM on July 7 [1 favorite]

Yeh I've finished all my coursework for my MBA, and I'm writing my dissertation at the moment (I'm a banker with a Quantitative masters who decided to take an MBA after years of "learning management on the job").

While there are tons of books and journal articles and collections of journal articles on the topic, I'd suggest Peter Drucker's The Practice of Management as a "gentle" introduction to the topic.

Between his Wiki (linked to) as well as the book, you can find what direction you'd like to move in. Management is a particularly broad topic as dfriedman points out above; a little reading would help you understand more about the field and in the particular direction you'd like to move into.

Keeping mind, of course, 26.2's comments above. Astrology aside, if someone doesn't want to do the work they'll be a terrible manager.
posted by Mutant at 2:59 PM on July 7

dfriedman: I'm a web developer, and I work in the technical communications department of my company. If I were to move into some sort of supervisory role, it would probably be along the lines of a senior developer position. I believe my friend said I would be a "rock star" coder, but he tends to the hyperbole at times.

Still, I'm giving this advice more consideration because I have been thinking about relocating in the not-too-distant future, and I'm wondering how much of that advice I should incorporate in my job search. The question is serious, even if the source of the advice may not be seen as credible.

kitcat: Now that I think of it, I'm not sure how much of what I hated about being an editor was partly institutional or partly personal. When I was a writer, there was no structure or process to train new writers on how things worked. I tried to change that when I rose up through the ranks, and I encountered a lot of resistance.

But I took the position that "begging forgiveness is easier than asking permission" and looking back, I ticked off a lot of people along the way. I didn't get any training on how to supervise writers myself, and eventually, I earned the reputation of being the bad cop, a role I relished a bit too much back then.

What I'm not sure about is whether I should let events of 14 years ago -- before I've had any professional experience -- continue to color my own perception of my leadership skills. I tried it, and I sucked at it. But I keep getting feedback saying I should be more of a leader.

I would think having been there and done that, I would know my own abilities, but perhaps I'm overlooking something if people keep telling me otherwise.
posted by NemesisVex at 3:26 PM on July 7

Scott Berkun's 'Making Things Happen'. Ostensibly on Project Management, but the most practical book on management I have ever read. Chock full of great examples. Read It. Seriously.
posted by jasondigitized at 6:41 PM on July 7 [2 favorites]

Second Making Things Happen, and also take a look at Rands website
posted by crocomancer at 4:50 AM on July 8 [1 favorite]

I"m going to swing a U-Turn now that we've got more information.

You had a tough first round as a manager. One of my big frustrations is that we expect people to be good managers without training them to manage. We thing that having the technical skill to do the staff role means you'll know how to manage that staff.

What happened to you in your first management job happens to some degree to most managers when they start the in the job. Where was your manager during all this? Your manager should have been watching for problems, helping you develop your management skills and giving you guidance when you were burning bridges.

If you're interested in taking a management role, then go for it. Don't let baggage from a decade and a half ago color your decision. You have more professional (and life) experience. The fact that you're asking this question shows a different mind set. You're not going in guns blazing; you're doing the prep work to be successful.

You asked for a book and I'll suggest The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels *. It's not a traditional management how to book, instead it's about coming into an organization as a manager. It gives an idea of how to read the organization and get started without alienating staff or peers. You'll probably read it and have some "ouch" moments thinking about your old job. That's okay. You'll start to see mistakes, alternatives and corrective actions.

*Here's a review that gives a pretty detailed overview.
posted by 26.2 at 8:32 AM on July 8 [1 favorite]

Thanks, everyone, for the suggestions.

I ended up reading Managing Humans by Rands. It gave just the kind of overview I was looking for, and it was specific to software engineering.

I'll probably check out Making Things Happen next.
posted by NemesisVex at 11:55 PM on July 10