Discussion on:

Can I make the jump to Management?

Hi All,
I am evaluating my career path again, something I do on a regular basis. At this point, I am evaluating the "how" surrounding moving into management. I would really appreciate your advice and feedback.

My long term goal is to move into an executive management position where my primary role would be setting the strategy for using technology to drive business objectives. I'm wondering if I am on the right path, and what are some additional steps I need to make that happen.

My background is as follows (some of these were concurrent):

-Bachelors in IT
-Masters Degree in Business
-2 Years Systems Administration
-4 Years Application Development
-2 Years Business Analysis
-2 Years Project Management
-1 Year Process Improvement (Six Sigma)

I currently work as a contractor doing Process Improvement and Project Management. My goal with each contract that I take is to leverage it to get me the experience that I need to move into management. With my current contract I am looking to hone my experience managing a large budget. What are some additional things I should be focusing on in upcoming contracts to get me to where I want to be? Any other thoughts or feedback?

Thanks!!!

I would advise that you get at least one project from each of those categories on your resume.

Also you may want to get the official PMI and Six Sigma certifications.

Very little of what you do will be what you like. No matter what your job description, in management-level jobs your "primary role" will be walking through the minefield of corporate politics, solving problems that you're sure would never have happened if you were in charge, untangling personality conflicts, trying to accomplish impossible goals with insufficient resources, and simply surviving.

Do you like that kind of high-risk, high-pressure environment? Do you enjoy having accountabilty without authority? Do you not mind spending days on end doing busywork which often is trashed before completion?

Be careful. The job you're looking for doesn't really exist.

In addition to the sound comments from Bfilfan & DC Guy - I'd add a bottle of Valium to the list.... LOL

Actually, your experience coupled with Six Sigma or ITIL makes you a good 'fit'.

It looks like you have the right education and experience. Are you comfortable dealing with the techies on one side and the (usually) very non-technical executives on the other? How are your supervisory skills? In my experience, many techies make terrible supervisors, with notable exceptions. If you are comfortable managing people, projects, expectations, budgets, can communicate well with upper management, etc., you are probably a good fit. Expect to spend a large share of your time meeting with people/committees, writing proposals, etc., and much less time doing technical work.

Good luck.

Craig Herberg

I believe you have what it takes to be a good IT manager. All you have to do is believe you're management material. Start sending out your CV and prepare well for the interview. Nobody can ever be fully-prepared/qualified to be a manager. All you need is luck and confidence in the interviews. Once you're hired, learn the trade as you work.

You have developed the requisite skills to be a good manager. People who hire managers, however, do so on the basis of how well they know you, which is typically not well, hence the difficulty breaking into management. Start networking at the 'C' and Sr. VP level and you will get your opportunity. Little else matters at this point.

Hi... Assuming that you got the skills, what is really in your CV? What is teh image that you are projecting? What I mean...

When I thing of management, I think of project justification (eg ROI, IRR, TCO), people management, vendor management, impact of deliverables in the business, proof of your ability to plan and prepare (a project, a team, a process... whatever).

Your CV should be full of (key) achievements and not of lists of responsibilities.

I hope that helps in preparingyour Cv and a new mindset on how/with which to go in a new interview.

-S-

Leadership should be in your blood, but you will need "Management" education as well. From the data you've provided, I can guess that you have been promoted to "project manager" because you've been around in the trend for a while and know the bits and pieces of the applications around you.
To lead, you will need more than that. May be an MBA in Project Management would help you, may be just some self-paced training package would do the job. Once you get the position, there will be little room for trail and errors, and the more you have learnt academically, the less you'll have to discover through your own failures.
You have a name and a credit to build in the market and those failures may give your a hard time re-building your reputation.

Good Luck
A.

Hi RB,

Firstly, you must take,unmistakingly, an Attitude, then a Latitude!

You got to move to your career next level/position of a Project/Program Manager, if you haven't hold that yet. I am certain that your solid education and experience along the business processes and project management line will back you up.

From there, you'll thrive thru an ocean full of politics and surprises and is urged to learn soft skills ( leaderships, conflicts resolution, communication skills, negotiations skills, interpersonal relationships, etc.) to be successful in your new position. Some aspirants are smarter and faster to learn and apply these personal and acquired skills on their jobs and usually give them the required edge over their colleaques.

Strong and mastery of at least three of these
soft skills will pave and determine your Altitude, and perhaps your Latitude, in your career path curve.

Keep PURSUING......

AP46

RB you've received some very honest and helpful feedback re: your new career avenue. However I didn't see where anyone suggested that you might want to get a broader exposure to the business aspects of a company. I see the MBA in Business Administration but what "real" experience have you gained at the upper levels of the core departments within a firm. You've indicated that your ideal position is where you'd be tasked with using technology to drive business objectives. I'd suggest continuing in the business process improvement arena to demonstrate your total understanding of a business not just the IT elements.