Managing a new IT Dept.

First, congratulations and welcome to the hellish world of being an IT Manager... oh I mean the FUN AND EXCITING world of IT management. ;)

Seriously. congrats. I'm assuming since you landed the job you must of impressed the brass with educational background (management degree perhaps?) or at the very least you demonstrated good people skills in the interview.

Either one of those are good starters to have.

My first advice for your PERSONAL benefit is make your personality shine with your co-workers from day one, especially other managers and the top brass. Meaning - smile, be positive, introduce yourself as needed and participate in meetings, discussions, etc. at every opportunity you get.

You have a GREAT benefit most IT managers would love to have had (including myself) - you are at the beginning stages building a new IT department. Many of us inherit the problems of an old/existing IT department.

Making yourself likeable now will reap dividends in the future. Establish your rep now (just make sure its a good rep...lol), because like it or not IT departments often have LOVE/HATE relationships with all the other departments. (They love you when you get them a new system or help them finish their work, but they also won't think twice as using you as a scapegoat either. )

On the system end....

DOCUMENT DOCUMENT DOCUMENT....Have a document of all equipment, the entire LAN, etc.

SECURE SECURE SECURE .... after you document everything, make sure you IMMEDIATELY implement security...securing the network is one of the main benefits for a company to have an IT manager.

Test your equipment if installing all new gear and plan your network to meet the needs and expectations of the company....then EXCEED those expectations.

Good luck.

1. Learn to be effective.... doing the right things.

2. Learn to be efficient.... doing things right!

3. Maintain absolute integrity.

4. Know your stuff!

5. Declare your expectations.

6. Show uncommon commitment.

7. Expect positiveresults.

8. Take care of your people or customers.

9. Put duty before self.

10. Get out in front & lead.

11. Consolidate. Standardize. Automate. Negotiate. Delegate.

Now you must lead. Yes you must turn the key, change the gears, steer the wheel and handle the maintenance, however, if you never lead whats the use?

#1. If you do not have one alreay or have a bad one, then implement a helpdesk that also managesvia priorities and time and also tracks time and efficiency.

#2. Work on and Implement a knowledgde base to take the busy work away. So your staff can work on the top priorities.

3. Begin today looking at ways to improve your service level, your integrity and your customer relationships. Do not fish for them, teach them to fish and when that's not feasible be courteous, on-time and efficient.

4. Also begin to look at cost savings, yes its funny now, but think way outside the box.

5. Set goals for service, monitor that service and poll your customers. Feedback can make you good or, if you really listen and respond accordingly, it can make you GREAT!

Yes there is much more but hey we are all busy!
:-)

Let's roll

Congratulations. Like the previous email stated it is not going to be all that difficult starting from the ground floor. You should immediately gather information of total remote connectivity, destination and origin of this data connection. From there you may consider outsourcing this activity to a secure VPN facility provider. These says it has become more cost effective and less of a support nightmare to go this route.
This happens to my area of expertise and also why I am now in management.
Feel free to contact me off-line should you need any more info or even help with finding possible in-house employees!

Mix equal parts project management methodology with high quality character leadership

Systems Project Management { : How to Deliver Function and Value in Information Technology Projects by Jolyon E. Hallows (Hardcover - August 1997)

The 21 Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership Follow Them And People Will Follow You -- by John C. Maxwell; Hardcover

The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader: Becoming the Person that People Want to Follow -- by John C. Maxwell; Hardcover

1. Listen to your people. They have good ideas, not always but a lot of the time.

2. Policy is not always the best. Always ask, is there a better way to do this? Then change the policy.

3. Talk TO not AT your people.

4. Have an open door policy where anyone can discuss anything (within reason) without the fear of being fired.

The first thing any new manager should do is meet with people - their staff, their supervisor and their customers.

From the staff, find out who is happy, who is not, and why. This won't be easy andit will take more than just a meeting or two. Gothrough their previous performance reviews(but don't accept them whole), find out what projects they are working on, what they think the group should focus on.

From your boss, what is the outlook for the year - what expectations are there from the rest of the company, new company initiatives that IT will need to support etc. You can also lean on your boss for budget information - where are you - are there any constraints.

From your customers(and your boss and staff can probably point you to a few influence leaders) find out what they like and dont like about the services you provide, and what services they might need in the future.

Once you have gathered this information, you can set a few objectives, share them with your boss andstaff and work towards detailled planning to achieve them.

Good luck,

James

Ok, if you are a new Manager then I'm sure you have at least good Management talent, or at least some credentials that state that. You have on your side the metodolgy, resource-finding cappability, and maybe the know-how about managing people.
And,of course, if your department is IT I'm sure you know about computers, protocols, security, networking, and many other topics relatives to IT.
But, if you think you are building your career and you want to do your best, the LEADERSHIP is the topic that will make a REAL diference for you (giving you real achievemts and new horizons) and for your new employer (obtaining not only a manager but a vision maker who is able to take care of the business and project it from it's point of pressure).
I wish you success in your new position,
Jose P. Mir

Forgiveme if I have made some english-related horrors, but I am still learning the lenguage!

"IT'S LEADERSHIP THAT BREAKS THROUGH THE CYNICISM THAT MANY PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT THEIR JOBS AND HELPSTHEM FIND MEANING AND PURPOSE IN WHAT THEY DO. AND IT BREAKS THROUGH THE LIMITS IMPOSED BY OUR DOUBTS AND FEARS TO ACHIEVE MORE THAN WE BELIEVED POSSIBLE." - Harris Collingwood / Special Issue Editor, Harvard Business Review.

You have received much good advice, I'm sure and I am sorry not to have had time to read it all, so I'll just add a few thoughts of my own. To set the stage, I have an MS in Computer Systems Management and about 15 years IT management experience. I am now retired.

First, get a philosophy about the job - this is what defines you as a manager. What's most important, what is ethical, who are your resources, how far are you willing to go for success, where do you draw the line? Answer these questions to yourself (and yourself only) to understand you in the job.

Second understand your resources - your team (the most important resource), your clients or customers, time, money, sources of support and information.

While each of the above is a graduate course in and of itself at the graduate level, I think the best advice I can give (based on over 30 years management experience) is to take care of your people and they will take care of you. No matter how big or small the project, you can't do it alone and you don't know it all. Taking care of the team means leading them and getting obstacles out of their way. It doesn't mean letting them ride roughshod over you or anyone else.

Congratulations on the assignment and on seeking help.

I also feel it is critical that you have an administrative secretary who knows everything about the company and has all of the critical information you need to do a good job administratively. You know... following procedures.

Another good book, just to help relieve stress.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - by Steven Covey.