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A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

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Hello all. I would appreciate some feedback on a decision I am trying to make. I have an opportunity to take a leadership role, however it does not involve any direct reports or budgetary control. Would this be a help or a hinderance to my if my goal is to position myself for management at some point. The overall responsibilities of the role would be as follows:

1) Direct and mentor project teams on the use of the new Enterprise Architecture standards for software development

2) Provide mentorship and training on the creation of project artifacts

3) Create and maintain process governance and standards documentation

4) Be a Liason to the Business to help them understrand the new Enterprise Architecture

5) Negotiate with project teams to consolidate work efforts and utilize the common objects that will be created as a part of the new Enterprise Architecture.

I realize that in order to move into management, I will need the people management skills as well as the monetary control aspect. This position offers neither..however I could see some potential for future growth. Any thoughts on this? Any managers out there have any feedback on this?

Thanks!!!

Topic

Good steps

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

I took a very similar role and moved from there to management. My previous role had been in project management.

There is more to department management than managing your staff, it also includes working with your customers (internal or external), promoting standards, improving processes etc.

You will get some valuable experience out of the role, and you will be the envy of managers with staff at review time(I ws kidded about it alot until I got 30 staff).

James

You just might like it!

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

I’ve had most of the available roles throughout my career, and I have to say that direct management of staff and budgeting were not among my favorites. Like everyone else I wanted to become a manager because that was the definition of “success.” But it’s not for everybody.

It comes with a lot of headaches. You suggest that you don’t already have the people skills required to be a good manager. That’s a common problem. Don’t think you’ll automatically learn them by being thrown into the job, a “baptism of fire.” There used to be an intermediate position called “supervisor,” someone who did nothing but supervise all day. No budgets, not a lot of reports and meetings. Those people had the people skills and they taught them on to their subordinates. Now nobody is doing that. You go from being a developer to being a manager and you spend 90% of your time doing absolutely everything else EXCEPT managing your people, so where are THEY going to learn the skills to become the next generation of managers? A good many managers today are completely lacking in supervisorial skills. Especially in IT, which despite forty years of progress is still to some degree a haven for misfits.

It sounds like you’re going to be doing a lot of training. That’s my favorite part of the job. It’s interesting and it’s rewarding. If you have the talent for it, if you can put some material together in one week because they changed your schedule, if you can figure out how to get through to each individual student or mentoring subject so they actually learn the stuff, then it doesn’t really come with a lot of headaches.

I haven’t done any real “managing” in ten years and I’ll tell you, I don’t miss it a bit. The pay for staff work is pretty similar, there’s less stress, the hours are more regular, and sometimes people even appreciate what you’re doing.

Leadership & Management

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

are very different skills and talents. can’t see why it would be a hindrance unless you fail though. On the whole the role seems well thought out because to be successful at it you would have to get others to follow. If you don’t think you could do it without management authority then you probably aren’t suited to it, there again you may surprise yourself.

Take it if you feel a fit with the company’s current infrastructure!

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

Managing the teams itself is your key in your future to understanding direct reports. It’s not easy, trust me. Being able to see the Human Resources side from a distance is good, and you will definitely see the personality differences that you may or may not want in your future team as you grow your career. This job will probably be your stepping stone to a stronger leadership role in the future. Once you’ve completed your projects, your ability to work between Depts and project teams have exponentially added to your resume an ability to lead more than just a few direct reports, we’re talking sizeable Depts here!

With regards to budgets, consider your time constraints in your projects as your ‘working budget’, it’s just not explicitly monetary at first. When you dive into each one project, factor in the values of time and per person hourly contributions to the project as costs, this is certainly something that you can equate to managing, from a monetary point of view. (Hope that makes sense).

If you see the potential, that in itself is your next step forward. What’s the current management team like now (i.e. the ones you’ll be reporting to)? Have a discussion with them on your outlook into the company. Most important, do they share the same values as you (within the potential growth) and will they actually follow-through with those goals? And perhaps you can also ask them how their supervisors responded to their thoughts on their outlook as well (i.e. were they supported and embraced as well)?

Best Wishes!

Welcome to project management!

In reply to Take it if you feel a fit with the company’s current infrastructure!

The words for this opportunity (and it is a real opportunity) are “project management.” In fact its a enough of a science to have its own professional association, The Project Management Institute (see http://www.pmi.org).

There are two kinds of work: pushing paper (projects) and pushing people. In project management you have a tough, important task, and that is to negotiate for resources in your company – resources you don’t control – to accomplish something that will hopefully benefit everyone.

First question: who is sponsoring this project? If the project is sponsored by the management team, especially corporate officers or their lieutenants, you may have all the authority you need to get resources. Be very judicious in how you use those contacts – don’t wear out your welcome in the executive suite. Project management is tough, hard work. It requires enormous amounts of forsight, planning and the ability to explain goals, process, progress and problems SUCCINTLY. Don’t burden people with details; have it ready in case you are asked for it.

If you become a capable project manager, with both success AND failure (its unavoidable) under your belt, that’s when you can teach others. Then you have something to teach new, direct reports as both a leader and a manager.

Go for it.

Don’t Worry

In reply to Welcome to project management!

I’m in a similar situation myself and don’t miss the management of either people or budgets. I could do both if asked but find myself in a mentoring situation for all employees in the division including managers higher up the food chain than myself. Reminds me of story about Kennedy in his first campaign for Congress from Boston. Someone in the crowd yelled out “You ain’t ever worked a day in your life.” There was a brief hush and someone else yelled out, “Don’t worry Jack, you haven’t missed a thing.”

Good Luck

Current Infrastructure

In reply to Take it if you feel a fit with the company’s current infrastructure!

Thanks for the feedback. The current team is relatively new. There are a total of six people on this team. There are two managers that report directly to the CIO and I would report to one of these managers. The CIO currently is on board with what the team is trying to accomplish. In fact, the team is expected to grow to about 20 people over the next year and a half. The person that I interviewed with told me that there was great growth opportunity for someone like myself getting on board early. I really think the opportuntiy to have Cross Departmental exposure as you say will be a big key for my growth with this company.

It depends on your organizational culture

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

Hi,
This may be positioned to you as a ‘leadership’ role by your firm. However it can also be positioned as a ‘mentor/knowledge organizer’ role that may or maynot lead to a management role- a position with some power and authority over some people/budget.
So your filter should be the culture of your firm. Have similar roles like this previously resulted in moves to management. If so go get some coaching from those folks. If this is a new kind of thing perhaps your boss is trying to sell you this role by hinting at ‘management potential’ and ‘leadership’ potential.
Hope this helps your perspective.
Vartkes

People Skills

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

Anytime you have to mentor, direct, liason and/or negotiate you are calling upon people skills to do so. They may not be direct reports in the sense that you evaluate them but they are looking to you for leadership and decision making. It sounds like a good stepping stone to more responsibility and can serve you in other situations. I’d say go for it.

The more you know…

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

…the better manager you will be when that opportunity comes. My experience in IT is that two types of managers are appreciated: those that understand what their people are doing and can help them grow, and those that know how to manage up to let staff get their work done. So build the project skills and expertise with this opportunity. It should also lead to some good exposure to others in your company — essential to getting off to a good start as a manager.

However, don’t expect to be treated like a [people] manager. You may be working harder and have high expectations placed on you, but you won’t get the chance to direct people (subtly, perhaps). Instead, others will be telling you what to do.

Can you say “Special Projects?”

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

This is a loser waiting to happen. Internal consulting positions are great during explosive growth; the first to go when things need to be tightened. The only two measures that count are budget and headcount. The next stop will think that you were sidelined, not promoted, as the easy way out of a bad situation.
My advice is simple, count the levels between you and the CEO, total the budget and headcount that you control (including matrix assignments) and ask yourself if this new position is a step forward.

Agreed — Danger, Will Robinson!

In reply to Can you say “Special Projects?”

I think very few responders will discount the value of this position and many or most companies should have such a person in the role as you have described, BUT (and it’s a big one) it is seen as a siding (in railroad terminology), NOT the main-line. Sidings have their uses obviously or they would not exist. But the Fast Freight doesn’t take the sidings.

Computer specialists aren’t Fast Freight. In fact, most of them have no management skills whatsoever, a “special projects” assignment is actually a pretty good way for CEO to see if you have, or can develop, any kind of management skill, pizzazz, human relations and communications skills. IF you do, behold, off the siding you come onto the mainline and someone else becomes Special Projects coordinator.

Because of the huge gap in some companies between the CEO (pure business, may need a bit o’ help with a PDA), and the technology departments, the “go between” person can actually become one of the most valued persons in the entire enterprise. CEO’s you can hire off the street, likewise technology experts. “Bridge” persons that can work comfortably in boardrooms and server rooms are not so easy to find and they are also going to be middle-aged, which until recently was a deprecated age group.

Special Projects

In reply to Can you say “Special Projects?”

Believe me, the “special projects” thing was a big concern of mine as I evaluated this position. I’ve seen even the most well intentioned “special projects” go up in flames very quickly. I think the challenge for me will be to do well while the project is live, and gain any valuable skills to either move up in this company or elsewhere. Thanks for the feedback.

Haven’t you heard of Project Manager??

In reply to Special Projects

Grab the position if thats what you’ld like to get into. Take some courses on project management and enjoy the ride.

Install doorbell

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

Good questions, great goals, best wishes. I’d base a decision on my job options, family goals, and solid research into company in this order with these beginning thoughts:

* Research. If the annual report and at least 3 other reliable sources convince you the company will survive or grow, GREAT! Assure yourself in a conversation with at least one employee or manager without revealing intent. STILL THINKING? Next question.
* Family: If you are willing to relocate, a likely scenario for an exceptional manager since executives are convinced once an area functions well its leader should tackle another, MIGHT BE PERFECT! Next question.
* Options: Are your services in demand? Are there personal hindrances to advancement such as age, health, education? These don’t determine your value but cannot be overlooked. If you are in a position to take a risk, I’d consider the above and GO FOR IT!

Present your concerns tactfully to upper management along with conviction you can do the job with good support, get sponsorship and any possible commitment in writing even if it’s just a note. Then, don’t keep these problems in their faces or front of you but do your best, learning and growing. You write exceptionally well, and that clarity alone positions you above peers, perhaps also bosses.
Take the chance. Nothing is forever including what you’re doing now. We have no guarantees.
LEAP – Only after those considerations.

You’re on your way

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

Managing people indirectly counts as much as having a person reporting directly to you. In fact, often requires greater skill in terms of obtaining the level of support and dedication you require. Furthermore, it requires higher level skill as you will be interfacing with their direct managers as well. For the period of a project, although a dotted line responsibility, those people effectively report in to you. Believe me, from a people management perspective, you gain as much experience as you would otherwise. From a monetary perspective, whether you are directly or indirectly responsible for the budget, the number of people you deploy and the time you take to perform the task, has a monetary value to it. You need to be aware of the overall budget for the project and ensure that managing the resource and the time has a direct influence on the budget. Don’t forget that there’s a cost to the product as well that you will use for training eg. the books, the materials etc. That’s under your control. There’s your budget management experience. Write again after a year and tell me whether I was wrong!! Best wishes.

True, but…

In reply to You’re on your way

That’s a valid point, however later when you need to make your next move, you’ll really need to focus on and sell this idea in the best possible light. And hope the next interviewer sees it that way. But if you see a longterm future at your company, it could be a good move for you.

As an IT Manager (and last remaining tech) in a much downsized company, I’m finding it difficult to find a similar management position when I must admit that it’s been a few years since I’ve managed anyone, and the CFO controls every penny of tech spending. When I apply for a straight sys admin job, I get the feedback that I’m a manager and all they really need is a network guy- even though that’s all I am now, with a glorified title.

Approach

In reply to True, but…

So what approach do you take when confronted with that type of situation?

one of those heh?

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

So you’re gonne be one of those people that stick their nose in every project a dpt does 🙂 as I see it: you’ll learn a lot, meet a lot of people and will have interesting things to tell upper mgt because you get a helicopter view. Otoh, it won’t be a 9-5 job, more a 27/7. If you see it as a step towards mgmt? that depends on you. i’m in the same situation but that didn’t stop mgmt here from dropping someone above me at gen.mgmt level because i’m doing my job too good and they like me to keep on doing this. yes i love this work , the long hours, talking to all kinds of people,… and probably would have hated the endless meetings at higher level. but you know, that was a tough call and i’m looking at other jobs now. hard work doesn’t automatically lead to a better position. (haven’t they heard of the peter principle? damn!)

Good Point

In reply to one of those heh?

You bring up good points. I am counting on my assertiveness to learn the skills that I will need to leverage a move up the career ladder, either with this company or elsewhere. The plus side of things, is that this is a contract position, so if I really don’t like it…I can go elsewhere!

RB, u r on the right track

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

Hi,

I believe you are already on the right track, by recognizing that you are presented with an opportunity to develop much needed (for vertical momentum, that is) people skills. The real challenge of leadership is getting people to see things your way, and encouraging them to behave in a certain manner, without having the ‘dictatorial’ powers of supervisor over them.

In the end, that is true leadership, as opposed to being a boss. They all become your reports, if you handle matters righht, and this can look snazzy on your cv. You are lucky, please grab your chance!

Ralph
Head, Systems Development and e-Banking, Process and Quality Management,
FSB International, Lagos, Nigeria

I accepted the position!

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

Hi folks. Thanks so much for all of your feedback! I have decided to accept the position. I start in two weeks. I am really looking forward to the opportunity, and will take everyone’s advice and feedback wtih me as I move into this new venture. Thanks again!

Responsibility without authority is a recipe for failure

In reply to I accepted the position!

Good luck. No reflection on you, but you’ll need it.

no reports does not equal no authority

In reply to Responsibility without authority is a recipe for failure

I held a position where I was a one man project office. I had no direct reports, but I had the authority to stop any project, probe project plans, challenge assumptions etc. You don’t have to have reports to have power.

James

Not necessarily

In reply to Responsibility without authority is a recipe for failure

As several other posts have indicated, this job sounds like project management. This can be a stepping stone into management — that’s how I obtained my current position as an IT Manager.

Project management will help you develop people skills as you work with employees from different areas to accomplish your tasks. They won’t be your direct reports, but you nevertheless will be “managing” their time on the project. Also, although you may not have a “budget” per se, you will be managing money, either through purchases for the project, or employees’ time.

Start taking some project management and supervisory/management classes, and if you don’t have a degree start taking classes towards one. I have seen where this is a big help for those who want to get into management positions. It helps you develop the “soft skills” that a manager needs.

Adv ice

In reply to Responsibility without authority is a recipe for failure

This sounds a lot like several different positions I’ve held as a ‘special projects’ manager or SME. As project manager you’re responsible for results but you lack the critical authority to manage people and budget. As SME you’re the guru, but again you have no real authority. In either case it’s potentially very rewarding, challenging, and fraught with risk.
Reward: You may get a chance to write a lot of the rules, within constaints set by management, to learn new things, and to accomplish something worthwhile. Success means recognition that you’re ready for greater management responsibility.
Challenge: Your authority is based on respect from your dotted-line reports and their managers. Expect more than token cooperation only if they recognize you as an expert who is strongly supported by senior management. And even then, don’t assume they’ll do what you need when you need it. The book “Getting Things Done When You Are Not In Charge” by Geoffrey M. Bellman may help.
Risk: In addition to the challenge risks never forget that as business needs change, what you’re doing may suddenly become non-strategic and as a ‘lone wolf’ you may be particularly expendable.
Pay attention to how your work in this position can enhance your future employability, not just your value to your current employer.

Go for it!

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

Obviously management thinks enough of you to offer you this position. As other replies have noted, just because there are no direct reports, this position will be more difficult because you will have to achieve goals and deliver results with only your personal power as a motivator – a much more difficult way to manage. It will be great experience and an opportunity you may not get again. Don’t pass it up and wish you hadn’t.

Blame game !

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

Without people and monetary responsibilities you can’t effectively manage.

you’re getting set up to take a fall, a big fall,
the postition sounds like a scape goat, a patsy, someone to blame and take the fall when something goes wrong.

Since you will be a “manager” that’s you.

The thing to ask yourself, is “Who has final say over points 1-4?” you? or are you going to need your managers approval before you implement any new projects, processes, or rules.

run away, far far away.

If you want to manage, take some management night classes in the evenings and get a real Manager’s job.

YES!

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

Having had this type of role before, I can say that yes, it is a spring board to management. Of course, some of that depends on what type of management you have at your company, but you have to assume that the position was created for a reason.

Your statement that this position does not offer people skills because you don’t have direct reports is a bit distressing though. It shows that you are still thinking like a techie and not like a human. There is nothing in your job description that is overly technical. You are teaching people how to become useful business people, people who can understand user needs, not just the latest whiz bang solution that doesn’t have a problem.

Take the job, but crawl out of your shell if you want it to be a management training tool.

Take it

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

Assuming you have not had any previous management experience and you are happy with the company overall, you should take this role. A position that gives you additional responsibility and broader visibility throughout the company is an excellent stepping stone to a management position. This will allow you to shine in front of a wider audience and garner support from the higher-ups across the organization, as well as give you an opportunity to gain the respect of those that you may wind up managing later.

However, keep notes on your accomplishments – without budgetary or staff responsibilities, you will need a list of accomplishments on your resume that show that this was truely a “leadership position”, if things don’t work out for you in this company.

Close …

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

The advantages: visibility in a leadership role. But you’re right that this is not a management position and that’s what you ultimately want.

What is the job title? Many jobs have the title or description of ‘manager’ tacked on: here’s how to tell. How many reports and what is your budget? If the answer to either is zero, look out.

How to parlay this into a management position: primarily by garnering references and contacts while building your credibility as an authoritative figure. The trick is to make a good impression without becoming indispensible in the long term – then you’re not promotable, merely employed.

Tech Republic has an article for download on what to do with this and your other stints on your resume: http://techrepublic.com.com/5139-10881-5761395.html

Leadership is all about people

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

The success of yourself in your new role will be all about how well you communicate with, work with, and can build consensus with the other people affected by the role. I make the assumption that your technical skills are solid or you would not be considered for the role.

Leadership is about having a vision and communicating well enough that others not only share the vision but also will help you achieve the vision. As you have described it, your new role is more about working with people than it is about technology if you are to be successful in it.

Management is similar it terms of having to articulate and build consensus around a shared direction and goals. The role you have been offered would be a natural stepping-stone to a management position in terms of the people skills you will need to develop to be successful in it.

I see one huge caution for you in your comments. If you think that there is no working with people component in this ?Leadership Role? you are been offered then you don?t have a clue what it will take to be successful in the role. I strongly suggest that you find a manager in your company who you can discuss my comments with and act as your mentor if you are going to take on this challenge. However, on the positive side the role will give you the opportunity to develop the people skills you will need to have recognized in order to advance into management later in your career and be successful at it.

In closing, one more time, leadership is about people and your ability to communicate with them.

Take it for the experience

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

One of the hardest parts of management is people management. Believe me you can live without it. Managing people is like looking after big children.
Your role sounds great, a sort of programme office role. You can always move to a different role that involves people management later, once you have built up other management skills.

Reply To: A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

There is a golden rule that I have gotten to learn. If it says direct and plan, it is good. If it says manage and maintain and refers to technology, it is a techie position.

I move toward directing and planning versus managing and maintaining in a heartbeat.

Power of influence…

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

I have been in a similar role, albeit, well positioned for well over a year now. Prior to that, I had a staff and a budget. One thing I have come to realize is that the critical ability to influence is not really tested until you land in the role of individual contributor. I would embrace the opportunity and look at the opportunities it will open for you. Have fun with it!

Leadership is leadership

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

RB-
The only reason this wouldn’t help you achieve your goals sooner is if there is a management position available now that you qualify for. When I have hired managers in the past, I want someone to be determined, coachable and have demonstrated similar skills in the past. This position sounds like on opportunity to demonstrate project and relationship management, as well as to set goals for the people you influence and help them achieve those (even if they are not your direct reports). The trick is to make the most out of this opportunity, really make the experience count. Bone up on coaching successful teams, performance and development, personality types and their motivators. This will help you be successful and also give you speaking points as to how you used “your management skills” to be more successful in this position. That is quality material for future interviews.
Mike

You’re in the “sweet spot”

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

RB_ITProfessional,

From my perspective you appear to be in-line to land an optimal postion in an IT organization.

I just recently stepped down from an IT Diretor position at a computer hardware manufacturing company. It was a thankless job. However, while in that position, the roles that I most enjoyed are those 5 roles that you outlined.

The roles that I I liked least are those that you will be isolated from in your “Staff” position. Things such as budget preparations, preparing and delivering performance reviews, departmental adminstration and senior management interference have a tendency to “get in the way” of IT reponsibilities.

As for people skills, those are mostly acquired through the use of “common sense” and being a genuine person yourself. All the things that motrivate and inspire you are the same things that motivate and inspire others. All the things that frustrate and hinder you will do the same to others. I suspect that if you’re a good people person then you needn’t worry much about acquiring people management skills.

My recommendation? Take the job. It will be a major stepping stone to a future in management! If the Business created this position then you are one lucky IT guy as they obviously “want” to move in the right technical direction.

Regards,
sersoft

A Dream Job for Some

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

1)You have a great opportunity to succeed in a position like this?bridging and bringing different business cultures together and help them deliver business solutions. WOW, how cool!

2)You will have all the people skills/management you?d ever require. You state mentoring as one of the primary roles. That is exactly what a good manager?s primary responsibility is; to mentor.

3)Being a bridge between disparate teams to bring a single technology into play will have you being involved in budgets. I don?t see any other way around it. Plus as this liaison, you are going to have to maintain some budgetary requirements and work with the fiscal officer.

Though I agree in ways you are not directly managing people and budgets, this may be a blessing?you ARE doing it through your described job description. This being true, you need to realize that you will gain the necessary skills you desire and get that next position. Remember, no promotion comes without being able to take your skills and summarize them into tangibles, in this case, management of individuals and budgets. Another way to look at it is the other managers in your organization will not have the planning, negotiation and team building skills you do; you are changing corporate culture?not just a business unit or division?s culture.

been there, done that, seen others in it.

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

Sounds like the organization wants to create Subject Matter Experts (SMEs and pronounced Smees) and you are (already) such a creature. Congrats! But take a look at the volatility of the organization as well. If the industry is subject to merger’s and acquisitions (M&As), you may find someone latter on taking over who either don’t beleive in this style. As such, their existing managers may already be functioning as SME’s to their own organizations, in which case you may be deemed expendable, forcing you to go on the hunt for place to contribute (before the axe falls).
Even if that doesn’t happen, find out what the manager plans on doing to ensure that if given a project you will be given the authority to operate and have your decisions count (matrixed organized project management). And, finally, as an SME, you need management support to market and even force the standing organizations respect for your “advice”, lest you become the “voice crying in the wilderness”, and not the “old man of the mountain.”

Go for it

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

Yes, it sounds like a position of “responsibility without authority”, but it sounds more like a step forward. Mastering planning and task coordination is a crucial step towards management. You have already outlined a plan. The real question may be “is this what you want?”.

Take the position, the direct reports will come

In reply to A leadership role without direct reports. Help or Hinderance?

I had a similar start to my management career. Six years ago I was hired as an “I.T. Manager” with nothing to manage but hardware and software. As the company started to grow, so did the need for I.T. staff. I interviewed and hired exactly who I wanted on my staff. Today, six years later, I have six direct reports and lots of management experience, including the HR part that has to do with hiring, employee reviews, promoting and firing. My advice is to take the position, and the staff will follow.

[Author]

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