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Managing a difficult person.

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I’ve been working with a person for approx two years now. I’ve been involved mostly on the network side while he is responsible for telecommunication. We both had the same manager. Recently I was involved with a project pertaining to both networking& telecommunication. I did my best to get to know as much as possible about telecommunication as possible in the short time the project was running. The manager has resigned & I was appointed to head the communication department as well as a small part of the networking side. My problem is that the person working with communication will most certainly take exception to this. I admit that there is a lot for me to learn about telecommunication & the technology, but this is surely an oppertunity Icannot pass.
My question is, how should I approach this person? We get along well & could be regarded as friends. He has not been informed about this decision yet. I know that he have high hopes of getting the position (especially with regards to his communication knowledge).

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Managing a difficult person.

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very carefully, with lots of prayer and much kindness

Managing a difficult person.

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Managing a difficult person.

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Your position in this should not change, your still the same person, remember the ability to lead or be a leader does not depend on knowing ALL the answers, but knowing where to get them, and this friend would be a great asset to your team…

Managing a difficult person.

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Managing a difficult person.

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Until an official announcement is made, don’t do anything. Once the announcement is made, sit down with this person and tell him you think highly of his telecommunications skills and will need to rely on him heavily in that area. Try to give him an accurate understanding how he will fit in to the organization with you as manager.

Do not make any references to his desire for the same job; that would seem too much like rubbing it in.

You have no control how anyone else will react to the announcement. What you can do, though, is define how you manage the organization. Start out by honestly laying all of your cards on the table and most people will accept you in your new position and go forward from there.

Managing a difficult person.

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Managing a difficult person.

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You don’t approach the person, you approach the objective. Approaching the person could be considered a personal attack and what you want to attack is the objective.

Make a list of assumptions that defines the objective in specific terms. Those situations that you will not know the answers to are in his or someone else’s court. This is because his cooperation will be required for those efforts that he is responsible for*. What you are doing here is defining your responsibility for the objective. Put him on the burner.

Develop a complete plan for the objective and include a list of resources (money, people and equipment) needed with a time line (schedule) of accomplishing the objective. Be sure to define the objective succinctly and get the user (the person/department) who is the sponsor.

Call a meeting and present your plan. Make sure your new boss is on board and supports you.
The key is for your boss to buy into the plan before you make your presentation. This entire effort will probably take a month and then another week to present to the user and interested folks.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help where you need it (don’t assign for time or resources where you haven’t got the approvalbuy in up front unless you are confident putting someone on the burner will provide agreement). This usually works well when both parties get something they want.

Provide status as you propose in the initial proposal and report problems immediately with a back up plan.

*Take as much turf as you think you need to get the job done. This is defined in terms of responsibility (the position description to accomplish the objective).

Managing a difficult person.

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Don’t break the news yourself, but as soon as the word is out officially, I would sit down with your friend and find out how he feels about it.

Don’t try and explain it. Don’t try and justify yourself. You’ll only come across as lame or defensive, which is not the right way to move ahead.

Managing a difficult person.

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Managing a difficult person.

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Congratulations on your promotion.

I agree with waiting until an official announcement has been made. One thing you will have to deal with, is the fact that from one day to the next you are no longer equals. Having been in a similar position myself, I can tell you what worked best for me, which was to continue work as normal, to show that I wouldn’t be asking things that I wouldn’t/couldn’t do. Once that was established, I could move on to do more of the managing part. I know there will be alot of extra activities being a manager, but don’t let the managing take over any other jobs you should be doing. Only by showing your former colleague(s)/equal(s) that you are capable and willing to do anything you might require of them will you start to earn the respect needed, and be better able to manage them, rather than be regarded as a former colleague who happened to fall UP the career ladder.

Managing a difficult person.

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All the previous answers have merit. So I would like to approach the question from the other side of the coin. I was the first IT supervisor my company every had then we grew to four supervisors. A new CFO decided we didn’t need any supervisors thena few months later again changed his mind and decided the department needed a manager. I didn’t get get the position instead one of the people I hired when I was the supervisor did. Needless to say I was very disappointed but I looked around and decided the company was still a great company to work for. So I swallowed my pride and requested a meeting with my new boss. I told him that I really wanted the postion but since I didn’t get it I would do what ever was needed to help him be sucessful and make the department one of the best IT departments in south eastern Michigan. I guess the point is that not all the adjusting is done on your side Kobus.
If yoour friend is really a team player he will help you in any way he can.
P.S. Three years later I sadly left to take a position as Network Services Manager at another company but, I still have contact with my ex co-workers. Four of which are now managers at different companies, I hired good people!!

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Managing a difficult person.

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I understand your position and had been in a similar situation many years ago with an heir apparent to a role that I was moved into.

This will be a tough time for you.

Whether you sit down with the guy or not you are shouldering some of the weird stuff that comes with management.

One of the things to think about is that feeling of not having the level of expertise the other guy has. As a manager you should be able to understand the technology on a high level and how it will be appllied but not necessarily the detail. Your goal should be to get this guy on your side and work towards goals, be they personal ( for him ) or prefgerably business ones, where you both can benefit.

In my experience people who are committed technically would prefer to be rewarded in terms of respect and pay rather than position.If you are uncomfortable with the position piece then speak to the person who promoted you. If not then you have an opportunity to enrich several peoples work experience.
Chris

Managing a difficult person.

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Managing a difficult person.

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Kobus: If you work with this guy he should be happy for you.

If your company put you in a position where they know your knowledge is lacking ask them to provide training. My experience is that if there is a position to fill, and they feel you arethe one to fill it they will gladly pay to give you the extra training.

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