We kicked off a new management program last week. With every class, I have a new manager, recently promoted, on the cusp of a brand new role.
“What’s the biggest difference? What will change for me? What do I have to learn?” The questions reveal the chasm, a chasm that requires a journey full of twists, turns and decisions to be made.
“The biggest difference,” I begin, “is time span. As a manager, you will begin to think further into the future.
“As a team leader of a crew, you might think about what needs to be produced this week. As a new supervisor, you also have to think about what the schedule looks like for two weeks. The big project three weeks from now will require more prep and staging time.
“As a new manager, you have to think about your system that captures forecast data and translates that data into materials, people, equipment and timelines.
“Becoming a manager, at any level, requires you to think further into the future, using your own discretionary judgment.” -TF
The question(s) are: How? Given your garden-variety project do you figure out “lead time” for the group? Example: team has to prepare documents for an audit in two weeks, we have an existing pool of docs to update.
You’ve discussed this in the past, however your thoughts would be appreciated.