First time manager - got book recommendations or tips?

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First time manager - got book recommendations or tips?

Rekonn

SSChasing Mays

Points: 619
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June 5, 2010 at 4:33 pm

#236084

I have been working at a company for 3 years, and have just been promoted from senior analyst to manager. This is the first time I'll be managing anyone, and it will be for a team of 5 analysts / database developers. Anyone have a book recommendation, or tips for a brand new manager?

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Ron McCullough SSC Guru Points: 63877 More actions · Answer 1

The one credo I have followed is:

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto to you"

Congratulate them in public, and privately for a job well done.

If you must admonish an individual do it privately.

If your group is admonished from above, remember it is your failure, do NOT attempt to pass it off to your superiors as the groups failure, for you are to blame.

If your group is congratulated on a job well done by your supervisors, of course pass it along to all members of the group.

If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.

Ron

Please help us, help you -before posting a question please read[/url]
Before posting a performance problem please read[/url]

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004412 More actions · Answer 2

Remember that the most successful managers are well informed and loyal leaders that set the example and are more like coaches than managers. Remember, also, that if you want something real bad, you'll normally get it that way. 😉

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

Rekonn SSChasing Mays Points: 619 More actions · Answer 3

Thanks bitbucket, those are some valuable things to keep in mind.

Jeff, I agree. I was already serving a resource to others, and I enjoy that part of my job. It's just going to be tougher to find the time to do so now.

jcrawf02 SSC-Insane Points: 24198 More actions · Answer 4

I forget where I saw it, but someone said that you can either be the best worker or the best manager, but not both. Realize that your job is now to make their lives easier, and fight for the tools and processes that will help your team get their work done smoother. Involve them in decisions if possible, don't act like you know best every time, although the ultimate decision is yours.

Make sure that the job descriptions fit the roles, and that the goals for the individuals flow into the goals for the department. I like Chuck Coonradt's work, www.gameofwork.com

And an excellent article:http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9137708/Opinion_The_unspoken_truth_about_managing_geeks?taxonomyId=14&pageNumber=1

Just keep learning, and realize you need help to get things done right, so ask people you trust in management positions. There are lots of folks here who would be glad to discuss also, I'm sure.

By the way, Andy Leonard has a series of posts about the Software Business, but they're about managing and working within a team, worth a look. Here's one of the latest ones, not sure if there are more, I need to get caught up on his blog. This one has links at the top to each previous post: http://sqlblog.com/blogs/andy_leonard/archive/2010/05/11/one-time-boosts.aspx

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How best to post your question[/url]
How to post performance problems[/url]
Tally Table:What it is and how it replaces a loop[/url]

"stewsterl 80804 (10/16/2009)I guess when you stop and try to understand the solution provided you not only learn, but save yourself some headaches when you need to make any slight changes."

Nice Marmot SSCrazy Points: 2278 More actions · Answer 5

Hi,

'The Mythical Man-Month' and 'Peopleware' are both classics about software development and developers. I also liked 'Managing Software Maniacs', though this price is WTF. (I was a developer then development team leader, before jumping into the phonebox and emerging as a DBA.)

There isn't really an awful lot of theory behind general management a.k.a. 'leadership':rolleyes:. Most introductory books will have much the same material, so you could browse at your local store and pick one you like. HTH