Ask HN: How to Handle a New Manager?
I've been working at my current company for a little under a year, and in a few weeks my team is getting a new manager. This is my first job and I've never experienced a manager transition, so I wanted to know if there are any things I should do, not do, or just be aware of. What have some of your experiences with manager transitions been like, and what did you do about the transitions that looking back, made your path better or worse at those companies?
11 comments
It can be a blessing or a curse, I've found that my job satisfaction is very much dependent on my manager more than the company I'm at. Looking back, I'd tell my past self to spend more time understanding the psychology of the new manager and how to operate and thrive under those constraints.
In one situation, there was a personality issue, and half the team left within three months. Personality issues are hard to correct, I knew the writing was on the wall and should have been more aggressive in switching out.
In one situation, there was a personality issue, and half the team left within three months. Personality issues are hard to correct, I knew the writing was on the wall and should have been more aggressive in switching out.
This is true.
The relationship between a manager and his or her direct reports is often cited as the single biggest factor in determining job satisfaction. Try to make the relationship a good one, and hope that they do their part too.
With the benefit of hindsight in similar situations, I would suggest trying not to jump in too heavily on things (like taking sides in a technical debate, volunteering for specific projects, etc) until you understand your new manager's objectives and how they evaluate performance.
The corporate culture, and the reason why the new manager was brought in, both matter. If it's just because the old one moved on and a new one was hired, and there's a strong corporate culture, things will likely continue on pretty normally for you as a junior report. If they were brought on for another reason or it's a smaller company, you could be in for some dramatic changes.
In any case, read up on how to "manage up". Here's a few Harvard Business Review articles that should help, and then you can go from there:
https://hbr.org/2015/01/what-everyone-should-know-about-mana...
https://hbr.org/2014/12/how-to-handle-your-first-meeting-wit...
You should be able to tell within a few months how things are going - if you aren't happy or aren't getting positive feedback from the new manager, start job hunting. At 1-2 years into your first job you are likely at a good point to start looking for a new position with a nice bump in salary anyway.
With the benefit of hindsight in similar situations, I would suggest trying not to jump in too heavily on things (like taking sides in a technical debate, volunteering for specific projects, etc) until you understand your new manager's objectives and how they evaluate performance.
The corporate culture, and the reason why the new manager was brought in, both matter. If it's just because the old one moved on and a new one was hired, and there's a strong corporate culture, things will likely continue on pretty normally for you as a junior report. If they were brought on for another reason or it's a smaller company, you could be in for some dramatic changes.
In any case, read up on how to "manage up". Here's a few Harvard Business Review articles that should help, and then you can go from there:
https://hbr.org/2015/01/what-everyone-should-know-about-mana...
https://hbr.org/2014/12/how-to-handle-your-first-meeting-wit...
You should be able to tell within a few months how things are going - if you aren't happy or aren't getting positive feedback from the new manager, start job hunting. At 1-2 years into your first job you are likely at a good point to start looking for a new position with a nice bump in salary anyway.
I've had 10 or so manager changes in my 8 years. They are all a little different. Most are not a big change if your company has policies about performance management and they follow them (this could be biased since the time per manager for 10 manager in 8 years is small). Most big companies have a lot of policies, which can make the transition smooth by maintaining consistently.
Another point is to rely on your department head. Usually they hire people similar to themselves or to the people they have previously hired. So the incoming manager should be somewhat similar to the outgoing one unless the department head is looking to make a big change. If you like your department head and old manager then the new one shouldn't be terrible.
Your progression will probably slower if there are a lot of manager transitions in your career. The manager doesn't get to mold you to their image of what defines the talent level for the next role. If they don't have a big hand in your professional development they might be less inclined to feel like you deserve the promotion. (After 8 years I'm only a midlevel dev. Maybe I just suck though)
All that said, my experience has been that changes are usually negative. There are a lot of managers out there and very few of them truly have your best interest in mind and have the pull to influence the situation for your benefit. The chances of you getting one of these good ones might be 1 in 5.
Another point is to rely on your department head. Usually they hire people similar to themselves or to the people they have previously hired. So the incoming manager should be somewhat similar to the outgoing one unless the department head is looking to make a big change. If you like your department head and old manager then the new one shouldn't be terrible.
Your progression will probably slower if there are a lot of manager transitions in your career. The manager doesn't get to mold you to their image of what defines the talent level for the next role. If they don't have a big hand in your professional development they might be less inclined to feel like you deserve the promotion. (After 8 years I'm only a midlevel dev. Maybe I just suck though)
All that said, my experience has been that changes are usually negative. There are a lot of managers out there and very few of them truly have your best interest in mind and have the pull to influence the situation for your benefit. The chances of you getting one of these good ones might be 1 in 5.
I found myself in the same situation recently. I've worked for the same company in the last four years, and always had the same manager. Now that we were finally working properly as a unit (we started as a very small team and grew more recently as well), due to a change of CTO, we were forced a new manager (because he wanted someone he knows better, i.e., control better). I did my best to look on the bright side of it for the last 4 months, but now I've reached my tipping point, I'm already in interviews for other companies.
Hope you have better luck than me.
Hope you have better luck than me.
I've been on both sides and the best thing to do is to try to make it a good relationship with good communication. Do this finding out how they like to be communicated to (I had a boss that would NEVER read email, but would respond instantly in Slack). Also, be flexible and open to change. Best of luck. I hope it's an easy transition for everyone.
Make sure they like you. Try to like them.
Be aware of most of the hard work you did in the past is going to be worth almost nothing in terms of getting a promotion, unless you have other employees telling tales of how you saved the day. It's almost like moving to a new team: a fresh start. If you were having performance issues, now is the time to start producing and showing how awesome you are. If you worked hard, now is the time to keep doing it because what you did may not count since it was not seen by manager.
Be aware of most of the hard work you did in the past is going to be worth almost nothing in terms of getting a promotion, unless you have other employees telling tales of how you saved the day. It's almost like moving to a new team: a fresh start. If you were having performance issues, now is the time to start producing and showing how awesome you are. If you worked hard, now is the time to keep doing it because what you did may not count since it was not seen by manager.
I've had great managers, horrible ones, and some in between. Their leadership skills did matter, but nowhere near as much as how open our communication was. My best jobs were the ones where we talked. A lot. So talk to them. It will improve your job in almost all cases.
Start looking for a new job. You've got maybe 3-6 months. Less if they brought the person in as a hatchetman/woman.
Imagine you are big name act like Taylor Swift. You would not let some outside rando choose a manager for you, would you? When a manager chooses a manager for you they don't do it for your benefit.
Imagine you are big name act like Taylor Swift. You would not let some outside rando choose a manager for you, would you? When a manager chooses a manager for you they don't do it for your benefit.
OP hasn't said anything about the cause of the manager transition. For all we know, it could be just that their old manager left for a better opportunity, and they back-filled the role.
My advice - help the manager as much as possible while you evaluate them. It'll probably be fine, and you'll learn to work with them -- they may even make the team better. If not, start looking.
My advice - help the manager as much as possible while you evaluate them. It'll probably be fine, and you'll learn to work with them -- they may even make the team better. If not, start looking.
lol wat