It was a terrible experience that I will never try again. To be fair, though, I only gave it a few months ... but it was the longest few months I've lived.
I was asked to be a manager because the organization had a need, and I figured I'd try it. I was always curious about management. I went in to it hoping I could get a team together and really work through the backlog.
Instead, I went from having technical autonomy to managerial non-autonomy. I was expected to do things exactly the way my peers wanted, without being told what that was ahead of time. I tried to hire people I thought would work out but was overridden (or worse, told after the candidate declined that they were glad!) I would be asked to schedule meetings about some topics they wanted to talk about (and that I didn't really care about) and then, at the start of the meetings, I would be met with blank stares -- it turned out I was expected to lead the meeting.
I have no intention of ever trying again. It's no exaggeration to say I felt like I'd suffered years of stress in a few months. Thankfully they let me go back to an IC role.
My advice: if you get a whiff of dysfunction, run. The stress isn't worth it. Your first management experience should be positive and should come with support from above.
I was asked to be a manager because the organization had a need, and I figured I'd try it. I was always curious about management. I went in to it hoping I could get a team together and really work through the backlog.
Instead, I went from having technical autonomy to managerial non-autonomy. I was expected to do things exactly the way my peers wanted, without being told what that was ahead of time. I tried to hire people I thought would work out but was overridden (or worse, told after the candidate declined that they were glad!) I would be asked to schedule meetings about some topics they wanted to talk about (and that I didn't really care about) and then, at the start of the meetings, I would be met with blank stares -- it turned out I was expected to lead the meeting.
I have no intention of ever trying again. It's no exaggeration to say I felt like I'd suffered years of stress in a few months. Thankfully they let me go back to an IC role.
My advice: if you get a whiff of dysfunction, run. The stress isn't worth it. Your first management experience should be positive and should come with support from above.