An Unexpected Turn at Management

I have not been nearly as successful at integrating blogging and podcasting back into my life as I wanted after my unreal, fantasy assignment in China ended at the end of October 2007. After the holidays and after some procrastination on my part, I was hit with a reorganization at work. Suddenly I was asked to be a first line manager.

For some people this would have been an exciting event and cause for celebration. But for me it was cause for pause. In some ways I had made a career out of not becoming a manager, a pure sales person, or a project manager. I had managed to advance to a pretty high level on mostly my technical merits, successful projects, and some happy clients who kept signing up for more services based on that success. I was comfortable in a career path that would hopefully get me at least one more promotion some day (soon I hope) to what IBM calls a "Distinguished Engineer." I was to be a mentor but not a real manager.

Now I was asked to officially take over the care and feeding of 14 specialists and architects. Something inside told me that I should say "yes" and give it my best shot. I still want to be a Distinguished Engineer but I think now is the time to grow some other skills which may prove valuable later. In the past, when something unexpected happened in my career it usually turned out to be for the best after all. Visit my other blog if you're curious about my outlook on such things.

Copyright © 2008 by Philip Hartman - All Rights Reserved

The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies, or opinions.