Opportunity?
The owner of the company I work for asked me yesterday if I would consider being the team lead of our small 4 person (including me) team. I know we need it. Desperately.
Since our former team manager moved to a different consulting team almost a year ago, the owner was supposed to be our manager. All he's really done is held one or two short meetings. He knows that and said he hasn't done a very good job of it. I would have to go in two days a week instead of one. I would get to participate in some of the business planning, strategy, and sales meetings. I say get because I'm actually interested in the business side of things. I actually feel a little excited when I think about that part.
Our owner is a very successful IT business person, and our CEO is an amazing all round business guy. The CEO doesn't just manage us, he has other business that he's involved in that are also successful. Both of these guys seem to have been able to become financially successful/independent without negatively impacting their families. Also, they both have interests outside of work that they've been able to pursue. What I'm saying really is that I think I could learn a lot by working more closely with them. Not just about business, but also about how to manage a healthy work/life balance.
The downside is that the guy who did this before me HATED it. He felt like he had a lot of responsibility with no power to get any thing done. I asked about that and my boss said that our old manager misunderstood what his role was. He called himself a manager but was really a Team Lead. So that's part of my concern. There is no real job description. I don't really know what I'd be saying Yes or No to.
He said no matter what I decide he's really happy with my performance. If I try it and don't like it, things can go back to exactly the way they are now. There doesn't seem to be a huge amount of risk.
I think I may ask for a more concrete description of the job's responsibilities, and what kinds of resources I'll have to gets those things done. It seems like a Team Lead mostly tries to keep everyone motivated, make sure they are up to speed with what's going on with the company, assist with the coordination of resources (people) for upcoming projects and contracts, and communicate any risks to project deadlines or customer relationships to the team's Manager.
I do dream of someday having a business of my own. One reason I've never really pursued that is that I've never been a manager of any kind. It might be a good way to tell if I am boss material.
I'm leaning toward Yes, but I need more information. I know this will make Lance uncomfortable. He knows the how unhappy the guy before me was, and he will worry that I'll become unhappy too. But if I can go back to the same deal I have now, it's hard not to consider it.
Edit ~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two more things: 1) it would be salary + bonus instead of just hourly like I am now. I would only get the bonus if I bill more than 40 hours, so there is a chance I could work overtime on internal stuff and not get extra $$. 2) I would not be able to limit my hours to 30/week the way I can now.
Ok 3 things, I'm pretty sure this would mean a pretty good improvement in my base salary and bill rate.
Since our former team manager moved to a different consulting team almost a year ago, the owner was supposed to be our manager. All he's really done is held one or two short meetings. He knows that and said he hasn't done a very good job of it. I would have to go in two days a week instead of one. I would get to participate in some of the business planning, strategy, and sales meetings. I say get because I'm actually interested in the business side of things. I actually feel a little excited when I think about that part.
Our owner is a very successful IT business person, and our CEO is an amazing all round business guy. The CEO doesn't just manage us, he has other business that he's involved in that are also successful. Both of these guys seem to have been able to become financially successful/independent without negatively impacting their families. Also, they both have interests outside of work that they've been able to pursue. What I'm saying really is that I think I could learn a lot by working more closely with them. Not just about business, but also about how to manage a healthy work/life balance.
The downside is that the guy who did this before me HATED it. He felt like he had a lot of responsibility with no power to get any thing done. I asked about that and my boss said that our old manager misunderstood what his role was. He called himself a manager but was really a Team Lead. So that's part of my concern. There is no real job description. I don't really know what I'd be saying Yes or No to.
He said no matter what I decide he's really happy with my performance. If I try it and don't like it, things can go back to exactly the way they are now. There doesn't seem to be a huge amount of risk.
I think I may ask for a more concrete description of the job's responsibilities, and what kinds of resources I'll have to gets those things done. It seems like a Team Lead mostly tries to keep everyone motivated, make sure they are up to speed with what's going on with the company, assist with the coordination of resources (people) for upcoming projects and contracts, and communicate any risks to project deadlines or customer relationships to the team's Manager.
I do dream of someday having a business of my own. One reason I've never really pursued that is that I've never been a manager of any kind. It might be a good way to tell if I am boss material.
I'm leaning toward Yes, but I need more information. I know this will make Lance uncomfortable. He knows the how unhappy the guy before me was, and he will worry that I'll become unhappy too. But if I can go back to the same deal I have now, it's hard not to consider it.
Edit ~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two more things: 1) it would be salary + bonus instead of just hourly like I am now. I would only get the bonus if I bill more than 40 hours, so there is a chance I could work overtime on internal stuff and not get extra $$. 2) I would not be able to limit my hours to 30/week the way I can now.
Ok 3 things, I'm pretty sure this would mean a pretty good improvement in my base salary and bill rate.