So many replies! Thanks to all of you for your input. I've put together a google doc of all the books, podcasts and items-of-import you've suggested. A lot to digest; I better get reading!
Pete On Tue, Jan 7, 2014 at 12:50 PM, Atom Powers <[email protected]> wrote: > +1 for Manager Tools. > > On Tue, Jan 7, 2014 at 8:13 AM, Evan Pettrey <[email protected]> wrote: > > I forgot to add one of the other great tools I've utilized which is the > > Manager Tools podcast (and its sister podcast, Career Tools). > > > > I highly recommend listening to these, almost every single podcast has > > something of good value to offer. If you have a long drive or take the > train > > into work, this is the perfect time to listen to them! > > > > > > > > > > > > On Tue, Jan 7, 2014 at 10:58 AM, Evan Pettrey <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> > >> Hi Peter, > >> > >> I've been there and in many ways I'm still there! Just like our > technical > >> challenges required us to be constantly learning, so too, do our > managerial > >> challenges. The good news for you is that you've already taken the most > >> important step toward getting better which is to realize where you are > >> lacking and making an effort to make conscious improvements. > >> > >> There are four levels of understanding anything, in this case how to be > a > >> leader: > >> > >> Unconsciously Incompetent - you don't know that you don't know how to > lead > >> a team > >> > >> Consciously Incompetent - you know that you don't know how to lead a > team > >> > >> Consciously Competent - you know how to lead a team but need to closely > >> concentrate on what you're doing to accomplish this > >> > >> Unconsciously Competent - you are such a good leader that it now comes > >> naturally without even thinking about it! > >> > >> It sounds like you're on somewhere between step 2 and 3 and are willing > to > >> put in the hard work to get to step 3 and beyond, which is a great > place to > >> be. > >> > >> > >> With that out of the way, there are a few things that have helped me > >> dramatically since moving into a management role: > >> > >> Project Management - Earlier in my career I worked for a company who was > >> very strict in their processes and we even obtained our ISO 20000 and > >> CMMI:Level 3 certifications. This helped me a lot as I was forced to > learn > >> what is the "certified" way to manage tasks. However, what I found was > that > >> much of it overcomplicated things and I really need to adapt what I > learned > >> with these hardened processes actually worked and develop this into > >> something that could allow my team to operate at the Unconsciously > Competent > >> level. > >> > >> To do this, we started using a Kanban Board (we use > >> http://www.kanbanpad.com which is really helpful and free). Each of my > >> employees has their own task board and larger projects also have their > own > >> task board. > >> > >> An employee task board includes 4 columns: > >> > >> To-Do - Work that is in queue but has not been started > >> In Progress - exactly what it says, work that is currently in progress > but > >> has not been completed > >> Verification - this is the testing phase for our work which has to be > >> verified as working by myself or our team peers > >> Completed - work that is finished moves into this queue and each Monday > is > >> moved to the "Finished" bucket where we can quickly and easily look > back on > >> the year in review to determine what was accomplished > >> > >> > >> In addition to project management, there have been a few books in > >> particular that have helped me as a leader: > >> > >> The Phoenix Project (and The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement) - > >> These two books really help you take a step back and look at the big > >> picture. While The Phoenix Project is written specifically for DevOps I > >> think The Goal is the better of the two books but I recommend reading > both > >> > >> The Effective Executive - Written by Peter Drucker in the 80s this is > >> still widely considered one of the best books any leader can read > today. It > >> will teach you to think like a leader, how to manage your time > effectively, > >> and how to accomplish all your goals > >> > >> > >> > >> There are a number of other things that have been immensely helpful to > me > >> as I've been transitioning from a technical resource to a leader but > what > >> I've listed above were the things that really helped me start moving in > the > >> right direction. > >> > >> If you have any specific questions, I'll be happy to discuss. > >> > >> > >> > >> Best, > >> Evan > >> > >> > >> On Tue, Jan 7, 2014 at 10:15 AM, Peter Grace <[email protected]> > wrote: > >>> > >>> Hello list, > >>> > >>> Well, I've been an IT Director for about half a year now. In this > time I > >>> have learned quite a bit more about what it takes to be a manager and > the > >>> amount of self discipline it requires to keep all of the pieces on the > >>> chessboard moving safely. > >>> > >>> After 6 months, my self evaluation is I suck at being in charge of an > IT > >>> department, and by gosh I want to fix that. I am asking for your > opinions > >>> on all manners of self-help: certification ideas, books that have > helped you > >>> "grok" how a department should work properly, ways to improve process > >>> management, things of this nature. I want to be the best I can be and > I > >>> know that a lot of the people on this list have "been there, done > that" and > >>> have lived to tell the tale. I'd love to hear yours. > >>> > >>> I struggle since the place where I work still has a lot of startup > >>> mentality but they're getting to the size where we need to start > making it > >>> "enterprisey" to keep things moving smoothly. A lot of the people in > the > >>> organization feel like making things more enterprise-like means that > they'll > >>> be mired in paperwork and mucky-muck and it's tough to break that > opinion. > >>> What are your experiences? > >>> > >>> Thanks in advance, > >>> > >>> Pete > >>> > >>> _______________________________________________ > >>> Discuss mailing list > >>> [email protected] > >>> https://lists.lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss > >>> This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators > >>> http://lopsa.org/ > >>> > >> > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Discuss mailing list > > [email protected] > > https://lists.lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss > > This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators > > http://lopsa.org/ > > > > > > -- > Perfection is just a word I use occasionally with mustard. > --Atom Powers-- >
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