To begin, I want to focus my
attention to a “good” dilemma that has recently come about in my professional
life. Recently it has been made clear
that there will be an opening for a manager’s position at facility located
around 15 miles from my current facility. I was called by my boss’s boss to
consider the position. He outlined everything that was going to happen from now
until the position is open. Currently, this new facility has a couple of
employees who are making things hard on the manager there and they’ve basically
caused that manager to move onto a new job. To rectify the current situation,
they have assigned an interim manager to the location to smooth things over and
get things back on track. Between January and June of next year, that interim
manager will be leaving to go back to his old facility thus leaving the
positions vacant again. That is were I come in. Once he leaves, they mentioned
that I’m first inline for the job. The dilemma comes in because as a first time
manager, should I take a job that has issues/personnel problems? I’ve been
ensured most of the personnel issues should be resolved by the time I’d report
but that’s not for sure. Secondly, the new facility is a longer drive from my
home and the hours are completely different then what I work now. I don’t want
this to sound like a bad thing though; I actually am looking forward to the
challenges ahead. The dilemma is small career wise, I want to move up and this
is my opportunity. If I pass, I’ll have to wait at least 3-4 years for another
local opportunity like this to present itself. The reading mentions that “big
time success usually comes after enormous sacrifice” (Kramer, 2003). That is
the case here and it’ll be worth doing.
What I’ve learned this week
is that once I get to that new position (assuming it happens as planned), I
have to be careful not to let the power consume me. Kramer states “leaders
create trouble for themselves when their indulgences become to out of sync with
what other people believe is right or fair” (Kramer, 2003). I’ll have to
remember that the people I’m going to lead are in the same position I am now. I
have to keep their best interest in mind without taking advantage of them.
Kramer also says “leaders can abandon practices once they’re at the top”
(Kramer, 2003). I’ll have to make sure that I spend a lot of time trying to
make sure that I don’t forget where I came from and how I felt when I was in
the subordinate’s position. When I recall my time in the Navy, I always
remember the people who made E-7 (Chief) rank. They’ve moved from a general
rank to a move selected and established rank when that happens. When they make
chief, they go through indoctrination and they become part of a “club” if you
will. I would say that in nine times out of ten, they would become a different
person. I don’t mean a different leader, I mean they immediately let the
positional power go to their head and it is as if they forgot where they just came
from. Kramer states that “successful leaders strive to become more reflective”
(Kramer, 2003). In my experience in the Navy, those new chief’s were hardly
reflective and mostly forgetful of their past.
Lastly, for me I have to take
time to know that I actually did put in the hard work to get to where I am.
Kramer states “getting ahead means doing things differently from ordinary people”
(Kramer, 2003). What I assume that to mean is that the leaders often times work
harder and more effectively then their new subordinates. After all, leaders are
leaders for a reason. If becoming a good leader was easy, everyone would be in
a management role. Sometimes hard work and sacrifice will lead to a better
outcome. What I’ve learned from this reading this week is that we have to
remember that things will change going into management level jobs but we cannot
let things change us otherwise we may face our own demise. I look forward to
taking this lesson and applying it to my potential new role in my company.
Reference
Kramer, R. M. (2003). THE HARDER THEY FALL.
(cover story). Harvard Business Review, 81(10), 58-66.
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