Friday, October 26, 2007

Gone are the good ol days...

So I got promoted to a Manager. Normally I would have felt proud of this achievement. But I felt nothing when I got the mail from Big Boss informing me of my promotion. I managed a smile as he shook hands and offered me his congratulations.

I am now the Manager of the team I led for little under a year now. I was an Assistant Manager then to this team comprising of three girls and a guy, all elder to me by a couple of years. But then, my Boss was the Big Boss of the team. As his Assistant Manager I was informally the Manager of the team.

I grew up with this team. I recruited all of them when I first joined here. They are the best team on earth who have adjusted to my fast pace of working and the whole team sort of gelled into one unit with me being just a subtle leader in the sense of escalations and taking certain decisions.

We had fun. We worked hard, we partied hard, we laughed hard, we bitched about the big bosses hard and cried hard when we had a disaster.

Today all that seems to be gone. The moment I got my promoton letter it was like I had been wrenched away from a circle of friends.

When I see their names under mine on the Intranet, I feel sad. Just a few days ago my name was with theirs under the Big Boss's name.

When I got access to their appraisal page on the Intranet I felt like a back biter. When I got access to their Salary page I feel like an snooper.

I dont want to do this. I want the old carefree days back when Big Boss did the dirty job while I was the good girl, the fun team lead.

I hate the fact that I might now be the butt of "bad manager" jokes that I so specialised in till just a few days ago. I hate the fact that when I walk into a group, there might be an awkward silence as people suddenly stop talking. I hate the fact that I will get the full impact of disappointments when a salary hike in not upto expected standards. I hate the fact that I might be shut out of the world I was part of just a few days ago!

I hate being on the other side!!!

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

I know how you feel. Been there done that. But now I am happily into being in the lowest rung again in a different structure. :) By experience, I can say its not so bad as well. Coz although we are doing all the "dirty bad manager" work, at the end of the day, the people we work with know us. Its just a matter of initial confusion I gues..they also would be a little apprehensive that you wouldn't be the same old person now that you are actually their manager. Give them time and let them know its just you.

Maybe I dont need to tell you all these...coz from what I have noticed from my many visits to your blog, you are an extremely mature and good human being. So....party timeeeeeee......Congratulations!!! And all the very best in your new role.

mathew said...

ah..finally they started reading your blogs and found it safer to let you join the bandwagon rather than face your anti-establishment blogs..!!;-P

on a serious note..a big congrats...

..manager..ss..saa..saar!!;-P

Anonymous said...

Congratulations !

Now you can have a new circle of friends among the managers. And " General Manager / Vice President" Jokes ;-)

Rebecca

Abhi said...

1st of all BIG Congrats! Bt i feel its human nature to yearn for something and finally when you get it, you just feel its worthless. Especially true when its some milestone in professional life. I am sure ther'd be better people for u to bitch about and you'll leap new new boundaries and finally you'd be THE boss about whom others wd bitch about :D

CarbonMonoxide said...

Congrats !!! I dont know what to say apart from that. I ve never been one. But then , i think being a good manager is a wee it more than a good human being , which yo already are. So now you can scare syasdmins eh ?

Dhanya said...

A big congrats :)
I'm sure u'll be a good manager.. so u can still be on this side of the fence.. It's just a matter of time :)

Alexis said...

Congratulations...

It is not as bad as you think. If you act as a friend than as a manager, then I don't see any reason for things to change.

By being the boss, you get the opportunity to shield your team from your boss. If you can protect your interests at the same time getting the job done, I see any reason to change the working environment.

Titles and designations are important for some people. But what really matters is the person behind the title. So as long as the person does not change, there shouldn't be any problem.

Wishing you all the very best...

ap said...

Congrats Madam...;)
Dont worry ,managers are not always
outcasts!In our group of friends we do have a manger and their subs also and they gel like anything....

U can always bitch abt the top management!!!;)

Amey said...

First, congrats!!!

Second, your lament reminds me of "The Office" episode where Michael tells everyone he cannot be their friend anymore (after corporate wants him to stop sending "those" e-mail forwards to all)

What I am saying is, comes with territory...

shruti said...

hey ..dont be disheartened .. people know u & love u for what u are ...change is always good ..it helps u to grow ..its a new challenge am sure you can more than handle anything ..initial hiccups and stereotyping is part of life ..but ultimately it is who u are that will matter

Jeseem said...

so u luv the team and now u have been given an opportunity to protect the team and keep it together and going. Isn't that a great thing. Of course protect means protect it from outside and inside.
Well the happy carefree days aren't completely over, but becoming manager opens up a whole new dimension and way of looking at your team and co. And no-one says u can't still party with your team as much. you can and you should.and u can still bitch about bigboss ;)

silverine said...

sunshine gal: Thank you dear :)

mathew: No way, anti establishment blogs will continue!! :p There are always people above you and thanks for the wishes :)

Rebecca: VP jokes? hmmm the possibilities are endles ;)

abhi: It was very nice being part of the crowd...hope that doesnt change :)

thedawg: Thank you :) No one can touch the syssies :))

dhanya: Thank you :)

Alexis: That makes sense...thank you :)

ap: That is nice to hear, that there is a chance I wont be an outcast :)

fleiger: Thank you :) And the fwd will continue !!! They cant take that away from me *sinff*
:p

shruti: Thank you dear *hugs*

jessem: Thank you :) Big boss is a damn straightforward guy. No one bitches about him. Guess I have a role model!

Amey said...

Good one... Got any good Big Boss jokes? I guess your people would like that ;)

Amey said...

Oh BTW, have you seen "The Office"? Get your hands on it if you haven't. One of the best comedies on US TV currently.

Anonymous said...

I have a serious question for you. How would you deal it if your office in whole or your immediate boss doesnt appreciate your work-your hard work. For them everyone else's matters but not yours.

How would you deal it? Pratically!

The answer to this would be a help to me.

ALS (Cancerian-female)

Anonymous said...

Im waiting...

ALS

silverine said...

amey: I will def try and get my hands on "The office". Big boss jokes coming right up :p

Anon: You know that your boss/colleagues don't appreciate your work, yet you havent made any move to find out why? Therein lies your answer. Talk to them and find out what is expected out of you and where you have failed to deliver.

ToOothlEss WOndeR! said...

hey KANGAROO on the promotion!
manager sure sounds good.

about the flip side, just know that tere are people who have been through worse.
when i got my first team, t was three girls.
now i dont know if you'd really appreciate the magnitude of the situation, because until that day i chaired the boys' lunch group (more hunch less lunch) and then one fine day, i get very neatly displaced.

but then eventually i won my place back, and i think the girls love me too. ;)

Prats said...

Congrats on your new position.
I'm sure you've built your team well enough that they recognise the human in you, and will surely respect you in whatever position you are in.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Silverine !! :)
The hallmark of any successful manager is to support and understand the team to a great extent. Who says u still cant have fun?

-Rosh.

Praveen said...

congrats silverine..i know how u feel but I guess it cannot be helped..you can still maintain the same level of oneness with your team.. and its not like your team-mates are now going to suddenly speak behind your back having worked with you for so long!

all the best in your new role! :)

silverine said...

toothless wonder: I hope I win my place back too :) I want to be part of the crowd :(

prats: Thanks dear, I hope so too :)

rosh: That sounds good, thank you :)

praveen: Thank you *hugs*. More than my role I am worried about performance and salary appraisals.