Mechanic to manager? Is it possible?

Bullitt1448

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I did the mechanic to manager thing, tech for 15 or so years then got promoted to service manager, then Branch manager with 2 branches to look after. I did that for 11 years. It was difficult to transition at first, the guys on the floor that used to be your buddies are now your employees. There can be some animosity with some of the techs if they feel you got promoted over them. I ended up leaving that job after a senior management change that I didn't agree with. It is much easier going into a new job as a manager where you don't have any relationship with anyone.
 

shurur

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Management is easy. Here is the starter set:

1. Build a process for everything.

2. Release each process to staff at a pace they can absorb.

3. Take the time to train everyone in their jobs.

4. Communicate your expectations.

5. Hold everyone accountable in a reasoned manner.

6. Report to your bosses, clearly and regularly. If they have to ask for info, you are under communicating.

7. Build people up, don’t tear them down.

8. Run to Problems, make decision, fix issues.

9. Never fear getting rid of bad employees. If you can’t fix them, fire them.

10. Never forget that you create the cultural.

11. Take care of your people.

12. Take care of your clients.

13. You cannot be friends with your employees.

14. Always be fair and do not lay favorites.

15. Know exactly what your boss wants you to do and deliver 100%.

16. Regularly seek clarification from your boss.

17. Business is chess, not checkers.


just a dig because I love words and word play.....
#14 Always be fair and do not LAY favorites....
Truer words were never spoken..
 

Crimson2v

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Op you definitely should qualified.

I work at a butter factory, and I'm one of the shift leads running a crew of 25-30 people. I'm contemplating getting out of that position and going back to being a machine operator. Pay isn't worth the headaches most days.

5 people can be on PTO at a time, throw in 5 more people on FMLA, and that's already 10 people I'm missing, yet I need to have these machines running and getting out production.

Basically, what I'm saying is make sure it's something you want. It's a lot more responsibility, and having the HR and upper management breathing down my neck all the time isn't fun.

Sometimes running a machine or turning wrenches isn't so bad, after trying a supervisor role.

Good luck

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You have a great point, that is one of my biggest concerns. We have two children and right now I can pretty much take off whenever I need to which is great. I don't miss out on any of their activities or needs. I don't know if being in a supervisory role will inhibit me from my family responsibilities. I just figured if I could land this it may open up more options for me in the future when I get older.
Management is easy. Here is the starter set:

1. Build a process for everything.

2. Release each process to staff at a pace they can absorb.

3. Take the time to train everyone in their jobs.

4. Communicate your expectations.

5. Hold everyone accountable in a reasoned manner.

6. Report to your bosses, clearly and regularly. If they have to ask for info, you are under communicating.

7. Build people up, don’t tear them down.

8. Run to Problems, make decision, fix issues.

9. Never fear getting rid of bad employees. If you can’t fix them, fire them.

10. Never forget that you create the cultural.

11. Take care of your people.

12. Take care of your clients.

13. You cannot be friends with your employees.

14. Always be fair and do not lay favorites.

15. Know exactly what your boss wants you to do and deliver 100%.

16. Regularly seek clarification from your boss.

17. Business is chess, not checkers.
Great advice! Thank you for the tips, I appreciate that.
 

Crimson2v

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I did the mechanic to manager thing, tech for 15 or so years then got promoted to service manager, then Branch manager with 2 branches to look after. I did that for 11 years. It was difficult to transition at first, the guys on the floor that used to be your buddies are now your employees. There can be some animosity with some of the techs if they feel you got promoted over them. I ended up leaving that job after a senior management change that I didn't agree with. It is much easier going into a new job as a manager where you don't have any relationship with anyone.
That's exactly what my wife and I were talking about last night. It may be easier to manage at a place where I have not worked at before. I can only imagine how the people I currently work with would have been if I would have got that job. They were pretty awful when they found out I applied for it and then got an interview.
 

CompOrange04GT

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Anybody can do anything if they want to.

When I started in the oil industry. I worked for a trucking company, and I drove fuel to a frac site. I stood there and pumped fuel in machines on the frac site. $12 an hour.

6-7 years later, I'm now the regional manager for a nationwide trucking company.

Just takes someone who wants to learn honestly.
 

Bullitt1448

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That's exactly what my wife and I were talking about last night. It may be easier to manage at a place where I have not worked at before. I can only imagine how the people I currently work with would have been if I would have got that job. They were pretty awful when they found out I applied for it and then got an interview.


They won't be much happier when they find out you got the job. Those you thought were friends really aren't.
 
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prs97

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I'm a corporate IT drone and have had 7 bosses in the last 10 years. Yup. That math is sadly correct.

Aside from one guy who I would still take a bullet for, the rest have been the 31 flavors of terrible. Several weapons grade idiots. Sociopath technical people moved up into management whose style would be admired by 3rd world dictators. Serial do-nothing email forwarders who consider it "delegating". You name it, I've suffered under it. I swear I must have f*cked the sister of someone very important in a past life and am paying for it dearly by having to work for these types in this life. It's the only explanation I can come up with at this point.

Anyhoo... management is a challenge because you need to manage both UP and DOWN. You need to make sure you are keeping your boss(es) happy AND you need to keep your team productive and give them the resources they need to get the job done right. You need to act as a buffer between your team and your management. In addition, you may also have to shield your team from your peers/colleagues so you are also managing from side-to-side.

Sh*t managers don't act as a buffer between these layers and the technical team at the bottom of the ladder gets hammered with all of that. Being a terrible manager is easy. Just punt everything to the team you run and let their resentment build up. Being a good manager is hard.

Good luck OP. Hope you become one of the good ones. There are already too many of the bad ones.
 

Crimson2v

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I lol’d at this because their is a running joke in my field about how a mechanic must have nailed an engineers wife and we are all paying for it now because of how well these cars are engineered. Sorry to hear about your manager misfortunes. The only bad thing about losing a manager is you more than likely get a worse one in their place.
 

Bullitt1448

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Middle management is a tough job, the employees think your a hard ass, the senior management want more production with less cost and the customers want as much as they can get for free. It puts the manager in a tough position, you can only ever have 2 out of the 3 happy at any one time. If your a sensitive person you are going to get your feelings hurt. I did it for 11 years and then bailed and went back to being a tech for sanity reasons.
 

gimmie11s

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Your experience is perfect from a context perspective, but your practical knowledge will hinder you. Managing people is entirely different than actually performing the job/dept you control. I think a lot of people forget that.

This is exactly it.

As much as the "i walked 10 miles uphill in snow back in 1955 for $.10/hr" types dont want to hear it, a great manager of people can do it anywhere, in any industry, and be successful; often times with little to no experience in that field.

Managing people is all about relationships, setting expectations, communication, follow up, and delivering on a plan designed to produce results.

Tribal knowledge certainly helps short-term, but is not typically required.

When I hire managers, I hire the person/personality, not the technical skill set.
 

Crimson2v

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Update: I went and had the interview, I was told they changed the title of the position from Supervisor to Manager and are now looking for someone to develop their whole fleet management system from the ground up. I was asked if I could develop a program and a budget within the next couple of months. Where I work we have a guy that develops the budget and once approved it is handed out to the supervisors. They only have two techs that work their doing the repairs and was told they have been their for years and are very independent. I offered my input on how we do things at my current job and how that could help. I was asked if I had tried to advance into a supervisory role at my job I told them yes of coarse but someone that was more qualified obviously was awarded the job. We shall see if I here back from this place.
 

Coiled03

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Your experience is perfect from a context perspective, but your practical knowledge will hinder you. Managing people is entirely different than actually performing the job/dept you control. I think a lot of people forget that.

Uhhh...what?

Managing people is made infinitely easier if you've already done the job they're doing.
 

tistan

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Uhhh...what?

Managing people is made infinitely easier if you've already done the job they're doing.
I agree, especially when it comes to time management and scheduling. My wife and I work together as general contractors. She is better at demanding things from people, I am better at running the jobs smoothly. Whenever she oversteps into my area, I start getting complaints from my subs. She'll call them up and tell them things that need to be done and when, and she'll have the process completely out of order. She handles the client and the financials much better than I would.
 

IronSnake

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Uhhh...what?

Managing people is made infinitely easier if you've already done the job they're doing.

Just because you know how to fix a car does not mean you know how to handle employees, people, their BS, the intricacies of running a dept/company, negotiating accounting and managerial terms, etc.

Being a manger is 1% knowing what they're doing and 99% managing the entire day to day of a company.
 

tistan

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Just because you know how to fix a car does not mean you know how to handle employees, people, their BS, the intricacies of running a dept/company, negotiating accounting and managerial terms, etc.

Being a manger is 1% knowing what they're doing and 99% managing the entire day to day of a company.
This might be true with senior management, but for someone directly managing the workers, they need to know a good bit about the job that everyone is supposed to be doing. How would a manager know if the job was done right if he knows 1% about the job? When a customer or a senior manager comes at you with a list of things that were messed up, do you stand their like a deer in the headlights because you have no idea what they are talking about?
 
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coposrv

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This might be true with senior management, but for someone directly managing the workers, they need to know a good bit about the job that everyone is supposed to be doing. How would a manager know if the job was done right if he knows 1% about the job? When a customer or a senior manager comes at you with a list of things that were messed up, do you stand their like a deer in the headlights because you have no idea what they are talking about?

You’re sort of right but missing the point. A good craftsman is just that. A craftsman, they often don’t have a clue as to how to run a business or keep a business profitable. A good manager needs to have a grasp on the fundamentals but needs to be an expert on the dollars and cents and handling personalities. I’ve seen first hand countless guys fail because they think “hey I’m good at what I do, I’m going to go into business for myself”. WRONG


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tistan

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You’re sort of right but missing the point. A good craftsman is just that. A craftsman, they often don’t have a clue as to how to run a business or keep a business profitable. A good manager needs to have a grasp on the fundamentals but needs to be an expert on the dollars and cents and handling personalities. I’ve seen first hand countless guys fail because they think “hey I’m good at what I do, I’m going to go into business for myself”. WRONG


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Owning a business and being a manger are completely different animals. A technician can't create a good business with a technician mindset. People who can't escape that technician mindset will only create themselves a job. I have a good friend who has had a auto body shop for 10+ years now, and he just can't get this concept. He is 40 and looks older than his 60 year old dad because he's working himself to death as a technician. He complains that he can't find good help, but a good mutual friend of ours is one hell of a painter. I'm like why don't you hire him? It cost too much? How can someone who is proficient at their job cost too much? My body shop owner friend is charging the same labor rates as the other shop my painter friend is working at.
 

blackfang

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One of my former Service Managers was a technician for many years and moved up to be a Service Manager. One of my favorites to have worked for and now enjoying the retired life.
 

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