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From: jik@athena.mit.edu (Jonathan I. Kamens)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Me, a manager??
Keywords: no no no no no no
Message-ID: <1990Jun5.075011.24047@athena.mit.edu>
Date: 5 Jun 90 07:50:11 GMT
References: <802@sagpd1.UUCP>
Sender: news@athena.mit.edu (News system)
Reply-To: jik@athena.mit.edu (Jonathan I. Kamens)
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lines: 35


  Here at Project Athena, our recent reorganization has placed a lot
more people than before in the position of being managers of other
groups of people.  Often, the newly created managers are technically
oriented individuals (i.e. "hackers" :-) who have little interest or
experience in managing; also, the new managers are often managing peers
rather than people lower than they are on the "corporate ladder", and
peer management is usually more difficult than managing people lower in
the chain of command than you are.

  Athena's upper management responded to this by hiring an outside
consulting firm to design a two-day management course tailored to
Project Athena's environment, and asking staff members who are likely to
need this kind of experience to participate in the course.  I was one of
the people who did the course, which is why I know about it.  (The
course just happened last week, so it's convenient that you've asked
about this now :-)

  Although it may not be convenient or cost-effective for your employers
to arrange for a management course given on-site, you may be able to
find such courses offered in your area for general enrollment; you may
even be able to get your employers to pay for you taking the course. 
Unfortunately, such a generalized course won't be quite as beneficial as
one tailored specifically to the needs present in your environment;
however, it will certainly be useful to you, and may reassure you and
give you a better idea of how to proceed with your managing.

  At the very least, such a course looks good on a resume.

  Hope this helps.

Jonathan Kamens			              USnail:
MIT Project Athena				11 Ashford Terrace
jik@Athena.MIT.EDU				Allston, MA  02134
Office: 617-253-8495			      Home: 617-782-0710