You have been assigned as manager of your group. What would you do if...?

Question

the manager whose place you are taking is being left on the job for a period to train you, but he is not trainnig you?
Also you find the previous manager has been running a one person show and the morale of the employees really could be better. what are you going to do?

Answer 1

1) If the manager isn't training you, then create a list of everything that you need to learn, give him that list, and then give him and your management feedback on what you are learning. This way, you're not complaining about him (you do it like a status report), but then he gets found out - because if you don't do your job, no one will say it's because you haven't been trained.

2) Morale is easy to fix - you bring each person into your office individually, learn what they do, what makes them tick, and then assign them to what they're best at - give them leeway if they earn it, but if you've got some slackers come down hard on them. Don't diss the old manager. Surprisingly enough, hitting the slackers will usually bring morale up really quick, because the rest will know they don't need to cover for the yoyo's anymore.

Answer 2

The primary issue here would APPEAR to be the former manager. What are the terms he is leaving on? Is he quitting the company? If so, I would not desire him to train you since he has no motivation to really teach or tell you anything, infact the opposite may be true. If he is being promoted, then Clearly documenting what you have asked of him, what the results were and discussing it with your boss may be appropriate (so long you at least let the former manager know you are not getting what you need).

As for morale, if the outogoing boss isnt willing to help you learn the position, then it can almost be a guarntee he did very little to him is direct reports. If the current employees feel like they have been lead to the slaughter house, and morale is low, perhaps a team meeting outlining the top 3 goals for the next year and getting input from all of them on how to obtain those goals would be appropriate. And act on their suggestions. If you are afraid they may not come up wiht a vital path you know you need to take, read Dale Carnige's Influencing people. There are creative management style that allow you to get your team to come up with the answer you know is right, but make them feel like they came up with it, thus making the entire team vested in the solution and happy that you are taking their advice.

Answer 3

I would let the manager's boss know that you are not getting the training you need. You need to be specific about the things you have not been taught, so the company can do something to help you. If the manager is only going to be there for a short time, I would probably just wait it out until they leave before you try to do something about morale. It could be that morale is bad, and the manager is not training you because he/she doesn't know how to do the job?! It is in your best interest, the employees best interests, and the company's best interest for you to know how to do your job. Let someone know about this, otherwise you are being set up to fail.
I would also recommend talking to the employees about their jobs, what they do, and what they think needs to be improved. You can probably learn more from the employees about the job than you can from anyone else, plus everyone likes a manager who listens to them.

Answer 4

Well, it sounds like if your group's morale is low, you can only improve. If the outgoing manager doesn't want to train you properly, I would get in touch with the person who will be your superior in this position. Let them know you are committed to doing the best possible job, but you feel you are not receiving the proper training.

One of the best things you can do is enlist the help of the group. Often times, the people who know "the ropes" the best are the ones who work under the manager. Not only can they help you learn, but it will help develop good rapport between you and the group and show them that you are already a more committed manager. This will help improve morale.

Answer 5

It's hard to answer without more information on nature of training required.
The personal dynamics fill volumes on this subject. Two concerns come to mind immediately: Is the person threaten by your presents; What is the management skills of person who assigned you, and what kind of relationship do you have with this person. It would seem to retain your position the burden of getting necessary skills is up to you. Was once in situation where my over all manager had poor management skills. Roles were unclear and felt very uncomfortable. Discrete asking what current roles are so business can provide highest quality of service seem safe beginning to solution best for all.

Answer 6

i would report him and find another manager to train you or get out the training manuals and train yourself

Answer 7

Tell him, or learn it by yourself.