The (higher the management level = more $) structure of nearly all companies, is, I think, more problematic than is percieved. One of the few businesses that seems to understand this professional sports, where one clearly sees high $ for individuals of great talent, but zero management responsibility.

The (higher the management level = more $) structure of nearly all companies, is, I think, more problematic than is percieved. One of the few businesses that seems to understand this professional sports, where one clearly sees high $ for individuals of great talent, but zero management responsibility.

First, thanks for being the model for my management posts

You bring up an excellent point which I neglected to cover – the fact that once you use management as a reward, it becomes a drug which you get compelled to use continually. Not only does it become a tool for the manager, but the employees see it used as a reward and the action, therefore, enforces that it is, in fact, a reward. Killer situation.

“Jane, stop this crazy thing!”

Once you get on that high speed treadmill, it’s murder getting off. The trick is to avoid it in the first place or to go cold turkey, which presents its own challenges in the short run.

First, thanks for being the model for my management posts

You bring up an excellent point which I neglected to cover – the fact that once you use management as a reward, it becomes a drug which you get compelled to use continually. Not only does it become a tool for the manager, but the employees see it used as a reward and the action, therefore, enforces that it is, in fact, a reward. Killer situation.

“Jane, stop this crazy thing!”

Once you get on that high speed treadmill, it’s murder getting off. The trick is to avoid it in the first place or to go cold turkey, which presents its own challenges in the short run.

This was a HUGE can of worms I faced in a previous job. I was managing a team of artists, and very few strong artists make strong managers. We were a small company, and there was an expectation on the part of the company that artists should shoulder management tasks if they wanted to make “big money”. Equally, many of the artists felt they needed to be managers to really move ahead in their careers.

As your post indicates, there are a lot of problems with this idea.

If you’re a small company with low turnover, you end up with everyone being a manager. You also quickly find that the best managers are not the best artists. If you promote the guy that is the best manager, the better artists take offence and feel as though the have been passed over. Equally, in one memorable case, the guy I made manager quickly developed a huge artistic ego believing that he was made manager by virtue of being the better artist…

In the absence of a big-company heirarchy with lots of levels and sub-levels, you quickly get in a bind with promotions. This is especially true if you are in an industry where salaries can be really dynamic. For example, we might hire a rookie at $25k only to find that they had real talent and within 6 months they would be making $45k just to avoid poaching. Not all the jumps were that agressive, but it further compounds an already messy situation.

Frankly, I never found a good solution. But along the lines of your post, I would encourage anyone dealing with this to figure out parallel paths so that not everyone moving up has to move in to management…

This was a HUGE can of worms I faced in a previous job. I was managing a team of artists, and very few strong artists make strong managers. We were a small company, and there was an expectation on the part of the company that artists should shoulder management tasks if they wanted to make “big money”. Equally, many of the artists felt they needed to be managers to really move ahead in their careers.

As your post indicates, there are a lot of problems with this idea.

If you’re a small company with low turnover, you end up with everyone being a manager. You also quickly find that the best managers are not the best artists. If you promote the guy that is the best manager, the better artists take offence and feel as though the have been passed over. Equally, in one memorable case, the guy I made manager quickly developed a huge artistic ego believing that he was made manager by virtue of being the better artist…

In the absence of a big-company heirarchy with lots of levels and sub-levels, you quickly get in a bind with promotions. This is especially true if you are in an industry where salaries can be really dynamic. For example, we might hire a rookie at $25k only to find that they had real talent and within 6 months they would be making $45k just to avoid poaching. Not all the jumps were that agressive, but it further compounds an already messy situation.

Frankly, I never found a good solution. But along the lines of your post, I would encourage anyone dealing with this to figure out parallel paths so that not everyone moving up has to move in to management…