For the tl;dr crowd, here are the questions:
What do you like (expected and/or unexpected)?
What do you dislike (expected and/or unexpected)?
What has surprised you most?
Do you think you'll continue to pursue this level (or higher) of authority?
Any anecdotes are welcome.
For everyone else:
This topic has come up in a couple of threads I've posted in recently and I thought it might yield some interesting discussion. I should add, though, that I have a weird, voyeuristic fascination with other peoples' workplaces.
This is a recurring occurrence in my life: ending up in charge against my will. Not that I can't say no (in fact, I usually do), more that the instinct of "it needs to be done" kicks in or I resign myself to the likelihood of "I'm going to end up doing this in the long run and it'll be a bigger mess" so I take over, make it neat(er), and, ideally, hand it off.
So, fairly recently I was forced into the highest position of authority (it does seem counter-intuitive, doesn't it) I can attain in my company. Basically, I was offered the position, declined, they never hired anyone else, and the person who needed replacing retired. With the exception of hiring an outside person, I was the obvious (and possibly also only) choice. Despite the fact that I had essentially 0-1 opportunities with the prior office manager to learn a good number of the completely foreign tasks I took over (but ya know, IT/diagnostics to bookkeeping is a fairly organic leap), I'm doing fine. The job isn't particularly difficult but it's not particularly rewarding, either.
What do you like (expected and/or unexpected)
I had a lot of freedom before but now I am at pretty much the whim of no one. The owner really could not care less about how my desk looks, what I'm wearing, etc. as long as work is done. I used to get a lot of irrelevant busy work and now that that's gone, I feel like I accomplish much more.
The tone of the office has also changed - I want it to be a nice time. Before they got a lot of lectures or told "you'll never understand how to do this" while I am more about "teaching a man to fish" and letting people make and learn from mistakes. I don't like to feel incapable and I don't think anyone there is.
What do you dislike (expected and/or unexpected)
Even though I'm not responsible for HR issues, people really like to tell me things. Like all the time. I understand, I try to be receptive, but sometimes it's hard not to want to pull out the unfortunately fictional "wrap it up" box. Some like to talk just to talk, others will keep bringing something up that's not a huge priority on my list as if I have nothing else to do but worry along with them. I just exercise patience, avoid phrases like "welcome to adult life," and weather the storm. Pain is temporary.
What has surprised you most?
On the plus, it's actually not that much more responsibility than I already had. I was already next as far as seniority so when the office manager wasn't around, I already did 60% of the necessary parts of her job.
Another plus is that some of the more difficult people have fallen into line fairly quickly. Oddly, a person I got along fairly well with tried to clown me, which was mildly disheartening.
On the minus, having quickbooks dropped in your lap and being told essentially, "make sure the bills get paid thx bye" was a bit daunting. The idea of my success in this role being attributed to elements that were somewhat out of my control was a little uncomfortable. Normally I am able to tenaciously force success. Once I got the feel of the cash flow and simultaneously developed a nice, safe, comfy strategy for managing our bills, I was able to relax... a little.
There is a pressure that comes with knowing you have to make sure there is enough money to pay E V E R Y O N E at work, including your boss. Handing out paychecks does make me feel like Santa
Do you think you'll continue to pursue this level (or higher) of authority?
Uncertain. I think if I did, I would either want to be in a different type of position (e.g. head of an IT team) or in a much more specific department (i.e. only AR or AP) because while the larger scope is nice for seeing the big picture, it's not fun to be the one accountable for many of the moving parts. Still, I'll manage while I'm here because the pay is really good and the owner gives me an extremely long leash.
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