Management

About 6 months ago, I was reluctantly thrust into a management position at my firm. The client, upset with my boss, for reasons unknown still to this day, asked that he be removed. Thanks to the economy we were short handed so I being the next in line was given the title of Project Manager. Sense then I have worked most weekends as well as frequent nights trying to keep up.

Along with the added work load I was suddenly in charge of people. Handing out assignments, following up on tasks and making sure my project progressed. Having been an underling for the past 10 years, I now have a new found respect for Managers.

Managers have power and can use it how they choose. They can choose to hold onto that power,  hold it over people, or give it away. When I had just started my career, a Project Manager took notice of me. I was only the office boy at the time, but he knew that I wanted to be an Architect, so he brought me onto his team.

He didn't have to do this. He could have held out for a more experienced staff to come free, but instead he took a chance. About four years later I was over seeing the construction of a 12 million dollar project. Again I didn't have to be doing this, by all definitions I was under qualified to be doing this.

Now I find that I am reluctantly managing my own 20 million dollar project.  I still feel woefully unprepared and that I am just barely holding on. Even in all this uncertainty I was still able to give some work to another person in the firm who was just a student. In some ways it makes more work for me. Having to explain things that to others would be common knowledge. Having to correct things multiple times. Or just waiting an extra day or two for a drawing. But it somehow seams like the right thing to do.