The job is ‘IT manager,’ but in title only

Have you ever been hired for your IT experience, but the boss didn’t seem to trust you? It’s not a good situation to be in. Luckily, when it happened to me, I read the warning signs and got out before it grew unbearable.

Back then, I was the IT manager at a family-owned business (no, not related to me). When I interviewed, the hiring personnel told me they were looking for a person with my extensive IT background. They said I was a good fit. It was a kind of business that intrigued me, and it sounded like I’d have the chance take on interesting tasks, so I accepted the offer.

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I was hired as the only IT person for the company, which had more than 500 employees. But out of those 500-plus employees, only around 45 people used computers on a daily basis. Many didn’t need a computer at all — think service-oriented jobs. Basically, despite the headcount, it was a network with fewer than 65 nodes, including servers.

Danger ahead!

On my first week, I found out the president of the company who I reported to, “Jim,” was the former IT person. I dug a little deeper and found out Jim had a computer science background and had managed all the IT since the company started with a handful of employees a few years before. Who knew what kind of working relationship this would turn out to be?

Jim and I discussed his expectations of me. He told me to be proactive, which I strive for anyway, and to think about all the processes that can be automated or made easier with technology.

That said, I spent the next couple of weeks talking to the various business unit managers. I asked them about the basics, like their department workflows, how well things were working, and what needed improving. After sorting through my notes, I identified a couple of key areas that could make use of automation for the best ROI. I did some rough designs and calculated approximate costs to make it happen. After I was done with the proposal, I forwarded it to Jim.

He replied that he thought my ideas were good, but would get back to me regarding my proposal. A week later I hadn’t heard from him, so I inquired again. Instead of giving me the go-ahead to execute it — like I thought he would — he told me he was going to check with some consultants before proceeding with my plan.

Another week passed, and I did nothing but basic desktop support. I went to his office to ask if there were other projects he wanted me to look into, though I didn’t mention the proposal — I didn’t want to seem like I was hounding him. He said I was doing a good job and to keep up the good work. However, he said nothing regarding the proposal.

While in his office, I mentioned that most of the office computers were dated. He said he was aware of that and had the upgrade in the pipeline. I asked him if he wanted me to price out some systems for replacement; he said he would let me know.

I was puzzled. I’d been hired as “IT manager,” but so far Jim hadn’t given me the freedom to actually accomplish anything other than basic support. It was clear that I was not to make a move without his approval.

Time for survival mode

The next day I was helping one of the employees and found out a bit more. I had worked with her a few times already, so we knew each other somewhat. She told me her friend had gotten her the job a while back. Neither she nor her friend was related to the family who owned the business.

Anyway, she was telling me about what her friend did and why he wasn’t working there anymore. The friend actually started one of the business units I had identified for automation potential. The unit was doing well, so her friend went to his boss — who also happened to be Jim — to ask for a raise. Not only did her friend not get a raise, he also got terminated.

From talking to her, it seemed that my boss was not only a cheapskate, but he liked to do things his way only and didn’t appreciate it when recommendations or requests were made that he didn’t agree with. Judging by what she said, it sounded like he mainly hired people to do what he wanted.

I thought maybe that was just one person’s perspective, but I talked to more people (also not related to the family or friends of the family), all whom corroborated her story. Jim appeared to have issues with delegating tasks and trusting the people he hired to do their jobs in their area of expertise. Hmmm, I wondered if that was why he was reluctant to let me “mess” with his systems? My experience thus far meshed with what I was hearing.

I also found out Jim had never worked anywhere other than the family business — he arrived directly after graduating from college. He had been promoted to the president position when his dad stepped down. I’d worked for bosses similar to this — and stayed when I shouldn’t have — so decided to look for another job. After less than three months, I left.

To be fair, when I first transitioned to an IT manager role, it was somewhat difficult to be hands-off and let other techs do their jobs. But with some management classes and tips from other managers, I was able to slowly transition over. I don’t know if Jim has honed his people management skills like I’ve had to over the years. My guess: probably not.

Anyway, I checked the company’s website a year later. Jim was still the president, the IT manager position was still posted — and I was glad to be done with it.

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This story, “The job is ‘IT manager,’ but in title only,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Read more crazy-but-true stories in the anonymous Off the Record blog at InfoWorld.com. For the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.