Anyone ever got a promotion and hated it..?

[NannyPlum7]

This, really.

Covering my manager’s role while she’s on secondment for the next 18 months or so. Have been doing it since the beginning of December.

I hate it. And I feel like SUCH a failure.

I’ve taken over line management of 5 people (will be six in a couple of weeks). I have never line managed anyone before and it’s just constant, relentless. I just feel totally overwhelmed and burned out. The work is so difficult and completely different from what I was doing before. It’s so hard to juggle everything. I feel like I’m constantly fire fighting. And putting a face on it every day. No one would know.

It’s a small company and there is already some talk of me being able to stay in the role permanently and I just don’t think I want to do that. I LOVED my job before and I was good at it and it was so comfortable. But I really feel like an utter failure, turning it down.

People (husband and mum) keep dismissing me, telling me it’ll get better as I get more confident but I really just don’t see it.

oh it feels good to vent…

whats your main issues in a bullet point list ?

Me too, OP. Hated being a manager, and it was such an eye-opener for me.. not in a good way! I ended up leaving, and joining another company at my original level. Has so far turned out well. I do think I maybe should have swallowed my pride however, did simply asked for a demotion at my original company.

By simply*

It’s mainly the sheer volume of work I think. I have my own work to do and I can barely get near it for all the management stuff (checking stuff for other people, sorting out training, allocating work etc - it all seems to take me ages). Also it’s all quite reactive and so my days are not predictable - like I’ll have a to do list and an email will come in and throw off my whole day.

I don’t enjoy the management side. I cannot believe how much time it takes up.

It is really hard to make the switch to managing people. I'm still making the transition and I wouldn't say I'm enjoying it, but I couldn't go back.

Recommend some reading, coaching, YouTube viewing or a training course to help with the mindset switch.

Michael Bungay Stanier is great. And Captivate by Vanessa Van Edwards - or watch her interviews on the Diary of a CEO channel.
I've also enjoyed Leadership Mindset 2.0 by R. Michael Anderson to help you look at you'd own beliefs and mindset first, before thinking about how to lead/manage others.

Is your old role still available? Could you just move back into that? Say you were happy to help out in the short term but the new position is not a goer for you long term.

It's not a failing OP - you've said yourself you loved your previous role and you were good at it - that job wasn't 'nothing' , it was, and is, a valid role in the company's structure and you were doing it well.

Not every role is suited to every person, don't be hard on yourself for finding that out.

Yep, I don't blame you. I purposely have never wanted to be a Manager, slightly more money and not worth the effort (unless you have a really high performing team, which is rare). Being a good Manager is a real skill and doesn't suit most people.

Yes I took on the role as a area manager for my small team.
My main issues were;
Dealing with argumentative staff , the type that what ever you did it was never enough .

We had 4 sites which meant me going to each one once a week to check on work standards, staff concerns, stock check / order,
talk to our clients, dealing with subcontractors and anything else that cropped up.

I often felt like I spent more time on the road than actually doing my job .
Also if anyone was off on holiday or sick I had to do all of their work as well as my own.

The company I worked for then list the contract so we all got tupe'd over to a new company so I had to govthrough tons of paperwork with everyone.

I also delt with finding appropriate subcontractors bringing them on board.

I work in a high security setting so getting any visitors, sub'cs, new staff etc to jump through what feels like ( to them ) lots of unnecessary hoops .

I'd been in the role for 3 years then covid hit which brought on a whole load of new challenges.
We have a lot more stites and 100s more staff at the other end of the country which I didn't normally deal with but I was expected to field calls from them about issues they had on their sites.

I decided that after 6 or so years in the role I wanted to step down and go back to what had been my old job and what I was currently doing as part of my management role.
It took 4 months to recruit my replacement and in that time our client announced they were opening a new much bigger site so I had to recruit for that role too, as well as ordering all the stock , machinery, safety gear and organising a load of new sub'cs.
It was a nightmare of a time .

But now things have settled, I can still help out my replacement from time to time but it's usually more in the role of having some to bounce ideas off or just vent on bad days which is something I never had.

My role now is much more relaxed and straightforward.
No fielding emails from 5am to 9pm is wonderful! .

@NannyPlum7
Can you bring someone else on board to help you ? Either a existing member of staff or agency just to take some of the grunt work off your shoulders?
Lean on your manager more , don't be afraid of telling them you need help and are struggling to cope.
A half decent manager will support you.

But ultimately if the role isn't for you then step back down.

Give your manager plenty of warning that you have had enough so that they can recruit your replacement before you total burn out.