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Ask HN: How to Handle a New Manager?

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Re: Ask HN: How to Handle a New Manager?

#11
The relationship between a manager and his or her direct reports is often cited as the single biggest factor in determining job satisfaction. Try to make the relationship a good one, and hope that they do their part too.

With the benefit of hindsight in similar situations, I would suggest trying not to jump in too heavily on things (like taking sides in a technical debate, volunteering for specific projects, etc) until you understand your new manager's objectives and how they evaluate performance.

The corporate culture, and the reason why the new manager was brought in, both matter. If it's just because the old one moved on and a new one was hired, and there's a strong corporate culture, things will likely continue on pretty normally for you as a junior report. If they were brought on for another reason or it's a smaller company, you could be in for some dramatic changes.

In any case, read up on how to "manage up". Here's a few Harvard Business Review articles that should help, and then you can go from there:

https://hbr.org/2015/01/what-everyone-should-know-about-mana...

https://hbr.org/2014/12/how-to-handle-your-first-meeting-wit...

You should be able to tell within a few months how things are going - if you aren't happy or aren't getting positive feedback from the new manager, start job hunting. At 1-2 years into your first job you are likely at a good point to start looking for a new position with a nice bump in salary anyway.

Re: Ask HN: How to Handle a New Manager?

#12
I've been on both sides and the best thing to do is to try to make it a good relationship with good communication. Do this finding out how they like to be communicated to (I had a boss that would NEVER read email, but would respond instantly in Slack). Also, be flexible and open to change. Best of luck. I hope it's an easy transition for everyone.
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