Has anybody been through the hell of being a first-time manager in a department where you were new (ie, didn't work your way up but were newly hired as a manager)?

I am in that situation now, and it is incredibly difficult. You really can't know what it's like until you've lived it.

My day is full of going to meetings and collecting longer and longer lists of what I am supposed to do, and absolutely no time to actually do it (or even prioritize it). I'm basically getting a crash course in everybody's job, including my own.

People who want to be helpful say things like "just prioritize" or "just take a break once in a while." This is well meaning but not helpful.

Has anybody lived through this type of thing? How long before sanity was restored?!

I must say I have a heightened respect for my previous bosses now.

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Lioness

don't try to figure everything out yourself. Since you are new to the store and new manager, ask or listen to advices of workers that's been working in there for awhile. If you delegate, it will become much easier for you.

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In the pursuit of knowledge, every day something is added. In the practice of the Way, every day something is dropped. Less and less do you need to force things, until finally you arrive at non-action. When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.

"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."
—Randy Pausch

Well, there's only so much I can delegate, because my staff is swamped with work, too.

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Lioness

bring out the whips and chains. haha.

..and a little s&m. that shud do da trick.

Effective leadership only comes with experiences. People will look up to you for directions and inspirations, so don't break down or show that you are stressed out in from on your employees, because that will kill their morale and their faith in you, in which kill their productivity.

I understand that you are overwhelmed with all these tasks that you are suppose to do. It's ok, you are not expected to do finish all the tasks that are given to you, since you are new, and first time? manager. If you think that you can't finish all of them in timely manner, you will just have to hand pick all the tasks that you think it's important to the company, and finish them first, then you can get to other tasks that are not as important.

Don't worry you can only get better.

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In the pursuit of knowledge, every day something is added. In the practice of the Way, every day something is dropped. Less and less do you need to force things, until finally you arrive at non-action. When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.

"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."
—Randy Pausch

I don't have experience being a manager but my sister transfered to another city to be a manager at store. The old manager was slowly being phased out. My sister said she slowly started implementing things that she felt would make the store run smoothly, to her liking. She also said there were plenty of days when she went to work with a set plan (even when the previous manager left) of what she would accomplish that day and by the end of the day she felt that nothing really got done. To her the thing is to not let things/people get to you. Some days she would pick one task (you could pick several) and work on that all day. Just do one thing after another until you are done. Like Action said, prioritize the most important things/tasks, like what maybe due sooner than others.

I think starting with a list of what is due in order will start your process of getting organized, stablized and calm. Also you can see about the task that are larger than others. Small task can be done quickly (if you are familiar with it) so you can either do it or hand it off to someone you trust (or someone who has shown a good work ethic since you are new). For the bigger projects, if there are any, just get help, get a senior employee to work with you until you get a handle on everything.

Since you are a manager you might have people running to you like they have no idea what to do unless you tell them, even if they have been working at the job for years before you even thought of working there. Don't let their ineptness get to you. If they ask something, see how it fits into you task. Can you give them one of the smaller task to do, can they help you with one of the big task or can they be put on the back burner for a minute.

Sometimes taking a step back and just looking at things can make a seemingly unsurmountable mess look doable. Also listen to advice. If anything, you can figure out what you DON'T want to do to solve things.

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I just can't help myself. Risk it all with me.

It's never easy taking on a responsibility where you have oversight of a crew working under you. It is especially unnerving when you are in a department which is not familiar to you, with new faces, unfamiliar duties. There's always a feeling of being watched and assessed by superiors/peers/subordinates.

Make time to accomplish the more immediate tasks the right way the first time. If in doubt, don't be afraid to ask your peers. The other tasks that don't require immediate attention can wait later in the day when you have some more free time.

You'll find that in many cases subordinates will not understand some decisions you make or even disagree with some of your choices. I will occasionally take the time to explain why I make certain decisions. It's important that people understand why some decisions are made that directly affect them. Sometimes though you just don't have the time.

When you become much more proficient in your responsibilities, take the time to get to know your staff. They will be the ones who can help make you look good or look bad. I'm sure you are already aware but I thought I'd highlight a few points that helped me out...
1.) Lead by example, earn your respect of both peers and subordinates
2.) Respect your subordinates, learn to support, praise, thank and reward them (those that deserve it).
3.) Be friendly, approachable, but firm and always professional
4.) Don't allow your stress or problems overshadow your duties/responsibilities.
5.) Learn everyone's job.
6.) Do not miss a meal or go short on sleep, you'll find you'll need all the energy you can get.
7.) Don't take your work home with you (if you can help it)
8.) Persevere, learn and grow.
9.) Go to your peers or superiors if you need a little support or advice.

Good luck Lioness I know its not easy and overwhelming at first but you'll soon find yourself accomplishing a lot more than you think you can.

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"I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uh, some people out there in our nation don't have maps, and, uh, I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and, uh, the Iraq everywhere like, such as, and I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., er, should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future for our children."

I appreciate all of the advice. I think, though, that my situation is extreme, especially when I read things like "wait until later in the day" (how about later in the month or year? lol). I've been working 70+-hour weeks and it's killing me. The business I'm in is deadline driven, so many things are a priority at one time, and I haven't been there long enough to have a good handle on how to figure out when something is so late it's a crisis and what deadlines are OK to slip a little....

I'm definitely going to seek more advice from the other managers, as you all have advised, but truthfully, I don't know if I'm cut out for this.

There's also the possibility that this job simply is too much for 1 person. The position had been open for months (and nobody in the company wanted it) before I came on board. The person who held it previously stayed in it for 6 months and then asked to be demoted back down to her previous position.

So, obviously, it's a killer.

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Lioness

I'll have to check the company's Code of Conduct, Biker....

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Lioness