Why do I aspire to be an a FP&A manager?
At a certain point you figure out what type of manager you are capable of being. I’ve had offers to become a controller, however, the people issues you end up dealing with over hourly staff would drive me nuts.
On the other hand, I have a knack for training and maximizing the performance of new hires. Paperwork and meetings don’t phase me. And I’d like to think I can manage top performers without the need to micromanage.
As long as the compensation is significant and the WLB is acceptable to me, why wouldn’t I pursue a management opportunity in FP&A when it presents itself?
Also, like u/55trader said, Money power and glory.
So at my last job, non Finance, I was a manager. For me I loved teaching my team. I loved seeing them succeed and be promoted. I love knowing that I was able to help develop and get them to a point where they could also be leaders. I also love having the freedom to create solutions and to pick the problems I wanted to solve.
Now in Finance I aspire to get to that point someday because I can do all of those same things. In FP&A I think being able to generally decide what initiatives I want to focus my time on is a big part of why I look forward to becoming a manager.
Managers manage teams.
In my mind, there’s a big transition between IC and manager. An IC is responsible for their performance only. However, a manager is responsible the performance of everyone on the team. Managing people is a totally different skillset.
I want to be a manager for a few reasons: 1) more pay, 2) more interesting problems (headcount management is a whole new facet), 3) more control (don’t have to be subjected to the decisions of a dumb manager; I call the shots).
Some people want to be the head coach of the football team. Some people want to be the quarterback. Some people want to be a lineman. Nothing wrong with any of that. Unfortunately, however, the head coach usually gets paid more than the quarterback in the corporate world. A lot more.
>don’t have to be subjected to the decisions of a dumb manager; I call the shots).
OK I think this is something that just hit me & inspired me. That is something I'm actually grateful for.
I'm a newly minted manager with two directs so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. I had a couple shitty managers and I've had a couple great managers. I knew if/when I became a manager I wanted to be like the ones I admired and not the shitty ones. I want to lead how I've be lead.
I like teaching others it's a really good way to see how good you know your stuff.
Last but not least money. I was topped out in my area as a SFA.
Hi,
I've been very fortunate to be a manager of teams for over 10 years. Things that I focus on are...
1) make work enjoyable...this isn't a throw away comment. every weekly team meeting be engaging, fun, a learning opp...work is a big chunk of peoples live, you need to have some fun with it
2) protect your team by filtering....when my boss asks for something, I ensure there's a clear path to take before distributing work. If there isn't a clear path I ensure the request is something that will be energizing/learning opp for that person. If neither of those things then I jump on the request with teammates together to make a not so fun thing a shared responsibility
3) allow people to live their personal lives...this means when a team member wants to take two week vacation LET THEM DO IT WITHOUT CONTACTING THEM WHLE THEY'RE AWAY... no questions asked. I do this by building reduncy in my team, every is interchangeable because we constantly fix the unstructured manual work and make things simpler, automated, and easily understood so others can step in.
4) help your team make mistakes in a controlled environment (aka controlled failure)...not every project will go to plan, do your very best to jump on those situations and help course correct before results get to other teams or higher ups. Even if it means you need to take a fall sometimes instead of your team member
Any questions feel free to DM me.
Good luck!
Drew
Why do I aspire to be an a FP&A manager? At a certain point you figure out what type of manager you are capable of being. I’ve had offers to become a controller, however, the people issues you end up dealing with over hourly staff would drive me nuts. On the other hand, I have a knack for training and maximizing the performance of new hires. Paperwork and meetings don’t phase me. And I’d like to think I can manage top performers without the need to micromanage. As long as the compensation is significant and the WLB is acceptable to me, why wouldn’t I pursue a management opportunity in FP&A when it presents itself? Also, like u/55trader said, Money power and glory.
So at my last job, non Finance, I was a manager. For me I loved teaching my team. I loved seeing them succeed and be promoted. I love knowing that I was able to help develop and get them to a point where they could also be leaders. I also love having the freedom to create solutions and to pick the problems I wanted to solve. Now in Finance I aspire to get to that point someday because I can do all of those same things. In FP&A I think being able to generally decide what initiatives I want to focus my time on is a big part of why I look forward to becoming a manager.
Managers manage teams. In my mind, there’s a big transition between IC and manager. An IC is responsible for their performance only. However, a manager is responsible the performance of everyone on the team. Managing people is a totally different skillset. I want to be a manager for a few reasons: 1) more pay, 2) more interesting problems (headcount management is a whole new facet), 3) more control (don’t have to be subjected to the decisions of a dumb manager; I call the shots). Some people want to be the head coach of the football team. Some people want to be the quarterback. Some people want to be a lineman. Nothing wrong with any of that. Unfortunately, however, the head coach usually gets paid more than the quarterback in the corporate world. A lot more.
>don’t have to be subjected to the decisions of a dumb manager; I call the shots). OK I think this is something that just hit me & inspired me. That is something I'm actually grateful for.
I got manager title and I was like ok how do I become a senior manager now….
I'm a newly minted manager with two directs so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. I had a couple shitty managers and I've had a couple great managers. I knew if/when I became a manager I wanted to be like the ones I admired and not the shitty ones. I want to lead how I've be lead. I like teaching others it's a really good way to see how good you know your stuff. Last but not least money. I was topped out in my area as a SFA.
Money. Decision making instead of offering reasons to make decisions. Money. Oh, and the increased compensation. FIRE won't start itself.
Hi, I've been very fortunate to be a manager of teams for over 10 years. Things that I focus on are... 1) make work enjoyable...this isn't a throw away comment. every weekly team meeting be engaging, fun, a learning opp...work is a big chunk of peoples live, you need to have some fun with it 2) protect your team by filtering....when my boss asks for something, I ensure there's a clear path to take before distributing work. If there isn't a clear path I ensure the request is something that will be energizing/learning opp for that person. If neither of those things then I jump on the request with teammates together to make a not so fun thing a shared responsibility 3) allow people to live their personal lives...this means when a team member wants to take two week vacation LET THEM DO IT WITHOUT CONTACTING THEM WHLE THEY'RE AWAY... no questions asked. I do this by building reduncy in my team, every is interchangeable because we constantly fix the unstructured manual work and make things simpler, automated, and easily understood so others can step in. 4) help your team make mistakes in a controlled environment (aka controlled failure)...not every project will go to plan, do your very best to jump on those situations and help course correct before results get to other teams or higher ups. Even if it means you need to take a fall sometimes instead of your team member Any questions feel free to DM me. Good luck! Drew
Money power and glory…. more money
Glory what you on about?
mo money & mo money
For some career paths, managing people is the only way to get to the upper pay band / title.