Somehow this ended up really long, clearly I work too much, but I felt like I had something to contribute here.
I work at a software start-up that has grown from 300 to 1500 workers in the few years I've been there. We have a workforce of almost entirely Gen Z and Millennials. They are always ready to quit at the drop of a hat. It speaks well for your company that they are listening and responding to the employee's needs, yeah? Why didn't she have a job description already? Maybe an issue with working at a start-up? Personally I would feel unsafe and stressed out without a job description.
It makes sense that the CEO is managing them because you are also brand new. I imagine she wants to give you time to acclimate before expecting you to run your own brand new team. At my job, new managers are not able to contribute meaningfully until at least 6 months. There is so much to learn. I certainly wouldn't expect anyone to manage a team when they don't understand what we even do or what our processes are.
The workload at start-ups is INSANE because things are constantly changing and the established procedures that keep things smooth don't exist yet. t gets better every year but it's nuts. It makes sense to me that CEO is assigning people work. She's probably drowning herself and trying to get everyone up to speed, including you, as fast as possible. Our work might be totally different but maybe my perspective helps.
I've never worked anywhere that didn't have Slack or Teams. The constant interruptions are stressful but it's the heart of our workplace.
Regarding remote work, my leadership course track had a whole module on remote leadership introduced during Covid. It's a totally different model. There are so many waste of time meetings just to stay close to people and 'ceremony' meetings to stay on track of work. In the office, things just worked. The big takeaway for me is that ensuring your processes are captured in data and reports so you can 'see' what your employees are doing even when they aren't there. It was a big project to convert all of our work to digital dashboards rather than e-mail inboxes, but it was well worth it. My team is held accountable by data rather than me, and I know exactly what they are doing without having to ask or hover. Not sure if that is applicable to your job or not but it was such a huge relief for me that I thought it was worth mentioning.
It sounds to me like in addition to the regular stress of a new job, there is additional stress from working at a start-up for the first time, having remote employees for the first time, and working in a digital environment for the first time. That is TOUGH! But you and CEO sound like you are both nice, smart, determined people and that's what matters most! It will just take time to get there Hugs.
woman in the moon ⋅ March 06, 2023
quiet
Amaryllis ⋅ March 06, 2023
Somehow this ended up really long, clearly I work too much, but I felt like I had something to contribute here.
I work at a software start-up that has grown from 300 to 1500 workers in the few years I've been there. We have a workforce of almost entirely Gen Z and Millennials. They are always ready to quit at the drop of a hat. It speaks well for your company that they are listening and responding to the employee's needs, yeah? Why didn't she have a job description already? Maybe an issue with working at a start-up? Personally I would feel unsafe and stressed out without a job description.
It makes sense that the CEO is managing them because you are also brand new. I imagine she wants to give you time to acclimate before expecting you to run your own brand new team. At my job, new managers are not able to contribute meaningfully until at least 6 months. There is so much to learn. I certainly wouldn't expect anyone to manage a team when they don't understand what we even do or what our processes are.
The workload at start-ups is INSANE because things are constantly changing and the established procedures that keep things smooth don't exist yet. t gets better every year but it's nuts. It makes sense to me that CEO is assigning people work. She's probably drowning herself and trying to get everyone up to speed, including you, as fast as possible. Our work might be totally different but maybe my perspective helps.
I've never worked anywhere that didn't have Slack or Teams. The constant interruptions are stressful but it's the heart of our workplace.
Regarding remote work, my leadership course track had a whole module on remote leadership introduced during Covid. It's a totally different model. There are so many waste of time meetings just to stay close to people and 'ceremony' meetings to stay on track of work. In the office, things just worked. The big takeaway for me is that ensuring your processes are captured in data and reports so you can 'see' what your employees are doing even when they aren't there. It was a big project to convert all of our work to digital dashboards rather than e-mail inboxes, but it was well worth it. My team is held accountable by data rather than me, and I know exactly what they are doing without having to ask or hover. Not sure if that is applicable to your job or not but it was such a huge relief for me that I thought it was worth mentioning.
It sounds to me like in addition to the regular stress of a new job, there is additional stress from working at a start-up for the first time, having remote employees for the first time, and working in a digital environment for the first time. That is TOUGH! But you and CEO sound like you are both nice, smart, determined people and that's what matters most! It will just take time to get there Hugs.
Ginger Snap Amaryllis ⋅ March 07, 2023
Thank you for this. It puts a lot in perspective. I appreciate it!
Firebabe Amaryllis ⋅ March 07, 2023 (edited March 07, 2023)
Edited
Was going to say something similar (having worked in a start-up with Gen Z and Millenials) but you nailed it!
People will work a lot of hours on things they're passionate about, or things that they know are feeding into a bigger picture, IF they know what the picture is. Newer generations are balking at being given pointless busy work and honestly, it sounds like there's a little bit of that going on at the moment, with the CEO tossing work at the team just to keep them busy. That is a recipe for disaster, so I hope she gets focused soon!
colder ⋅ March 06, 2023
Ah, I know that scatterbrained feeling of starting a new job where everything is overwhelming. I hope it slowly but surely subsides as you start bossing this, as we all know you will :)
Jinn ⋅ March 07, 2023
I am sure things will get easier with more time passing. Fingers crossed !
Complicated Disaster ⋅ March 07, 2023
That sounds like fun - but only if you can get it down to a manageable level in the first few months! Good luck!!! xx
echopod ⋅ March 07, 2023
I’ve been working with some sort of messenger service since 2003 and you’ll get used to it! It’s so disrupting at first, but then you kind of organize things into importance: real life, messenger, email in that order. Slack can be difficult to figure out but it’s great for searching back and keeping things at your fingertips.
Once you get settled, maybe you can be the mediator between the CEO and employees to keep the crazy down to a minimum for them? Tough job for you but the best managers I’ve ever had were this person. This CEO sounds intense, but no one is as intense as the person with the most vested interest in the product and company’s success.
I worked at a software startup that had those kinds of growing pains, I was the 42nd employee hired and in three years there were 300 people. It can be harsh and the additional bureaucracy caused by additional people never trained that are keeping busy can be maddening! But you’re only a couple weeks in, you’ll be in the swing of things in a few weeks I bet.
No lunches are a sign of issues though. You need some white space in your life to be truly creative, just struggling to get things done all the time and business kills the creative process.
Kate ⋅ March 07, 2023
What [Amaryllis] said makes me glad my industry is old and stodgy and very slow to change. I don't want to learn a new way of working (guess who else is old/stodgy/slow to change!]
Really happy for you, though. Is it weird I am worried about Martini getting enough attention? LOL. Will you be able to bring her into the office occasionally?
Ginger Snap Kate ⋅ March 07, 2023
Yep!! I’ll bring her to the office 50% of the time and daycare 50%. She will never be left alone in the daytime. 😇 Or at night for that matter bc I have no social life 😭
WhatDreamsMayCome ⋅ March 07, 2023
Good thing you like a challenge! ;-)
plushcreep ⋅ March 09, 2023
Well, no company is perfect. I hope you grow to love it, and your team grows along with you.
pandora ⋅ March 11, 2023
Sounds exciting, though chaotic. I get emails, messages, and instructions via email and Teams all day and it can be a bit much (I can easily lose focus with all that noise), but I can see how helpful it is for remote work. How nice that you can bring Martini!
Gangleri ⋅ March 11, 2023
Can they see your calendar? Can you ignore them when you're in a meeting?
Serin ⋅ March 12, 2023
You really dropped into the fire, huh. Really sorry about shiny new team not bringing you any background, but it's a great opportunity to build things together.
Good luck!
Ginger Snap Serin ⋅ March 12, 2023
It's annoying, but not not-workable. I'm already starting to build a new team behind the scenes for when this team peters out like it may do. This job is certainly a challenge! But I feel like if I can run alongside the train for just a bit, I'll be able to jump on soon!
sudare ⋅ March 13, 2023
Sounds challenging but rewarding!