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Are any of you in management? (Supervisor, Manager, Director, VP, Ceo or President)

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Posted 5/15/2007 1:16 AM (GMT 0)

Hello Everyone,

 

For those of you who are in some type of leadership position, I am curious if you ever question your decision making, and if you wonder (like I do) if you should even be in your position because of your depression.

 

I'm doing well, but because of my depression I often question my leadership skills/decisions.

 

Thoughts?

 

Take Care

 

Dan

 

Posted 5/15/2007 5:11 AM (GMT 0)
Dan,

I used to be in management. I felt I was terrible at it. Certain people would run all over me. I finally was able to transfer down into a non-management position that was a nice job. They didn't like me there though, and transferred me to another non-management job that is pretty stressful just because of the workload and some of the odd people in the department.

I wish I had asserted myself better when I was a manager and had more self-confidence.

-- mk
Posted 5/15/2007 11:59 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Dan
I too was in a supervisor position,and I hate to admit but the depression won,and I found another job.

I found some info on the net,hope this helps.

www.mentalhealthamerica.net/index.cfm?objectid=C7DF951E-1372-4D20-C88B7DC5A2AE586D


Stay strong and keep us posted.

Shy
Posted 5/15/2007 12:16 PM (GMT 0)
Dan

I am now retired, but i was a Sales Manager with three offices. I was responsible for a regional office and two smaller offices. That meant 28 people directly or indirectly reporting to me. My Depression has always been occasional and lasting from 3 weeks to three months.

I could function quite normally when I was not in a depressed state. There were many times during my depressed stages when I really could not function in any way. I had difficulty in doing anything, making decisions, interacting with people above and below me, writing reports, and above all making presentations.

I felt I had to hide my illness from the company, or I wold be demoted or treated as someone who should not be in management. The fact that I knew my depressions were cyclical kept me from revealing my illness. I was fortunate in that I was able to keep functioning. There were many times when I had to concentrate enormously to hide my misery.

One has to experience this to understand it. I guess if I had been in a permanent state of depression I would have been discovered. I wold be interested to know how others in my state got by in the work place..

Ralph
Posted 5/15/2007 5:23 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Dan,

I worked at a private mental health company for over 12 yrs.  After 2 yrs of employment and when I graduated from school with my BS in psych I was promated to a supervisor position.  I had over 60 clients that I was responsible for (they lived in residential care facilities that I managed) and 15 employees that were always changing as it was hard to keep really good help.

I have had depression for a really long time.  My employers (the owners and my direct supervior) knew I had it so it wasnt something I had to hide as they knew that everyone has something....there is no such thing as a normal, perfect person. 

As for how it effected my job and how I related to others...well, I was always able to get things done I am just OCD when it comes to paperwork and things like that.  But if I was having an off day and a client was acting up I noticed that sometimes I would be short on patience or would react harsher than normal.  Employees I found it difficult to deal with since they were often lazy or I felt they just didnt get things done as they should.  So often times I just do those things myself (not saying anything to them) and get fustrated since I was bogged down with my work...then I would get stressed about something and end up exploding which isnt a healthy way to deal with them.

I didnt question my decision making during those times though because of my depression; I would say that I question the way I went about things...like behavior dealing with certian people which I dont believe has anything to do with depression.  Just my perspective though...

Posted 5/15/2007 9:10 PM (GMT 0)

Hi Dan

I was in a supervisory role in local government when my depression hit.  My biggest mistake was not recognising I had a problem and seeking help eary enough.

If I had, perhaps I would still be there, I don't know.  Unfortunately I ended up off work for 18 months.

I have recently started work in a much less responsible position in a completely different industry.  While I am feeling a lot better and am grateful for the opportunity to get back into work of some kind, my natural tendency to fill the gaps, and make improvements is very much an issue for me to come to grips with.

My suggestion - if you are not already doing so, perhaps see a pdoc for some support and strategies in dealing with your issues and how to manage your doubts/fears at work, before they overtake you.  I also hear life coaches work with individuals in this area too.

Good luck - try not to doubt yourself.

Deb

Posted 5/15/2007 9:12 PM (GMT 0)
These are some very interesting replies...I can relate to everything that was mentioned.

My patience seems to get the better of me when dealing with some of the entry level people that report to me...many I times I end up by doing what "els" did (do the work myself) when I should be more assertive and deligate the work...I find it easier to just do things myself rather than explaining to some people on how to do it and why we are doing it (I know it's wrong) I shouldn't let people take advantage of me or let stupid people stress me out...I'm not a coward, it's just that when I'm not well, anger is the one emotion that I try most to avoid because it has the most adverse "physiological" effects on my depression.

Anyway I am currently looking for another job...I'm even thinking of starting over and selling my and moving to a warmer climate.

Thanks again for the replies...this place is the best.

Regards

Dan
Posted 5/16/2007 5:17 AM (GMT 0)
Dan,

this was a really interesting little thread, thanks for starting it. I do feel that my mental illness, which for a very long time I mistakenly viewed as a personality defect, has held me back.

and now at 44 I don't know what's next. with all the negative changes in my industry, i just feel lucky to be working, with a good salary and benefits.

-- mk
Posted 5/16/2007 10:52 AM (GMT 0)
hi, guys and gals!

i was a manager for several years in the computer industry amd finally made it to Director (comma :-) ).  i do to the work i was doing, i couldn't let anyone know about my depression or bi-polar disorder.  my normal state is depressed and i let papers pile up on my desk and let reports go unwritten.  then i would hit a manic state, clear the decks and write several major reports in one day.  i believe that seven major technical reports in on day was my record (each report being between 50 and 100 pages).

i also had a reputation for blowing up at people.  i once told my boss off so badly that he told me that nobody but his daddy had ever talked to him like that.  i told him he had just never met me before.

by he same tkken, my secretary was going through a very painful divorce and i gave her as much time off as she needed and let her literally cry on my shoulder many times (with currrent rules, i guess i could get into trouble for thatone).

one of the most interesting things i did waas to fire my data base designer.  we were running far behing schedule.  i told him that he would have to complete the data abse structure on a given date.  i check with him several times, not being too puchy, and he assured me that the data base would be ready on time.  it wsn't.  i blw my stack!  i fired him on the spot.  eventually, we became pretty good friends.  he understoof what he had done wrong and i appologised for losing my temper.

warren

Posted 5/16/2007 12:15 PM (GMT 0)
Warren

Seven 50 to 100 page reports in one day. Sounds like you are in the genius class.
I guess some highly intelligent individuals are by-polar. I hope you proof read your
reports. (no disrespect intended )
Posted 5/17/2007 5:54 PM (GMT 0)

ralph,

no, i never proof-read any of these reports.  we had tech editors  to do that.  i mis-spoke.  i was one day as measured from sleep cycle to sleep cycly.  in fact two or maybe even three days and nights may have passed. 

wouldn't do that again for anything.

Posted 5/17/2007 8:46 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,

I'm in a management position, though I am an Administrative Assistant so for the most part, I just do what other people tell me to do and I prefer that. However, now that I've become more established in my position, I frequently have to take initiative on projects or other tasks and sometimes it's really difficult for me.

My main concern with depression effecting my work is that I often have no desire to do anything, so filing will stack up and I'll get behind, or I'll put something off and completely forget about it until it's late. I do manage to get my daily required tasks done, but sometimes it takes a lot just to get me going.

I honestly believe I couldn't be in a position where I would have much more responsibility, such as a manager or someone who would have to make large decisions that would ultimately affect the business. I have a tendency to let people walk all over me as well (social anxiety) and I feel I really could be better at my job if I could just learn to stand up for myself and be more assertive.
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