How does one bounce back from a demotion?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Four years ago- almost to the day- I got my dream job. I took a bit of a paycut to move all the way across to US to work on the project I’ve wanted to work on ever since I got into the game industry.

Over the years, I developed the toolchain. I hired employees. I worked as the head of the team and as a member of it, because my section was so understaffed.

About three months ago, I got a new employee. He’s the only one I didn’t have a choice on. He’s very talented, but unlike everyone else on my team, I was told that he was going to get the job before I even met him.

Then… yesterday. My boss called me into his office and told me that the new guy was going to replace me as leader of the team. I was pretty blindsided- we were keeping up with our schedule, even working ahead when we could. Nobody (that I know of) was having problems with our work.

I was told that it wasn’t a knock against me, just that the new guy had more management skills, while my strengths were more in the production area. I’ll agree with this- I honestly do prefer to be producing rather than managing. But as I said, this is the project I’ve always wanted to work on. My name on it as Lead will make my career- with that on my resume, I’ll be in big demand.

My pay wasn’t cut. Heck, as near as I can tell, my responsibilities won’t be changing much. My day-to-day job will be pretty much the same- I even have to finish the annual reviews I’ve been working on.

I left work early yesterday, just as my team was being told. I’m really not looking forward to going into the office today.

I’d start looking for another job, except for one thing: I just bought a house. Any new job is likely to be in another state, so I can’t afford to leave. As such, I can’t lose this job, so I’m kind of hosed.

How do I maintain a positive attitude with this? I suspect that the new guy was hired on with the promise that he’d be made Lead- this all feels very political to me. I did request that my name be listed in the credits as “Lead” when the project ships, since I’ll have been Lead for most of the project. My future career won’t be seriously affected, as far as getting a job elsewhere… but I had been intending to stay here for as long as they’d have me, because for the most part this is a great company to work for.

So I can’t blow up. I can’t get too depressed about this. But the question is, “How?” I feel like I’ve been completely screwed over, and to all of my coworkers it’s going to look like I screwed up somehow and am being punished.

2

Do you think you can tell your boss how you feel, how this has affected you? In particular, that your colleagues will think you’ve been punished for something? Seems to me (s)he owes you an explanation, and especially an announcement to the team that this is not so.

Also, you could ask for a new title, like “Technical Lead” or something of that nature. So you still keep your technical leadership role, and so your status, while not having to manage those pesky engineers.

FWIW I gave up any thought of a “promotion” to management many many years ago, and have been happily working as an engineer with no higher responsibility. There is a freedom in lack of further ambition, and in your case personnel management doesn’t seems to be your strong suit anyway.

3

Everyone else is going to take their cues from you, I’d say. If you are cool with it, they will be too. If you treat it like no big thing, that is the view they will likely take away.

You seem to still like the job, the company, your peers, etc. You seem to be on the ragged fringes of being sufficiently circumspect, just let go of the ‘being the lead’ and ‘making my career’ stuff. That’s ego stuff and not what you should focus on, I think. Your quality work and relationships are what ‘make your career’, I think.

Accept graciously what you cannot change, is my best advice. Though it sounds like you already know all of this and are already there!

Good Luck!

4

If you are lacking manager skills and the new guy has them, learn from the new guy. Watch at least for differences and ask if the person if he’s open enough. Find out where he got his knowledge from. Pull a Spock and mindmeld and take all you can get.
Stroke his ego…‘why did you do that in such a way? Wow, I never looked at that that way.’
Learn to better where you could improve.
Then throw the fucker under a bus and get your spot back.
The best revenge is living well.

5

This is perfect advice. The way you act today could have a big impact on your future. Even if you don’t feel it, act positive and accepting of the situation and don’t get caught up in any behind-the-scenes bitching with people trying to be your ally.

It’s a horrible, shitty situation you’ve been put in, and you have my sympathy.

6

So you’ll be doing more of the work that you prefer and are getting the same pay.

Is this just an ego thing?

7

There’s a very good chance that the new guy won’t be around long. He’ll either move up or out probably within a year or two. Bide your time and maybe take some college courses in management. Be ready to fill the vacuum when he leaves. Be the good employee during this time.

And search for a new job. Maybe he won’t leave or he’ll see you as a rival making work hell. The best time to look for a job is when you have one. I check for job opportunities at least once a week and I’m happy where I work.

8

Well, I’d agree that there’s ego in anything you do and management is like any other job. In purely software companies being a manager has roots in professional/engineering excellence – however, purely technical, high-achieving people are lousy at fulfilling traditional management functions such as planning and motivating bigger teams working on complex deliverables.

At the same time, I’d expect a software company to maintain two streams of recognition – one reserved for management and another for professional excellence. It appears as OP should be fine making it in the latter.

9

Well, to a degree… yes, it is an ego thing. I’ve done the majority of the management, but he’s come in close to the end of the project and will be getting a huge amount of the credit for the work I’ve done in building the team and the tools. And there’s also the fact that, as lead, he’ll have creative control over the work I do- that part particularly stings.

Everyone seems to be walking on eggshells around me today. I’m trying to keep busy and just ignore the situation. Hey, at least I’ll have fewer meetings.

10

Well, then, it might help to remember that ego is an illusion and has no real substance. You’re literally worried over nothing.

The flip side, though, is how is this going to affect you professionally? Will your future resume change because of this? Will it hamper further opportunities? Those are valid issues that you might want to discuss with your boss.

11

With a screen name like that… :smiley:

12

I think you need to take the 20,000 foot view here not the up close and personal one.

The company may be a great place to work but in the end their hiring and strategic decisions will be made on the basis of what’s good for the company, not you personally. Jibber jabber about teams and corporate culture aside they owe you nothing beyond a paycheck for work performed. They had a shinier widget they could plug into your spot, so you were handled into training the new guy to replace you, the other option was that you get fired and replaced.

All things considered you have been treated relatively gently and well, but you need to remember they are focused on what is important to the company and the owners/ shareholders, you are simply a means to an end. This is not about you.

As you move up the management ladder there is less and less room at the top and it is more competitive. You need to be looking out for your own interests. Your complaining that it seems “political” is borderline naive. Life in the upper tiers is inherently political, even in chimpanzee societies hierarchical status and relationships are political. If you are a step behind managerially step up your game with advanced classes or even as masters degree or whatever is relevant in your field. You need to moving your own chess pieces at this stage.

Do not focus on this as demotion it 's simply a strategic move by the company, focus on it as lesson.

13

Every situation is different, but odds are you will be stuck in your current position as long as you have this job. If you’re satisfied with that, then fine. Otherwise start looking for another job now.

14

Only suggestion I can give you is have some perspective and realistic goals about your feelings.

It is going to hurt. You won’t be able to magically make the pain disappear. What you can do is say to yourself:

“Other people have gone through this - eventually they get over it. All I need to do is make today slightly less painful then yesterday - and tomorrow slightly better than today.”

That is achievable - you can do that. Eventually it will be manageable.

Do the best you can. Try and think about the good things about your coworkers and employer.

15

It’s certainly going to derail my long-term plans, that’s for sure. I’m extremely specialized, which has really helped my career. At Lead, I was pretty much at the top of my particular ladder. Unless I got further into management, there was nowhere else for me to go.

Mostly I’m just concerned about how this will look on my resume at future employers.

16

It doesn’t go on your resume. At least not in the way you made it sound here.

17

Look at the Project Managment Institute (PMI) and see about courses or certifications in project management. Given your industry, it might be a good fit, and it will help you develop some of the “management” tool set without running off to get an MBA or other higher education.

Depending on what you want to do, that might be enough for you to be exactly where you want to be.

FWIW, it seems kind of shitty of your management to cut your legs out without any advanced warning. Are you sure you didn’t miss some signs or discussions that should have alerted you to this?

18

This is why the whole thing smells bad. It’s what the actual poor management is in this case.

19

Lots of Silicon Valley companies have dual career ladders, one technical and one managerial. How switches between them are viewed depends on your company culture. A while back they decided that in order to flatten the organization every manager had to have about 15 reports. I had three at the time, but I’ve had 15 and I was happy to become purely technical. Like you I was doing both management and technical work. I’ve never regretted it - fewer meetings and a lot more freedom.
This change was in no way a demotion, and I don’t think yours was either.
As for your future, do you love budgets and politicing? I was an acting second level manager once and discovered that I absolutely hated it. But that would have been my future if I had stayed in management. As you know, as a manager you have a responsibility for your team as well as your technical work, and that can be hard to balance. You can focus better without that stuff. I’m picking up on your saying that you like the technical work the best; in that case, why take management classes to force yourself to do something you like less?

Why not suggest to your managers a technical ladder also. Leadership, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, comes from skill not title. Perhaps they can acknowledge that. Or perhaps you can report to the new guy’s boss, while still being in the team.
I do recruiting for my department, because I’m good at it. And I’m real glad that when we make an offer I don’t have to worry about the paperwork.
On the other hand, if in your culture this is a real demotion, then all you can do is leave. And remember that in many places people move back and forth, and that it is often much easier to get a technical job than a management job.

20

Yeah, there wasn’t a damn thing. Everyone else here has been pretty shocked by it. I’ve always had to fight for my team- at first, I was going to be the only one on the project. Unlike the other leads, I never got an office, so doing interviews and reviews has always been rather difficult. I’m not going to miss that.

I’m kind of getting used to the idea. I’m going to suggest that they give me the title of Technical Lead, since that actually does fit my job description really well- I’m the guy who sits down with the programmers to get our tools built, anyway.