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Some agencies are reluctant to have a former supervisor in the same work group they supervised. If that issue should arise you need to consider the options, mindful of the fact that your manager may need to get the cooperation of another manager at your location. Come to the table with possible solutions, not just the problem.
If you have friends who work for the federal government here in the DC area - who doesn't? - you hear your story several times during your lifetime. I don't know how many tales of job dissatisfacton can come from one employer. My next door neighbor is an EEOC case investigator and busy running around the country 52 weeks a year following up grievances people have. I am glad I was a contractor for the most part of it.
As a former federal senior manager, I never wanted people in management positions if they did not want to be there. One of the most important qualifications for being a manager is wanting to do the job.
They will have seen this before. Doing the work and managing the work/people doing the work are two different things. It happens all the time that people who excel at doing the work, do not necessarily excel at being a manager.
Just have a straightforward conversation with your manager and tell your manager that management is not for you and you want to go back to your old position.
Be prepared to address why. You haven't really explained why so its hard to address that.
Their biggest problem if any will be what to do with you if there is not a similar position to the one you left open. In my agency, we simply created an unbudgeted position and then left a vacancy open in a position that hurt us the least until attrition took care of the over staffing.
Make it easy for them by offering to hang in there until they can get it worked out and training your replacement.
Like you said, they may not be that disappointed either because your management style doesn't fit with theirs, because you weren't their pick or because your dissatisfaction is obvious to them.
Just be very sure this is what you want, because if you change your mind again later and want to be a manager this will work against you for a long time. Have you considered if you would like the next higher level of management any better? Some people don't like or aren't that great a first line manager but then excel at mid or higher levels of mgmt. where they are managing the larger picture and other managers.
Thank you for the thoughts!
I had not gotten into the reasons in this thread, but they are manifold. The time demands are having a negative and stress inducing impact on my family (and consequently me). I would have a more favorable shift in my prior position. I find some of the requirements just not suited to my personality, to the point where they cause me great anxiety. (I struggle more with some aspects of discipline than I imagined I would). I also have had disagreements in style with them, where they basically have been directing me to do this, or that, instead of leaving it up to me. I was sidelined some time back too, further distancing myself from the top skills and knowledge I have to offer them. I certainly can expound on these, and the key I know is to do so in a way that doesn't place blame.
Really at the end of the day, and after a long time and careful analysis I realize that going for and taking the frontline supervisor position probably was not a good fit for me at all. At the time, I thought I would be able to balance and handle the areas of the position that play to my weaknesses, but I have just become increasingly stressed, frustrated, and disheartened in the position. I was (and can certainly be again) a much bigger asset to the office in my prior roll.
It is certainly what I want. I do not have aspirations for higher levels of management here either. I would prefer a better work life balance and they would not help that. Also, I find that my strongest skills are more in line with the data analysis and manipulation, and not so much of employee relations. My immediate boss spends most of her time with employee relations, not our workload, data, or reports. Honestly, I would likely be far more suited to be a management analyst for them, but I know there is no positions for that at present. We have had some attrition recently, and I believe they may have room to put me back in my prior position. (Especially since they would likely promote out of that grade if they felt they needed to replace me... with our attrition I am not sure they even need as many front line supervisors.
a brillant move, one that few have the humility to take but can resolve most problems. from time to time most fed offices do scape goats killings. demoting is a great way to avoid the trap. most just resign that is how they manage the pension fund.
a brillant move, one that few have the humility to take but can resolve most problems. from time to time most fed offices do scape goats killings. demoting is a great way to avoid the trap. most just resign that is how they manage the pension fund.
This I have seen. I had a manager who was blamed for a computer hard drive crash. He had zero responsibility for the machine, or it's data integrity. He still took the blame, the heat, and the fall for it. Nice.
I have not detected them doing this to me. Yet. However, I seem to be taking flack for things totally out of my control too. Which seems to be how this stuff starts.
I had not gotten into the reasons in this thread, but they are manifold. The time demands are having a negative and stress inducing impact on my family (and consequently me). I would have a more favorable shift in my prior position. I find some of the requirements just not suited to my personality, to the point where they cause me great anxiety. (I struggle more with some aspects of discipline than I imagined I would). I also have had disagreements in style with them, where they basically have been directing me to do this, or that, instead of leaving it up to me. I was sidelined some time back too, further distancing myself from the top skills and knowledge I have to offer them. I certainly can expound on these, and the key I know is to do so in a way that doesn't place blame.
Really at the end of the day, and after a long time and careful analysis I realize that going for and taking the frontline supervisor position probably was not a good fit for me at all. At the time, I thought I would be able to balance and handle the areas of the position that play to my weaknesses, but I have just become increasingly stressed, frustrated, and disheartened in the position. I was (and can certainly be again) a much bigger asset to the office in my prior roll.
It is certainly what I want. I do not have aspirations for higher levels of management here either. I would prefer a better work life balance and they would not help that. Also, I find that my strongest skills are more in line with the data analysis and manipulation, and not so much of employee relations. My immediate boss spends most of her time with employee relations, not our workload, data, or reports. Honestly, I would likely be far more suited to be a management analyst for them, but I know there is no positions for that at present. We have had some attrition recently, and I believe they may have room to put me back in my prior position. (Especially since they would likely promote out of that grade if they felt they needed to replace me... with our attrition I am not sure they even need as many front line supervisors.
OK then your best bet is just to tell them management is not for you and that its impacting your personal life. No need to get into all the stuff you disagree with them about or don't like. Doesn't sound like that would make a difference even if it improved and why put it on them even if nicely. You still have to work with these people, no need to make enemies.
So, just stop overthinking it and tell your manager you aren't cut out for mgmt., want to go back to your old position and will work with them until they can make that happen. Be prepared your immediate manager may not know exactly how to make it happen so it probably wont happen overnight.
BTW don't be surprised when they ask you do put it in writing. They must have it in writing in order to effect the down grade.
I expect that and have already prepared my formal request.
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