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[Dr. Feel Good]

What is this? Why are people called managers and yet they don't manage people? Am I wrong in thinking managers, senior managers, directors, etc. should have direct reports? I feel like the title doesn't mean shit otherwise.

 

[entremet]

It's another one of the dumb corporate things people do make others feel good.

Most titles are bullshit.

 

[Stet]

You can manage a lot of things.

 

[Bentendo]

I get shit on for this a lot. As if I personally decided to put that in my title.

 

[Maridia]

A manager of people sets goals for their employees and makes sure that they have the resources to achieve those goals. A product or project (or insert non-human entity that needs managing here) manager does those same things for the product or project that that they manage.

 

[oneils]

For a long while, I was a manager with only one direct report. Mainly because I managed a business process that relied on a network of people outside of hq. These folks reported to their own managers, but I "managed" one of their main business processes. Since then, we've added 4 people to my team (they have also added a few more processes). Hope that makes sense.

Edit: you can have all sorts of managers, project managers, resource managers, and just plain managers. In my organization, we all have similar pay. We are considered middle managers just under the executive cadre.

 

[BennyBlanco]

It's another one of the dumb corporate things people do make others feel good.

Most titles are bullshit.

I think my favorite superfluous corporate title is "senior ____"

Literally signifies nothing.

 

[Stet]

I think my favorite superfluous corporate title is "senior ____"

Literally signifies nothing.

Hierarchy?

 

[Ganhyun]

I think my favorite superfluous corporate title is "senior ____"

Literally signifies nothing.

Well, it does signify who to go ask questions/advice from in that position if the manager is out. Usually used to indicate the chain of command in a department.

 

[Maridia]

I think my favorite superfluous corporate title is "senior ____"

Literally signifies nothing.

Signifies money.

 

[Ragnaros]

You can manage accounts or products. Account Manager, Product Manager, etc.

Corporate noobie question

 

[oneils]

I think my favorite superfluous corporate title is "senior ____"

Literally signifies nothing.

Not in my organization. It usually signifies more responsibilities and pay.

 

[entremet]

Hierarchy?

It's very company dependent, just like titles.

Another quirk is that salesperson is a verboten word in business, even though sales is the lifeblood of business.

I don't think I've ever met a salesperson with that title.

 

[Dr. Feel Good]

You can manage accounts or products. Account Manager, Product Manager, etc.

Corporate noobie question

What's the difference between Account Executive and Account Manager then? Or Product Specialist and Product Manager?

 

[Bentendo]

I think my favorite superfluous corporate title is "senior ____"

Literally signifies nothing.

Not true. Where I work it signifies more pay and significantly more responsibilities.

 

[Stet]

What's the difference between Account Executive and Account Manager then?

One is in charge of executing tasks and the other is in charge of managing the larger picture behind the tasks.

 

[darkazcura]

I think my favorite superfluous corporate title is "senior ____"

Literally signifies nothing.

Well that's not really true. I'm an engineer with a couple years experience. I'm still a few years away from getting a senior title of not more, and that's if I continue learning in the same industry..senior engineers have to know their stuff, and I am assuming that is the same with a lot of different roles..

 

[Dr. Feel Good]

One is in charge of executing tasks and the other is in charge of managing the larger picture behind the tasks.

Seems completely stupid to me. You could call a part time custodian the Facilities Manager with that logic.

By definition managing to me is managing others to achieve goals and complete tasks.

 

[Ragnaros]

What's the difference between Account Executive and Account Manager then? Or Product Specialist and Product Manager?

Product Specialist is usually underneath a Product Manager. There is typically only one Product Manager per product. They're the lead.

AE or AM is just whatever the business decided upon. Synonymous. I dislike having Executive in the title unless the person is at the CXO level. When someone tells you they got a promotion and are now a _____ Executive or better yet started out of college with this title it's kind of funny.

 

[oneils]

What's the difference between Account Executive and Account Manager then? Or Product Specialist and Product Manager?

Depends on the type of role. If for marketing, the account executive usually executes the marketing tasks like media placements and stuff. The manager would supervise the account executives - that's my understanding anyway.

 

[Ragnaros]

By definition managing to me is managing others to achieve goals and complete tasks.

While manager is the word that makes sense by definition I think the corporate term best used now to fit this description is Director.

 

[Stet]

Seems completely stupid to me. You could call a part time custodian the Facilities Manager with that logic.

By definition managing to me is managing others to achieve goals and complete tasks.

You could call a teacher a children manager by that logic.

 

[blame space]

Wow. I'm Mr. Manager!

 

[oneils]

Seems completely stupid to me. You could call a part time custodian the Facilities Manager with that logic.

By definition managing to me is managing others to achieve goals and complete tasks.

I'm not sure you followed the logic. The account manager manages the account executives.

 

[Thorakai]

I was given a manager title because bureaucracy made it hard to give me the money I wanted under an associate title

 

[Dr. Feel Good]

You could call a teacher a children manager by that logic.

Uh, no because the definition of "teach" is what a teacher does. They instruct and introduce material and topics to help stimulate knowledge and development. They put course guidelines out to help their students successfully navigate their way through new material. They support (teach) students, they don't manage them.

 

[Stet]

Uh, no because the definition of "teach" is what a teacher does. They instruct and introduce material and topics to help stimulate knowledge and development. They put course guidelines out to help their students successfully navigate their way through new material. They support (teach) students, they don't manage them.

Sorry, I thought we were simplifying peoples' jobs to a very basic impression of them to justify asking silly questions.

 

[Dr. Feel Good]

I'm not sure you followed the logic. The account manager manages the account executives.

That's not what his original post said. He said they were responsible for managing the larger picture. If he was implying that, then yes, I miss interrupted that. At our company we have Account Executives and Account Managers reporting into the same Sales Director. It all seems completely stupid.

 

[BennyBlanco]

Well, it does signify who to go ask questions/advice from in that position if the manager is out. Usually used to indicate the chain of command in a department.

In my company all it signifies is pay, not even seniority. People have it who have been there less than a year.

 

[LOLDSFAN]

Uh, no because the definition of "teach" is what a teacher does. They instruct and introduce material and topics to help stimulate knowledge and development. They put course guidelines out to help their students successfully navigate their way through new material. They support (teach) students, they don't manage them.

Ever heard of having to raise your hand to go to the bathroom?

 

[John Rabbit]

That's not what his original post said. He said they were responsible for managing the larger picture. If he was implying that, then yes, I miss interrupted that. At our company we have Account Executives and Account Managers reporting into the same Sales Director. It all seems completely stupid.

different companies operate differently, why is this surprising?

 

[Roland_Gunner]

Signifies money.

Indeed. Most places I've been at Senior X means you're in a higher pay band and can get an extra $10K - $20K a year.

 

[oneils]

That's not what his original post said. He said they were responsible for managing the larger picture. If he was implying that, then yes, I miss interrupted that. At our company we have Account Executives and Account Managers reporting into the same Sales Director. It all seems completely stupid.

Ok. That's how I interpreted it, but I don't want to put words in his mouth.

In your company, Do the account managers manage the account executives? Is that the hierarchy: account executive, account manager, and then sales director? I'm not all that familiar with marketing.

In my organization, we have administrators of varying seniority. Then we have "staff officers" that start with junior officer, officer, senior officer, manager and then from there we get in to the executive cadre. That starts with a director and on to senior director, executive director, associate Vice President, Vice President, executive Vice President (the no. 2) and finally president. So I have 5 people between me and the president (in my chain of command, I mean - there are other chains of command parallel to mine).

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

I'm a manager with no 'real' direct reports. I manage a segment of the business. I govern about 100+ people but I'm not technically their boss even if they have to follow my rules.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

You can manage systems.

 

[Akuun]

Some companies like to slap words like "executive", "director", "manager", "engineer", and so on to fucking everything. I mean yeah, there are real engineers who actually engineer things and real managers who manage projects or people, but there are a lot of people who have those words slapped everywhere just to try to look good.

If someone has a vague and convoluted title like "executive director of consumer product experiences" then chances are that person was allowed to choose his own title and tried to pad the shit out of it to make it look good on his resume.

Not true. Where I work it signifies more pay and significantly more responsibilities.

Same. Usually "senior" means a higher pay grade and more things expected of you. As far as I can tell, a senior person is generally given less handholding than a regular worker because he's expected to be more capable and resourceful. I'd say "executive" is the meaningless word that sounds good but doesn't really mean anything in a lot of cases.

But then there are also some teams where everyone is a "senior" something, so it could get the same treatment.

 

[ZackieChan]

Why does this bother you, OP? Who cares what someone's title is?

 

[littlebigman]

Where I come from, "manager" basically just means "person who knows their shit and doesn't slack off." All you really need to do to get promoted is to do your job and follow orders, because that displays commitment and an understanding of authority. If you routinely miss shifts and back talk people who outrank you, you ain't going anywhere.

 

[Hazmat]

I think my favorite superfluous corporate title is "senior ____"

Literally signifies nothing.

As a Senior Something I both take offense (not really) and agree. It's just a notch up the pay scale and a better title, both of which increase your market value when you go looking for a new job.

 

[ZackieChan]

As a Senior Something I both take offense (not really) and agree. It's just a notch up the pay scale and a better title, both of which increase your market value when you go looking for a new job.

Not sure why this taxonomy and the usefulness of it is so tough to grasp.

 

[oneils]

Where I come from, "manager" basically just means "person who knows their shit and doesn't slack off." All you really need to do to get promoted is to do your job and follow orders, because that displays commitment and an understanding of authority. If you routinely miss shifts and back talk people who outrank you, you ain't going anywhere.

Yeah, the way to get promoted is to make everyone look good. If you have criticism, make it as diplomatic and constructive as possible. Do not turn it into a complaint. Everyone has a certain level of ability for this. I have reached my limit, I think.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

I'm a manager with no 'real' direct reports. I manage a segment of the business. I govern about 100+ people but I'm not technically their boss even if they have to follow my rules.

Same. As a project manager I manage projects - schedules, process, logistics, resourcing, etc. The various people assigned to the projects have their own direct managers (UI, engineering, product management, etc), and I often work closely with their managers in general on a daily basis.

I may get direct reports down the road if the PM group expands though. But even when I was still at an associate level, I still had "manager" in my title. Because I, well, still managed projects.

 

[i am unagi]

At my company, we have people with manager title such as "Package Manager" or "Social Media Manager" because our clients think they can get their way if they ask for a manager. We created a bunch of manager titles so when we tell someone an answer they don't like and they demand to speak to a manager, we just pull someone to tell them the same thing we just told them. Everyone is well versed in the policy.

Yes, it actually works. And it makes me sick how people demand to talk to a manager when the answer to their request is "sorry no." People are so used to getting their way if they throw a tantrum.

 

[Hazmat]

Not sure why this taxonomy and the usefulness of it is so tough to grasp.

It isn't, I'm not an idiot. I'm just commenting about how adding the word "senior" to my job title earlier this year didn't really change anything.

 

[led4lyfe]

I'm a manager who has around 20-25 associates that I manage. I often get requests from other managers (who manage no one) telling me they need my associates assistance. I had one manager who was leaving their job ask me for one of my guys to help clean out their office (uh no) and another just casually tell me "oh just tell them to do it anyway" after they asked for my associate to do something clearly not in his job description(something stupid like "can you have them collect boxes I'm about to move".

 

[ZackieChan]

It isn't, I'm not an idiot. I'm just commenting about how adding the word "senior" to my job title earlier this year didn't really change anything.

Wasn't talking about you! Sorry if it wasn't clear.

 

[BobLoblaw]

Well, I only have one direct report now, but will have three more in the next month or so and one more after that in the near future. Seems odd to "manage" only one person and still be considered a manager, but my resume looks better for it.