Can you not move back to a less managerial, more hands-on role? I know people who've tested the waters by moving from IC into management, learned they didn't like it, and moved back. There's usually a pay cut involved if that happens, but if you were living well enough on an IC salary and you like it more, why not?
This is what I did. I ended up moving from an IC role to more of a management role for a year, before asking for someone else to take over so I could move back to being an IC.
4-5 years later, here is the issue I ran into… I was put in a position to take a managerial role, because I was performing a lot of those duties in an unofficial capacity already. Projects needed to be organized, decisions on what work was worth doing needed to be made, roadmaps defined, resources allocated, metrics collected and reviewed, team members needed evaluations, etc. When I moved back to be an IC I stopped doing these things, thinking the people whose job it was to do these things now would do them. They didn’t. I feel like I need to step up and do this stuff again, because the last several years have gone so poorly, but then I’m stepping back on the ladder I actively stepped off of. I know where it leads, so I kick the can down the road and hope for someone to start actually managing the team. I meantime our whole team starts looking worse and worse.
Maybe OP works are a place with more competent management, but if they are rising up and taking on these tasks because no one else is able or willing to do the work, going back to being an IC will leave a vacuum that may not get filled.
> This isn't your business though right? Why would you be worrying the owner is letting management be shit, and letting their asset crumble?
I really don't like this take to be honest, I will only work at a company that I want to work at. It's not like working a mindless 9-5 where I just want to clock out and leave. I'm there because I want to be and believe in the product/company I'm working for.
There's nothing wrong with that, regardless of managment, if I'm working towards something, I already feel I want to improve it.
It's not a "Hero syndrome" as you mentioned in your other comment, it's more having self respect for your work.
If you believe in a company you do actually have problems IMO. The corporation exists to exploit you and tries to make that okay by giving you money. You do not owe it anything, certainly not faith.
Self-respect has to do with doing the work you're asked to do well, not making sure the corporation runs better than it's leadership facilitates.
I understand exactly where you are coming from but I just want to warn you. This sounds very familiar to me and could lead to a classic burnout. I am saying this out of care and not to judge you but, you may be too invested in something that you don't have a big enough stake in. And also, if bringing order to the chaos is not an overarching goal of to business, your work is even misaligned. Ask yourself this: could I reduce my work hours significantly or take a sabbatical? If daily business would continue as usual, it would be an indication that the extra work and ordering you do is not visible anyway. If this is only to keep your own sanity, don't you think it would be much nicer to put that effort behind something you made and control?
I was in your shoes. Stepped into management because the alternative was being managed by someone I knew couldn’t handle it, and I was given the choice. It didn’t take long for me to wind up doing three jobs, two of them management.
I switched companies for one with more professional management. Flat org structure just means “squeeze all the juice out of your experienced engineers until they quit.”
So it's like a hero syndrome? You want to be the saviour?
You're choosing to dwell in that chaos. You've always the option of looking in the mirror, asking hard questions on your motives, and then moving on to somewhere peaceful.
The company is small enough that it would be chaotic to do that kind of transfer. That makes me feel guilty. But nothing ventured... It's not like I'll be able to keep going much longer in this manner. Better some chaos now than worse chaos later I suppose.
As someone who's been in this position a few times and observed it even more: The company will be fine. If you give them some heads up and are helpful in handover you might be shocked to see how smoothly things are carried on by people who appeared helpless just a month prior.
If you like the company and they like you, wouldn't you be a better asset in a role that actually fits you? You're not going to help anyone if you just burn out and leave.
Your needs matter too, and while no job is perfect, it sucks to dread work every day! I hope you can talk to them and find a better balance.
Guilt helps no-one. Better to take that energy you're expending on guilt and redirect it into making this situation work for both you and those around you.
