Ask the headhunter

C.V. asks:

After my PhD in microelectronics, I spent many years doing purely technical work for a large American chip company. Although I still very much enjoy tinkering with analog IP blocks every day, I’ve arrived at the inevitable point in my career where I’m asked to take on some organizational tasks. Recently, my boss retired and from one day to the next, without any preparation, I became responsible for a team. As a design manager, I now have to deal with a structural shortage of people, while having to deliver to customers the first samples of a chip that’s not even ready yet.

Being born with a soldering iron in hand and being quite the perfectionist, I’m making long hours. I’m also demanding a lot from my people and tend to micro-manage. This has resulted in some friction with my team members. With one of them, I’m even having regular (civil) disputes. He’s a veteran and only has a few years left until retirement. I suspect that’s why he’s not completely in his comfort zone in this high-tech pressure cooker. It looks like he’s going a bit overboard and I’d really like to improve our rapport.