A very influencial and talented program manager recently decided to leave for another position within the company. I was approached to fill the PM position. However, I am not sure if I should make this move. Because,
1. I have been in my current position (technical) for more than 5 years and I am comfortable with what I am doing and my bosses. This new position won't use my technical strength but does offer more opportunities for growth and add value to my skills set.
2. This program manager has done an excellent job in the past 5+ years at this position and he has set a very high bar. I feel if I take this position, everyone will judge my performance using him as a standard that I may not be able to match up.
3. I am close to this program manager. From my conversation with him, I sense that his departure could be temporary. During a recent re-org, he was moved under a new boss while he maintained all his PM responsibilities. He does not seem to see eye to eye with his new boss but he is fully aware that he has very good reputation among people working with him from other teams. In my opinion, he is likely using this temporary departure as a mean to show how important he was to his boss and intends to come back when/if things do fall apart.
Considering all the above, I see this position as promising but risky. I would like to seek advice from those of you on whether I should make my move.
Thanks a lot.
