14 May So you want to be a Manager?
Would you be a good manager?
It might be that you want to progress in your career and you think the next step is into management.
You might see an opportunity to be promoted into a management position.
Or, you think you can do just as good a job as your current manager, perhaps better, and certainly no worse.
But are you sure that’s what you really want?
Have you thought it through properly?
Are you clear about why you think management is right for you, or if you are right for management?
Here are some of the reasons why you might be thinking management is the next step for you, and why it might not be.
And a few other things to think about before you dive in completely.
Reason 1 : You’d like more pay
It’s true, managers do usually get paid a bit more. But sometimes not a whole lot more. I’ve known teams where the manager’s pay is only slightly more than someone they are managing.
So check out the pay difference and make sure the pay reflects the extra responsibility.
Even if salary isn’t too important to you it can be irksome when you put in a lot more time and effort and don’t see your efforts rewarded.
Reason 2 : It’s the next step in your career – you see management as a natural career progression
Well it might be. You might be a great manager. But it’s not the only step.
If you are technically good at what you do, or you have a specialism, there might be an alternative route for you that’s also worth exploring.
Reason 3 : You’re good at your job (so you’ll be a great manager)
It doesn’t always follow that a good worker makes a good manager. You can be technically good at your job but it doesn’t mean that you will be good at managing someone doing that job.
Still want to be a manager?
Here’s some things to think about :
1. Do you know what your skills and knowledge gaps are?
What additional skills and knowledge will you need to develop as a manager and how will you do that?
Will support be available to you?
2. Who will support you?
Where will you go if you get stuck, feel out of your depth, or want an honest opinion or a different view on something?
It’s important to set up a support structure from the start of people you can trust. Management can be a lonely place if you don’t.
3. What might you lose?
You might be managing people who were your peers.
Whether you are or not, you won’t be part of the “old” team anymore – previous friendships or relationships at work may feel the strain.
Your peers will no longer be your peers – and you’ll have to start again and find your place in a new team.
Will you miss your specialism? As a manager you’re likely to become more of a generalist – especially if you’re managing a large team. You might start to feel deskilled.
You won’t be able to blame management any more because you’ll be one of them! Your role in office politics will change.
The expectations of management roles are often a lot more complicated – you won’t be able to just turn up and do the job
Your loyalties will no longer be to your colleagues but to the organisation.
4. What might you gain?
You might get paid more – we’ve already covered that one.
You’ll probably get more responsibility, and with that the opportunity to influence and challenge.
There’ll probably be lots more meetings to go to .
You’ll get to see how and why decisions are made.
There might be opportunities to problem solve.
You’ll more than likely need to handle conflict at some point.
You might be able to recruit your own team and choose who you want to work with.
And probably the best thing about being a manager is being able to develop people, see them grow and move on to the next step in their own careers.
So you still want to be a Manager – that’s great – go into it with your eyes open.
I help new and experienced Managers work to their strengths and be themselves at work.
Book a call here if you’d like to know more about how I can help you. I’ll give you 30 minutes of my time for free.