8 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Moving Into Management
In many organisations, once you have proven your
abilities, the next logical step is to move into
management. While on the face of it this might appear
sensible, it is worth consciously deciding if it
is right for you. So what are the key questions to
ask yourself?
1. What Do You Want?
The obvious reply is more money. The reality is
that money is rarely a huge motivator in the longer
term. You might want challenging work, to make a
contribution, to continually grow, to become the
technical expert in your field. Will a move into
management take you closer to what you want? Take
the time to find out what really matters to you.
2. What Is Life Really Like As A Manager?
You can read books, articles, listen to podcasts
or speakers that will tell you about management.
What you need to know is what it is really like.
Speak to those in management roles. See if you can
shadow some managers for a few days to see what the
job is like.
3. What Skills, Knowledge and Personal Attributes
Do You Need To Succeed?
Managing is very different to doing. There are a
whole set of skills, knowledge and attributes you
need to succeed. For example:
* Influencing
* Directing
* Taking responsibility
* Motivating
* Delegating
* Problem solving
* Project Management
Take the time to find out about the skills, knowledge
and personal attributes you will need in your organisation,
industry or specialism.
4. What Are You Really Great At?
Find out about yourself. Assess your own strengths
and get feedback from others. The idea is to get
an idea of where you excel. Once you know this you
can start to consider if management and you are a
good fit.
5. Where Do You Struggle?
Knowing your strengths is vital. Of equal importance
is understanding where you struggle. Assess yourself
and get feedback from others. Use this as a basis
of personal development planning.
6. Do Your Strengths Greatly Exceed Your Weaknesses?
Having strong foundations to build on is essential.
If you find that your strengths far outweigh your
weaknesses you have excellent foundations to build
on.
7. Is The Time Right?
It can be tempting to be lured by the salary increase
but ask yourself is the time right to move to management.
Indicators that it might be include:
* Possessing the right qualities
* Having positive feedback
* A desire for a new challenge
* Feeling that you have achieved all that you can
in a task based role
* A readiness for change
8. What Do I Need To Focus On If The Time Is Not
Right?
If you decide that you want to move into management
eventually but not at the current time, start to
put a development plan in place to:
* Build your strengths
* Work on your weaker areas
* Get you into a state of readiness
Ask for the help you need to achieve your plan and
ultimate goal.
Moving into management is a major decision. Treat
it as such and you will move into it ready to embrace
the challenges and opportunities.
by
Duncan Brodie
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