Is a Management Career Right for You? |
By Mary White, M.A., SPHR
MTI Business Solutions
Are you thinking about moving into management with your company? Before you ask your boss for the promotion, it's a good idea to spend some time thinking about whether or not you are management material. The fact that you are an outstanding employee does not mean that you will like being a manager, or that you have the skills necessary to become a manager.
What does it mean to say that someone is management material? It's a fact that management is a great career option for many people, and is definitely not right for others. Many people choose to pursue management careers because they think that moving into a supervisory position is simply a natural progression in their career path. Unfortunately, many people ask for and get promotions into management-level positions without really considering how much their day to day professional lives are going to change once they become supervisors.
Mindset Shift
No matter what profession you are in, moving from a line level position into a supervisory capacity requires a complete change in mindset. When you become a manager, the focus of your job will change. Good employee concentrate on performing the tasks associated with their jobs to the best of their abilities. Managers have to focus on making this happen, rather than doing things themselves.
People Skills
Directing the work of a team, department, or organization involves much more than knowledge about how to perform the tasks of the job. Managers have to know how to motivate people, monitor work flow, allocate resources, manage a budget, and much more. Effective managers actually spend the majority of their time communicating with other people. Managers have to have outstanding communication skills. Listening is a big part of any management level job.
Keep Professional Distance
It's also important to keep in mind that once you become a manager, you stop being a peer. When you are promoted to a managerial position, you have to maintain an appropriate professional distance between yourself and the people you supervise. If not, your judgment may be questioned when it's time to discipline employees or make decisions about promotions among your staff.
The Next Step
If you feel that you understand what it means to become a manager, and you feel that a management career is the best choice for you, then speak to your supervisor and let him or her know of your interest in moving up. If your uncertain about whether or not management is a good option for you, you may want to speak with someone in your company's human resources department about taking some management training seminars. The more you learn about the profession, the better equipped you will be to make a good decision about your future.
About the Author
Mary G. White, M.A., SPHR is the Training Coordinator for Mobile Technical Institute & MTI Business Solutions (http://www.mobiletechwebsite.com) where she specializes in human resources, management, customer service, public relations, and marketing training. She teaches open enrollment classes for MTI, provides on-site corporate training, and frequently speaks at conferences and association meetings. MTI also provides a variety of consulting services, including custom database development and website solutions.
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