5 Things To Consider Before
You Take That Management Job
by: CareerBliss
from: CAREEREALISM
At first
glance, accepting a management job can seem like a no-brainer – you have the
inside track on what’s going on at the office, you get to delegate tasks and,
hopefully, your paycheck gets fatter.
But before taking over that corner office, ponder these
five questions about other matters that go along with assuming a higher title.
1. Do You Want That Much Responsibility?
Leaders may get much of the glory for success, but they
also get much of the blame for failure. Are you prepared to handle the stress
of budgets and deadlines, to scramble to make things right when one of your
charges shows up late or makes a mistake, and to be the one who must find a way
to appease a fussy client or an impatient higher-up?
2. Can You Handle Conflict?
Pete Friedes, former CEO of the international human
resource consulting firm Hewitt Associates and co-founder of Managing
People Better, notes that people who end up unhappy in management often “can’t
stand the conflicts inherent in managing — confronting poor or marginal
performers, putting up with all the excuses, trying to meet the various needs
of the employees, insisting on excellence and dealing with bad behavior.”
If the thought of being the one who fills out performance
evaluations, mediates office squabbles, and reads the riot act to
underachievers makes you queasy, maybe management isn’t for you.
3. Do You Prefer To Work On Your Own?
By its nature, managing involves being around others much
of the time. An introverted personality or simply a preference for focusing
solely on your own work may
lead to discomfort or discontent as a manager.
“Taking a management job when it isn’t a good fit with
your personality will most likely result in your losing confidence in yourself
and not doing a good job,” Friedes warns. “Accepting an individual role when
that is a better fit will be much more likely to achieve job satisfaction and
self-confidence.”
4. Are You Ready To Be Fodder For Water-Cooler Conversation?
Becoming “one of them” can affect how others perceive
you, and redefining your office relationships to adjust to the new social
structure can be difficult.
“When people take a management job, they are really
changing careers. But they don’t realize this,” says Alan Vengel, a
consultant on workplace issues and author of Twenty Minutes to a Top
Performer and The Influence Edge.
“All the relationships they’ve had with their colleagues
will now be changed. Management considers them part of management and on the
management team. Colleagues consider them part of management and no longer part
of their team. So, the people you’ve been having lunch with, drinking your
coffee with, complaining about the boss with, are no longer accessible to you.
You really lose a support group. People look at you and treat you differently.”
5. How Would The New Position Change Your Life On The Whole?
Lastly, take to heart Vengel’s notion of moving up to
management as being a career change. Are you ready for it? How might longer
hours, additional stress, and perhaps the need to travel for work affect your
family and personal life?
Just as if you were considering a new job at a different
company, weigh the pros and cons of the management position to see if it is the
right move for you.
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