5 Things You Should Know About Being a Manager

When an employee becomes a people manager, they have to know that some things will change. They will do a different kind of work, their schedule will be full of meetings, and they probably have more say in big decisions. 

However, they should also anticipate that their day-to-day role will also evolve. Here are five things you should know about becoming a manager:

 

1. The isolation

When you become a leader, your circle will change. You are now on another level than your former colleagues, and you will probably spend most of your time with your manager or the superiors above them. It can be a challenging adjustment when you are used to having your own group of colleagues at your level. 

The best thing you can do is to find your manager cohort. They could be the people whom you underwent management training with or managers on adjoining teams.

 

2. It is no longer about you

Being a manager is more than being an achiever and an executor. The transition to becoming a manager means that you no longer focus on surpassing your goals. Now, your focus is to bring the whole team along to success. 

When you are used to spending time on your own task, you must learn to work a new muscle, one that is focused on growing and leading your team to their version of success. 

One leader's success is not measured by how many calls they make, which means that at the end of the day, it can be hard to tell what you truly accomplished. You need a new way to think about productivity and success.

 

3. Achieving success as a team feels even better

Remember that feeling when you exceeded your own goals? Double that feeling when you win as a team. There is a lot of happiness to know that you have supported your team to do their best work and accomplish their goals, and the impact you can make as an entire team is much more significant than you could do by yourself.

 

4. Sometimes, there is no way to improve

You have probably encountered managers who have done things that make you think, "I can do it better than them". Even though that's a fantastic attitude, it is not always the reality. 

You will never understand some former managers' actions or decisions until you become a manager yourself. The reality is that though it may seem that the manager has all the cards, sometimes their hands are tied, and they cannot make any changes even if they want to. 

Sometimes they need to provide tough feedback or answers. These are the elements of being a leader and doing what is best for the greater good. Though, there are lessons you can learn from your former managers, such as things one should never do as a manager.

 

5. Everyone's keeping an eye on you

When you're just an individual contributor, there aren't many people in the organisation that notice your success or failure. However, when you're a manager, more people will pay attention to you and how you react, interact and lead. All of these will have a major effect on your team.

You must be respectful, positive and unbiased. Actions you may think of as minor can significantly impact someone you manage, so you should always be mindful.

 

"What got you here won't get you there" is the perfect phrase for managers. Regardless of how great you were at your last role, leading your team is its own skill. It is an entirely different game to manage people doing the job. You will need a willingness to learn, humility, and a strong sense of teamwork.