Should you become a manager?
Questions to ask yourself before taking the leap
In college, after completing the intro CS course, I applied to TA. After TAing for two semesters, I decided I wanted to be a Head Teaching Assistant and while doing that I even applied for a leadership role within the department. There was a lot to enjoy about TAing, but it was also a lot of work. If I’m being honest part of the appeal in continuing to climb the leadership ladder was the prestige. It felt good to have the title and authority that came with the role.
The same thing can happen in the industry. Maybe your team desperately needs managers and someone taps on your shoulder or maybe you’re struggling to move up the career ladder and wonder if you’d progress more quickly on the management track?
It can feel great to be the people pleaser and say yes to the role your team needs you to take on. It might feel amazing to announce a new promotion to your friends and to get a raise, but ultimately if the role is not a good fit for you, it could harm your career.
Questions to ask yourself before becoming a manager:
What is the primary reason I want to become a manager?
What are the other reasons I’m excited about this change?
If there was no raise or title change accompanying it would I still want to do it?
If my manager didn’t need me to become a manager would I still want to do it?
If I could get promoted to the next level tomorrow or become a manager, which would I choose?
If a friend or coworker was trying to dissuade me from become a manager what would I say to convince them it’s the right choice for me?
How will I know if I should stop being a manager and go back to my old role? What steps will I take if this happens?
What parts of the role am I most looking forward to?
What parts of my current role might I miss?
What is my biggest fear about becoming a manager? What steps can I take to address that fear?
Green Flags
Signs you might enjoy management and be good at it
Are you motivated to improve your team?
Do you enjoy mentoring and teaching others?
Are you drawn to process improvements and increasing team efficiency?
Do you love collaborating with other teams and stakeholders like QA, product management, program management?
Do you think about your work in terms of succession planning, training others to do what you do?
Are you motivated by the reason you’re doing the work rather than the work itself?
Do you love helping teammates talk through a challenge they’re having at work?
Are you willing to have hard conversations?
Take the time to reflect on these questions and talk it through with trusted friends and family. You’ll never feel 100% ready to take any major career step and most decisions are reversible, but you can set yourself up for success by digging into your “why”. In my experience, you are ready to take the leap when you are a bit nervous, but also excited about the possibility.
As you learn from each new career move you will continue to define and refine what is important to you at work and can use that to take your next step. You’ve got this.
