The shift from doing to leading.
WHAT CHANGES
Your output becomes the team's output.
WHY THAT IS DIFFICULT
The satisfaction of finishing things yourself disappears.
WHAT THE WORK CONSISTS OF
Deciding what the team does Making sure people know what is expected Removing obstacles Developing people Handling problems Representing the team upward and outward
WHAT IT DOES NOT CONSIST OF
Doing the work yourself Checking everything Being the best practitioner
WHY THAT LAST POINT MATTERS
The best practitioner frequently makes a poor manager, and promoting them costs you both.
WHAT NEW MANAGERS COMMONLY DO WRONG
Continue doing their old job Fail to delegate Avoid difficult conversations Manage everyone identically
WHAT THE COMMONEST FAILURE IS
Avoiding conversations that are uncomfortable.
WHY IT MATTERS
Problems grow, and people are denied the chance to improve.
WHAT GOOD MANAGEMENT PRODUCES
People who know what is expected Problems raised early Work that gets finished People who develop
WHAT TO ESTABLISH ABOUT YOURSELF
Whether you actually want this.
WHY THAT QUESTION
Management is mostly people problems, and not everyone finds that satisfying.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU DO NOT
Say so, and pursue a technical or specialist path instead.
