10 signs you are ready to manage people
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27/04/2021
Making the step up into a management position is an important professional milestone. Before you either ask to move into a leadership position or rush to accept a promotion you’ve been offered from your employer, you should reflect on your own set of strengths, weaknesses, skills, and desires, to evaluate whether you’re truly ready or even want to take on the added responsibility that comes with a management role.
You’re likely ready to move into management if you can say “yes” to most of these signs:
1. You’re a good communicator
Being able to effectively and clearly communicate expectations is perhaps one of the most important attributes of a good manager. Regardless of whether you’re tasked with managing a team of one or 100, the communication skills required to set clear expectations and give honest feedback are the same. In order to be successful in this leadership role, you have to clearly communicate goals and KPIs, provide regular positive feedback (not just negative), and understand how to communicate your team’s or department’s accomplishments and challenges to your own bosses or company leadership.
2. You know your role, inside and out
Before you are able to lead a team and make sure they’re executing all tasks and responsibilities, you have to know the ins and outs of their roles and ideally have had years of direct experience in the same position(s). It’s crucial that you understand their goals, challenges, and pain points firsthand so that you can provide valuable direction and feedback that will enable their success.
3. You set a good example for the rest of the team
If you are good at your job and go the extra mile to ensure that your work is done properly, your colleagues may already look up to you. They therefore will be more likely to adjust to your new found seniority if they know how hard you worked to get there and respect you for that.
4. You stay calm and are able to make decisions quickly
If you are already known to be reliable and trustworthy, you are probably less closely supervised than others on your team. Having a track record of making sound decisions under pressure, and being trusted to do so by superiors, suggests that you are already seen to be management material.
5. You want to see others succeed
The best leaders are quick and ready to give credit to others where it’s due and are focused on supporting and empowering their team members, colleagues, and direct reports to reach their goals. Good leaders and managers genuinely want their employees to succeed, and, as such, as a manager you should be prepared to advocate on behalf of your team, make their performance a priority, and incentivize and reward them for their successes both privately and publicly.
6. You actively take pride in your team successes
Do you feel proud about the outcome of a collective effort? If so, are you simply pleased with your own work, or are you pleased about the fact that you were part of a successful team? If you think it is the latter, imagine how much stronger this feeling will be if you were to be in charge of that team.
7. You set a good example for the rest of the team
If you are good at your job and go the extra mile to ensure that your work is done properly, your colleagues may already look up to you. They therefore will be more likely to adjust to your new found seniority if they know how hard you worked to get there and respect you for that.
8. You find yourself becoming more and more focused on the bigger picture
If you find that you are no longer simply going to work to pay your bills, but actually care about how the business performs and want to play a part in shaping its future, then you are ready to take on a more senior position.
9. You find yourself observing other managers to see what they are doing right and wrong, and take mental notes
How often have you listened and observed a manager and thought “I wouldn’t have done that” or “Surely, we would have a better outcome if it was done this way…”? If you are already thinking like a manager and imagining how you would act in that position, then you may be ready for that promotion.
10. You go above and beyond for the good of the team and the business
Being a manager will mean making difficult decisions and facing new challenges. If you have found yourself stepping out of your comfort zone; taking on new challenges with a diligent, team spirited attitude, then you are likely to thrive in a more senior role.
If these signs sound familiar, then it’s time for you to take on the task of people management. Ask yourself, could your existing company offer you the experience and development that you deserve? If so, then be prepared to adapt your working style and relationships with your colleagues. If not, then don’t be afraid to take your strong skill set and apply it elsewhere.
