For many people career progression is measured by becoming a manager. Making that first step into management can be quite daunting so here are a few tips that will help you to make your first move:
- Firstly, be clear in your own mind why you want to become a manager. One of the most commonly asked questions in an interview is ‘why should we appoint you to this role?’. Often the answer given is what the individual wants, e.g. ‘I’ve been a sales advisor for 3-years, so I think it’s about time I become a manager’. Although your personal motivation for wanting the role is important, businesses will also want to know what you’re bringing to the role, so a different answer could be ‘ I’ve been top sales advisor for the last 3-years and I think I can bring those skills to the manager’s role to help coach the rest of the team to become just as successful’.
- Find out as much as you can about what the role of a manager involves. Observing your manager in their daily work is one method but you may only see a small proportion of what they do at other times. There are several ways of finding out what they else they do:
- Ask them what else they do in their job and how much time is spent on different aspects, such as project work.
- Ask them if you could shadow them for a day or in non-sensitive meetings. (You’ll need to demonstrate that you can be relied on to treat any confidential information appropriately.)
- Find out if there’s a job specification / description available on your company intranet that you could read.
- Find out if there are any particular skills, experience or qualifications you need to become a manager. For instance, you may need a certain number of years’ experience in the business, or a good knowledge of specific products and services.
If there are certain skills or qualifications you need, then speak to your manager about putting together a development plan that will enable you to gain the experience/qualification. This will also help make sure your manager is aware that you want to progress in your career, and they may suggest other ways you could do this. Your company may have training programmes for aspiring managers so speak to HR to find out if there are any that you could apply to join.
- See if there are any tasks your manager does that you could support them with. Not only will you be learning new skills, but you’ll be helping your manager with their workload, so chances are they’ll jump at the chance of delegating some of their work to you! Just make sure that whatever additional work it is you’re doing is manageable for you and will be a good learning opportunity.
- Could you become a coach? Perhaps you could help new team members by coaching and supporting team colleagues who are struggling in certain aspects of their work. This will help you to develop your coaching and teamworking skills.
- If your team has regular team meetings, volunteer to either chair a meeting or deliver a presentation. This will help build your communication and presentation skills which will help you when you do get an interview!
- Ask if there are any projects you could be involved in. Projects will usually involve different stakeholders who will be affected by the project and this will help to raise your profile in the business. It also gives you the chance to develop your network of contacts and knowledge of other areas of the business.
- Are there any opportunities to be seconded into another role or department? This could help to increase your knowledge of other parts of the organisation so that you have a broader understanding of how different parts of the business work together.
- Remember that management isn’t the only solution towards fulfilling your career goals and in the flatter, more dynamic workplace of the modern era there are plenty of other opportunities for self-development without necessarily becoming a manager.
I hope you found this article useful if you’re considering becoming a manager.
CFA Training are experts in developing management and leadership skills in people, and in customer service skills training. If you would like to know more about how we can help you or your business to be successful then please contact Neville Beardsmore for more information.
Tel: 0121 247 5736 / 07984 030 180
Email: neville@cfatraining.co.uk
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