The single biggest way to impact an organization is to focus on leadership development. There is almost no limit to the potential of an organization that recruits good people, raises them up as leaders, and continually develops them. -John Maxwell
Often leadership opportunities are given to people who excel at work, not necessarily they show leadership abilities.
Getting paid more or having authority should not be reasons to seek management opportunities. Being a people manager is being a leader. There are many ways for people to advance as an expert, consultant, or as a technical advisor and get paid equivalently.
Whenever I talk to good people managers, one thing is very clear to me that they give more than 100% of their work life to people. They think of them, their progress, and what is in the best interest of their team. They also trust them and give them the freedom to be themselves.
Why management is right for you?
- You have higher emotional intelligence and self-compassion
- You have empathy for others and love to mentor others
- You like to help your colleagues and train them
- You have good communication skills
- You can handle difficult conversations calmly
- You can act as a facilitator for any project
- You have the confidence to speak for your team
- You can delegate tasks and responsibilities
- You can make decisions and take responsibility for your action
- You can speak up for what is right and have good ethics
- You like to empower others and take out best from them
Why management is not right for you?
Do not confuse being a manager is equivalent to more money and authority. Not everyone has the drive to be a leader and that is perfectly fine. Leadership comes with lots of responsibilities. If you like to control your space and manage everything, maybe you are better off being a subject matter expert instead of a manager.
Invest your energy into learning how you can enjoy your work, have peace of mind, and advance your career by getting the right certifications and training. You can seek a mentor and career coach to help you on LinkedIn and other ways of professional networking.
For example, opportunities like data science, machine learning, cloud computing are becoming more relevant to get paid higher for non-managerial roles.
