Becoming a Manager: 5 Signs You’re Ready To Move Up

You know your job inside out, you produce great work, you’ve built good relationships with your colleagues – both you and senior members of staff will inevitably be thinking about your progression. However, you may be unsure whether you are ready for a big advancement in your career. How can you tell whether you’re ready to move up to a management position? Before you discuss moving into a leadership position or accept a promotion, evaluate whether you really would like to move up to a leadership position and are ready to take on the added responsibility. Here are 5 signs that you are ready to move up to a managerial position:

1. You’re Excited About Taking On More Responsibility
Ask yourself why you would like to move up to a management position. Do you truly want to take on a leadership role? Or are you excited by a higher salary and the perks that a senior position entails? Before you take the definitive decision to move up to a management role, think about what is motivating you, and whether you’re truly excited about taking on more responsibility. Management is not the right career path for everyone, and it’s better to evaluate whether you would thrive in the role before taking on a position that you could end up hating.

2. You’re A Good Communicator
Good communication skills are at the heart of any management position. If you want to succeed in a management position, you need to be able to get your point across effectively as well as listening to your team. It’s not just about setting goals, objectives and delegating workloads – it’s about giving constructive feedback, and encouraging your team! Team members should be able to come to you for guidance and feel comfortable communicating with you.

3. You Genuinely Want Others To Succeed
Being a manager is not about taking all of the glory, it is about managing a team in a way that brings out the best in everyone, giving them the opportunity to succeed as well. To be a great manager, you need to be quick to give credit where it’s due and to empower your team members, sharing both their failures and successes.

4. You Think Strategically
Being able to think strategically is another core skill of management – this means thinking beyond short-term goals and understanding the wider, long-term goals of the business. There will be both internal and external challenges, which will test you, but you must be able to remain agile enough to keep your team focused within changing circumstances.

5. You Lead By Example
A great manager leads by example and employees will realise if you set expectations for them but do the opposite yourself. You cannot just talk the talk, you have to walk the walk. If you tell your team that open and honest communication is key, but you do not accept feedback and give mainly negative criticism, you will lose their respect, their loyalty, their trust and ultimately their employment within the business. No one can stand a nightmare manager for long!

If you resonated with the above points, and are keen to take on more responsibility, you are ready to move up to a management position! Leadership is not easy, but with the right attitude is very rewarding. If you decide to pursue the promotion, good luck!