Management, to be honest, isn’t easy. Sure, there are pros and cons to becoming a manager but the reality of the situation is that you need to jump on the management path not only because someone thinks you’d be good at it, or because you think you’ll make more money, but because you really want to be a leader.
Any other reason is unacceptable and, in the end, if you’re not willing to be a leader you’re going to find yourself very frustrated with your career path. Let’s take a look at some of the negative and positive aspects of a career in management.
First, we’ll list some of the drawbacks:
You won’t be able to develop as many close friendships with your team members because doing so will cloud your ability to make objective supervisory decisions. You may begin to feel lonely.
You’ll receive very little immediate feedback about how you’re doing with your work. Most of your goals will be long-term. As such, you may feel unsure of yourself.
Managers often have to sign legal documents, including employment contracts or contracts with customers and vendors. This means you can, on some level, be held legally liable if there is a problem.
Management positions are competitive. There are more team members than there are managers -always. And there are always more people looking to move up than there are spots available. You may feel some tension as others vie for your job – or for those similar to yours.
There are, of course, plenty of positive aspects to management:
Your status as a manager may earn you some sort of prestige – especially if people believe your title sounds powerful.
Managers sometimes feel as though they have some sort of power. They do, on some levels, but it is important to remember that even managers have work delegated to them before they can delegate it to others.
Managers, in most cases, receive better pay than those beneath them. There are instances in which this is not true. For example, some companies pay based on the value of your contributions. Who do you think gets paid more – a nuclear chemist or the guy who “manages” the plan in which he works. My guess is that the nuclear chemist is actually making a more valuable or important contribution to the overall goals of the organisation.
It’s up to you to weigh the pros and cons of management. If moving up the corporate ladder is something you’ve always dreamed of, then go for it. If not, do you really want to add that type of stress to your life?
