How to Become a Manager When You’ve Never Managed

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Frequently I’m approached by a young professional, somewhere in the five- to seven-year mark in their career, who asks me for advice on a situation that goes like this: “I’m ready to move into a manager role. I’ve talked to my manager about it, and they support me. Unfortunately, they’ve told me it will be hard to promote me because I lack experience managing people. How am I supposed to gain that experience if they won’t let me?”

Sound familiar? It happens all the time. Most job descriptions for managerial positions require some experience as—you guessed it—a people manager. It’s a classic organizational practice that often is used to exclude certain people from higher levels. At its worst, this kind of messaging and systemic exclusion is a form of bias and discrimination, masquerading as impostor syndrome: The blame is put squarely on the shoulders of the individual for lacking experience, instead of on the organization for creating a structure in which that experience can never be achieved (Tulshyan and Burey, 2021).

And, it is important to recognize that the work of a people manager is different from that of an individual contributor. If you want to make that move, there are a few things you’re going to need to do to get there, including, potentially, seeking out opportunities elsewhere.

Moving From Individual Contributor to Manager

Nearly two decades ago the book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, by Marshall Goldsmith, was published to advise people on how to overcome habits that were holding them back professionally and personally. When it comes to the move from individual contributor to manager, it’s advice well taken. The skills, mindsets, and abilities that have made you successful as an individual contributor will not make you successful as a manager. Or, at least, not in the same ways. In fact, one of the biggest mistakes that organizations make is promoting exceptional individual contributors into people manager roles, providing zero coaching and support, and then wondering why they aren’t successful there.

Consider someone who is terrific in an IT support role. They know how to diagnose and fix customer problems, how to talk through and de-escalate customer emotions, and how to accomplish tasks that have been set out for them with and for their manager. (This is, of course, a complete oversimplification.)

But now they’re managing an entire tech support team. What is their role? All of the above, plus setting standards and expectations for team behavior, setting goals and success metrics at the individual and team level, connecting the work to individual team member’s strengths, providing growth opportunities and coaching team members, supporting and advocating for leadership’s vision and direction, managing resources and budgets, conducting annual performance reviews, and so on. One role requires a very specific set of task-oriented skills. The other requires a different set of relational, strategic, and performance-based skills. They’re not necessarily unrelated, but they are different.

Evaluating Your Strengths and Growth Opportunities

Which brings us back to the original question: How do you move into management if you don’t have experience managing people? Like any career development process, you need to do three things: Get clear on your goals and motivation; evaluate your strengths and growth opportunities and own your progress; and build relationships with people who will champion and advocate for you.

Getting clear on your goals and motivation starts with understanding why you want to be a manager. “It just seems like the next step for me” is not the reason to become a manager. Management roles, especially early management roles, are incredibly hard, often thankless jobs. You will have all the responsibilities of an individual contributor plus those of a people manager. You will be responsible for other people’s careers, which to some extent means their lives. You will have responsibility for outcomes and often lack the authority to make decisions. Before moving forward, you need to get clear on what a management role will do for you, your career, and your next steps, what it might cost you, and why you want to pursue it.

Then, you need to take stock of your strengths and growth areas. What do you currently do in your role that you could apply to a management position? Take that IT support position described earlier. Knowing how to diagnose and fix problems, talk through and de-escalate emotions, and accomplish tasks are all skills and strengths one could bring with them to a management role, it’s just that the focus will be different. Instead of fixing problems and de-escalating emotions with customers, they will be doing that with the people who work for them. Accomplishing tasks will become more strategic and team-oriented.

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To figure out your growth areas, an easy place to start is with a job description. See what you’re currently missing and ask for feedback from trusted colleagues. Do you need additional education? Do you need to grow in a specific area like budgeting, forecasting, or project planning? And if you need that people management experience, can you find it through project-based work, or through experiences outside of your job such as volunteer or professional organizations? No matter what someone tells you, those experiences count, too.

Lastly, you need people in your corner. Don’t keep your aspirations a secret from those who can help you. This starts with your manager but look for others inside and outside of the organization who can be helpful as as mentors and sponsors. Network-building doesn’t stop when you get the job. This is a critical tool for ongoing career progression, too. Especially if someone is trying to make you feel less than competent due to a lack of experience or a bit of self-doubt, seek out mentors and advocates who can help you strategize. Being made to feel like an impostor is not, after all, an actual “syndrome.” It’s institutionalized discrimination.

Finally, remember that a closed door in one organization isn’t a closed door in all. If your organization is preventing you from moving forward in your career, it’s time to take stock of other opportunities where your skills and experience will be valued and your growth will be supported. This is your career path. Don’t let other people’s roadblocks become what defines you.