Do Your Job Well
No one will promote you to a management position if you can’t perform well in your current job. The first step to getting a management job is to do a good job in the position you have. You don’t have to be the best, but you should be good. The best programmer in the company may not be suitable for the development manager position. They might prefer writing code rather than taking on management responsibilities. However, it is certain that the development manager was a good programmer in the past.
Do Your Homework
Find out what managers do. Watch the managers in your organization and see what they do and how they do it. Read books about management and leadership to learn what to do and what not to do. Ask the managers you know.
Develop People Skills
The most important skill for any manager is the ability to manage people. Learn how people think, react, and work when faced with different external forces. Develop your respect for people, even those who are different from you. Learn how to deal with people, and then you can learn how to influence their behavior. You will not be promoted to a management position if you cannot manage people. Anyone who gets a management position and cannot manage people is doomed to fail.
Show Initiative
Don’t sit at your desk waiting for someone to offer you a management job. Show initiative. One of the key management skills is planning, so volunteer to help your boss prepare the annual budget by gathering necessary information. Offer your assistance in estimating the cost of adding a new item to the product line. If your department needs to send someone to a planning committee for the company party (or the public relations committee, or a human resources study group, etc.), volunteer for that task. (You will also learn valuable people leadership skills as discussed above.) Do anything you can without negatively affecting your main job performance.
Ask for the Promotion
Finally, if you want to be considered for a management position, ask for it. Don’t wait for someone to come along and offer it to you. Approach your boss and tell them you would like to follow in their footsteps and move into management. Ask them to keep you in mind the next time they need someone to lead a committee or manage a small team or something similar. This way, they know you are interested and will keep an eye on you. When they see you can handle the smaller things, they will start delegating bigger matters, ultimately leading to a supervisory or managerial position.
Conclusion
In total, there are five strategies you can follow to land your first management job. Do your job well in your current role, find out what managers do, develop people skills, show initiative, and ask for the promotion. If you implement these strategies, your boss is likely to support your request for a management position. You may also need to keep an eye on available opportunities in the company and apply for management jobs when they arise. Good luck on your journey to your first management position!
Source: https://www.thebalancemoney.com/getting-a-first-management-job-2275109
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