10 Things to Understand Before You Take a Job in Management

When your team goes to happy hour and complains about “them,” they now mean you.

It’s been said that the transition from individual contributor to manager isn’t just a promotion but a whole career change. I think that’s the right way to frame it. Once you take that leap, the nature of what you do each day shifts.

If you’re aspiring to go into management, be sure you understand these 10 ways your job is about to change:

1. Your Team’s Performance Is Now Your Performance

Your work will now be done through others. You don’t get to claim you’re doing great while your team underperforms. That would be like an NFL coach with a terrible record claiming it has nothing to do with him (“It’s the players’ fault!”) As a manager, your team’s performance is your product.

2. You’re Going to Play a Big Role in Employees’ Lives

The relationship between manager and employee is fundamentally asymmetrical. You will interact with many employees each day, but there’s only one of you to them. You’re up there with their spouse in terms of impact on their daily quality of life. The mood they a…