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Feeling unsure if you should move into management? Is it due to a combination of a lack of confidence that you are qualified to do it and also an uncertainty if it will actually bring you the joy/satisfaction/fulfillment you are currently lacking at work? Management is not for everyone but you can only know if it’s for you if you try it. I’ve outlined a few reasons why I think it’s very important that more millennial women consider the management move.
Girl Power. Seriously. I can show you stats you already know about women in senior management roles and how they dwindle in most major companies. Middle management—depending on your field of course—is often filled with women. In fact, it’s what makes it sad to me that there’s this cut off in leadership. But it’s not going to change if we avoid moving up. You may become a CEO. Or you may find it’s not your thing. Just come find out so that in case it really is your thing, the world can benefit from your skills. Think of it as doing your part for the greater womankind. Please.
It’s not a bad skill set to have at all. In fact, for me and many people I’ve talked to, not having management experience made us feel very anxious about our ability to ever move up. Even if you don’t like it, having some experience will propel you into what it is you really want to do. Trying on the management perspective is a really good exercise, no matter which direction you go from there.
You can actually effect meaningful change, even as a low-level middle manager! As a middle manager, you’re a very important person to the people working under you. You get to experiment with creating a better work environment for your team, even if no one above you does that for you. You can try out what it’s like to trust your team, let them innovate, and stand by them—even if that’s not the culture of your company. For your staff, you can help them find the joy in their work. Of course, you’ll have to deal with the emotional whiplash of remembering you don’t always have power, but you can really do a lot for others while flexing your own leadership skills.
Ready?! For your next steps, make sure to subscribe (by clicking on the hamburger icon in the top left of the screen) for upcoming posts about how to prepare for talking about the management experience you don’t have in an interview, and how to recognize the advantages you have for getting promoted into management.