[SassyGrapefruit]

Most people just aren't cut out for it. To be a good manager you need to ....

1. Be willing to be wrong a lot and admit it

2. Show vulnerablility

3. Deal with constant setbacks and disappoinment

Most people get the reigns and are suprised to find out its actually a thing nobody wants. Like being a social worker.

[NikolaNovak]

Most of us believe managers have power and just get to boss people around.

We are in for a rude awakening to find the opposite :). There was a brilliant hardward business review article on what managers learn in their first year - if you read it and acknowledge some of those challenges / aspects on day 1, it'll put you far ahead of your fellow first-time managers:

https://hbr.org/2007/01/becoming-the-boss

(sadly, I read that article in my year two of techie-who-became-a-manager :)

[rawgabbit]

I had new managers who thought they could boss around the members of other teams. All they did was anger the other teams manager for not respecting that team’s priorities.

The most succinct managerial advice I have heard comes down to (a) the CEO has a strategic plan for the org for which your team has a role (b) in this role what is your team supposed to accomplish and within what constraints (c) if your team can’t do it figure out what needs to change so you can (d) if your team is making progress, learn what are the drivers and blockers so you talk intelligently if there is a change in timing or scope (e) talk with your peers and ask how are their teams doing?

[danielvaughn]

I was writing up a huge list of other things you need as well, but I'll just say that being a manager was a massive eye-opener for me. Prior to that, I thought I was doing all the work and didn't think my manager was doing very much. I was very, very wrong. But what's great about the experience is that you come to understand how valuable a good manager is, and how to be a more effective IC.

[hotnfresh]

Like how DMing an RPG campaign teaches you to be a better player.

[nine_zeros]

> 1. Be willing to be wrong a lot and admit it

2. Show vulnerablility

3. Deal with constant setbacks and disappoinment

This. It takes balls to take the hit for the team and to admit when something goes wrong. Often that means nuking your own promotion or looking worse to your own boss.

Most first level managers are just not ready to stop playing that promotion game themselves. And in their quest for their own promotion, they impose too much burden on the team.

The literal filter for hiring a manager should be "You might not get any promotion for 10 years. Are you still interested in this job?"