Gaining Self-Knowledge: The Core of Becoming a Manager

When you accept a promotion from individual contributor to manager you are making a profound career choice. Becoming a manager not only comes with changes to your job responsibilities; when you accept a managerial role, you are making a commitment to form a new professional and personal identity, oriented toward managing people rather than tasks. Inevitably, big questions emerge: "Will I like management?" "Will I be a good manager?" And after some time in your new role: "Who am I becoming, not only as a manager, but as a person?" Author Linda A. Hill followed nineteen new managers through their first year, gathering data about the managerial transition. This chapter follows these new managers as they chart a path to self-discovery from their initial motivation for becoming managers to the evolution of a new professional identity and managerial character. This chapter was originally published as Chapter 6 of "Becoming a Manager: How New Managers Master the Challenges of Leadership."