Coping with the Stresses and Emotions: Becoming a New Manager Isn't Easy

By necessity, new managers must work hard on themselves as they adapt to the challenges of managerial work and their new network of relationships. The move to management requires numerous changes: in the way you present yourself, in the way others treat you, and in the way you interact with new sets of people. Stress and other turbulent emotions are inevitable, and learning to deal with stresses and emotions may be as important to your career's success as your specific achievements at work. Author Linda A. Hill followed nineteen new managers through their first year, gathering data about the managerial transition. In this chapter, the managers describe in their own words some of the stresses and intense emotions they experienced during their transitions, as well as the mechanisms they developed for coping with stress-related problems in the workplace and in their lives outside of work. This chapter was originally published as Chapter 7 of "Becoming a Manager: How New Managers Master the Challenges of Leadership."