Making the transition to manager

This chapter identifies some key issues in making the transition to management, and provides a framework for understanding the inherent conflicts, tensions and dilemmas. It stresses the importance of making a well-informed, well-prepared choice of career, not least because it will be manifest in any job application one make, and in any interview one attend. Managers can earn more than practitioners, but there should be other motivating factors. All managers undergo a period of adjustment and transition from the practice role to the management role. The transition to manager is an uncomfortable time —;; characterised by loneliness, isolation, vulnerability and confusion —;; and you may feel overwhelmed and de-skilled. Colleagues now include other managers, both within and outside one's immediate working environment. One of the things that differentiate one manager from another is approach, interpretation of the role, in other words, style.