Navigating the manager switch

When one starts their career, there is just so much to do — finishing reports, sending emails, making decks and spreadsheets, making a hundred changes to said decks and spreadsheets, and then sending reminder emails because the first ones didn't get any replies. The grunt work. It can be thankless sometimes.

Then the switch happens. It's not always sudden. For most, it's a gradual transition.They get a promotion or two, they get a team. They level up high enough that the grunt work starts to disappear.

And...they're bummed out by it.

That's right. Despite the fact that employees know it's going to happen at some point, many — although not all — feel caught off guard when it does. They're not prepared for a world where all the drudgery is gone. Instead of feeling liberated, many end up feeling lost. So what's going on?

The shift

Yes, grunt work can be tiring, tedious, and time-consuming.

But at the same time, every item on the to-do list is a potential hit of dopamine. Every checked box adds to the feeling that you're contributing. Every task completed is a soothing addition to that sense of busyness that can become addictive.

It's not just about the chemical reward for the brain. When our calendar day is stuffed with ten different tasks, it makes one feel like they are using their time well. It's because we are conditioned to think of that as what being productive means. But as employees transition from the early stages of their careers and start to move into management levels, this kind of work decreases.

When so much of our self worth is attached to the work that we do every day, that switch can be difficult.

The visibility problem

Part of the issue is that your impact is easy to visualize when you're in a lower role.

• How many emails did you send?
• How many lines of code did you write?
• What about the number of cold calls you made?
• How many tickets did you close?

The luxury that lower level employees have is being able to think purely in these terms that are easy to measure and showcase as work done.

On the other hand, as you enter management levels, your impact is not easily visible.

Your time is occupied in guiding and mentoring teams. You ensure standards are upheld. You offer insights and shifts in strategy.

While your work might have a greater impact on the organization, it is not as tangible.

It also takes a longer time for some of the strategic and long-term decisions to bear fruit and become visible. And even then, it may not be immediately obvious that those outcomes were the result of your efforts.

The anxiety

And when they're overseeing their team members' work and come tantalizingly close to the kind of work they were familiar with, there is the temptation to get that dopamine hit. To not just offer inputs or feedback but do it themselves. To feel connected to the smaller details, and to have their impact be visible.

A lot of times, this can lead a manager to take on more work and indulge in busywork. Sometimes, this is how a micromanager is born.

And can one truly blame them? Conspicuous busyness doesn't just feel rewarding for them personally; even society tends to look favorably upon it.

The downside

Unfortunately, a manager who does not overcome the above mindset can have a negative impact on their organization. Let's see how.

• They will not be able to do justice to their role. Their strategic thinking is hindered by their attachment to grunt work.
• They will rob their team members of true growth by taking on their work in addition to their own.
• They end up lowering the team morale by making it appear as if they don't trust the team members to do their tasks themselves.
• In addition to all this, there is also the risk of burnout. This isn't doing the organization any favours.

Managing the shift

In order for an organization to be successful, it needs to not just identify hard workers and future leaders but also equip them with the tools and mindset necessary to navigate the big shift. In this blog, we've uncovered the psychology behind the disillusionment that new managers can encounter. In the next part, we'll identify some ways leaders and organizations can navigate this better.