For several years, I have worked in a communications role as a coordinator at a very large not-for-profit. For the most part I enjoy my work and find it to be rewarding. The benefits and pay are excellent and I have a great relationship with my boss. However, I feel like I am ready for more responsibility and have the skills to be an excellent manager. However, my work place is a union environment and there seems to be little flexibility in having my position title change to reflect my actual duties or to have another more senior opportunity transpire. I am feeling a bit stuck though as I don’t have any formal experience managing staff although I have chaired committees, supervised student interns and provided leadership on many initiatives and events. I feel like I need my next move not to be lateral, but I’m unsure of how I can showcase myself to gain a management position. I do have an undergraduate honours degree and a post graduate certificate so I’m not sure if more education is the best option. I am starting to worry that my professional development is stagnating.

Any advice you can offer to someone figuring out their next move or how to become a manager without having held the title of manager?

Excellent question! While I normally might have edited your query for brevity, you bring up several key points — and also, several things that you’re doing the right way already!

So why exactly do you want to be a manager?

This question that may sound trite, but it is fundamental to understand your motivation for wanting to take on the role of managing other people and their work. Many professionals simply assume that “that’s just what you do to get promoted”, or simply want to wear it as a badge of honour when they’re comparing career notes with their friends — quasi-competitive statements such as “I manage four people now, how many do YOU manage?” can often be heard at social situations. Sometimes it’s the perks that come along with the title — a private office, more pay, prestige, and a path to more promotions and managing more people. All these can be valid reasons, but it is important to complete a career reality check first — there are distinct challenges that all supervisors must meet when dealing with direct reports — you need to constantly be able to motivate these people to perform at their best, and that is usually easier said than done. There are many professionals who choose not to manage people and become task or functional specialists, which is a perfectly appropriate approach (particularly after a few years of managing others changes your perspective on managing). Make sure managing fits in to your overall career plan.

Good or lucky (or both)?

Some supervisors get into their positions by being good at whatever technical function they perform, and then get promoted when an opportunity comes up to lead people. They may not have any actual experience in with dealing people, which can, and often does, create issues. Don’t let yourself fall into that trap — you are already getting invaluable leadership experience — keep going! Many new supervisors fail and their teams fall apart because they cannot make the transition from Technical/Functional Expert to People Expert (which can be much harder work!).

Super supervising

We know that acquiring that first “supervising” job is a common problem, particularly with anyone who is in the early stages of their career. The challenge is very similar to the initial Catch-22 we face at the professional “starting line”: “How do I get the job without any experience, and how do I get experience without a job?” The good news is that the same techniques will work in both instances. Recent graduates will “borrow” other relevant experience they that have acquired while at school (summer jobs, hobbies, clubs, etc) and apply it to their resume when they look for their first job. You have already started this step and obtained great experience when you “chaired committees, supervised student interns and provided leadership on many initiatives and events” – keep this up, and make sure it is noticed. Good managers are good leaders first. Don’t worry so much about the Union situation. It can be restricting, but don’t let it thwart your progress. Even volunteer work outside the office is worthwhile for providing outlets for you to fine-tune your leadership and management skills (and many for other reasons too, of course).

Managing your managers: Positioning yourself with the people who matter

One area that you should try to focus on is your positioning. By this I mean conveying a central message about yourself and your management and leadership skills to the decision-makers within your organization. If your organization has a mentorship program, join it as soon as possible. If not, ask a key member of management if they would consider being your mentor (this could even be a regular coffee with someone who has recently made the transition to supervisor themselves). It is always a good idea to let your own manager know of your intentions. Let them know of your career ambition, and ask them to consider you for any assignment that requires group leadership. Make them know that transitioning you into a managerial or supervisory role will be relatively risk-free by “showing your stuff” whenever you can.

Learn from the best (and worst)

Don’t forget that you can learn from the organization’s existing managers too — both good and bad. Look out for common management challenges (a colleague is constantly late, has performance issues, etc) and prepare mental exercises about how you would handle the situation if you were supervising. Ask your own manager for their opinions on hypothetical management issues, and look back at your own experiences as an employee — which approaches worked on you, and which didn’t.

Perseverance and patience also play a part — it can be frustrating to wait for supervisory positions to become available, particularly in today’s economy. You may need to consider leaving the organization to get to that next managerial level, but try some of these techniques first.

Good luck!

Mitchell Stephenson M.A., CPCC, is a senior partner and a certified professional career counsellor at Catalyst Careers, a career transition, counselling, and outplacement firm. Mitch has been involved in human resources, career counselling and coaching in the health and legal sectors for many years. To contact him, visit: www.catalystcareers.ca.

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