Jan 3, 2023·edited Jan 3, 2023Liked by Tony Maiorana
Not only does being an effective manager (not just a "boss" or "instruction-giver") require training, but also a certain kind of aptitude that is IMO hard to teach. The training can help provide language or tools to guide the management process, but it can't replace things like empathy, strategic thinking, etc., and in the worst case (without careful attention) there is a risk of the manager becoming a slave to those tools.
At the same time, it seems that in many cases recognition for really talented individual contributors just isn't there -- in many companies the Principal Scientist or Fellow role (or similar non-managerial high-level scientific track) no longer exists, in practice if not also in theory, and so the promotional track just ends. Frustrated people in those roles may end up in management, which is not necessarily the best place for them -- either for their own personalities or for the company.
I do agree with you that moving to find a place that "clicks" is important, and that it is even more important to look for that "click" when you can (when other aspects of life are more flexible).
Not only does being an effective manager (not just a "boss" or "instruction-giver") require training, but also a certain kind of aptitude that is IMO hard to teach. The training can help provide language or tools to guide the management process, but it can't replace things like empathy, strategic thinking, etc., and in the worst case (without careful attention) there is a risk of the manager becoming a slave to those tools.
At the same time, it seems that in many cases recognition for really talented individual contributors just isn't there -- in many companies the Principal Scientist or Fellow role (or similar non-managerial high-level scientific track) no longer exists, in practice if not also in theory, and so the promotional track just ends. Frustrated people in those roles may end up in management, which is not necessarily the best place for them -- either for their own personalities or for the company.
I do agree with you that moving to find a place that "clicks" is important, and that it is even more important to look for that "click" when you can (when other aspects of life are more flexible).