Transition to management -- A personal perspective

This paper explores one woman`s journey through her recent promotion into management, and will identify key factors that helped prepare and position her to be ready to exercise leadership through a formal management role. It discusses assessment of qualifications and skills, acquisition of needed skills, the influence of luck and timing, and the use of mentors and delegation as survival skills to get through the transition period and become fully functional as a manager. It also includes insights into sensitive issues such as how to relate to former peers, how to gain credibility as the junior member of the management team, and how to juggle family responsibilities with increased time commitments at work. It emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the help the authors receive in reaching their own career goals and offering the same kind of help and support to those in the early stages of their careers