Should I Switch to Management? A Values-Based Decision Framework
The management track beckons with promises of higher status and pay, but you're not sure if you actually want to manage people or if you'd miss the hands-on work you're good at. You worry about becoming obsolete technically while also doubting whether you have the interpersonal skills to lead effectively.
Key Takeaway
This decision is fundamentally about Leadership Impact vs. Technical Excellence. Your choice will also impact your career advancement.
The Core Values at Stake
This decision touches on several fundamental values that may be in tension with each other:
Leadership Impact
Your desire to multiply your impact through others rather than individual output. Consider whether enabling others' success would fulfill you.
Technical Excellence
Your passion for hands-on craft and deep expertise. Evaluate honestly whether you'd miss the technical work that brought you here.
Career Advancement
Your ambitions for title, compensation, and influence. Consider whether management is the only path to what you want.
People Development
Your interest in mentoring, coaching, and growing others. Management is fundamentally about people, not projects.
Work Satisfaction
What actually energizes you day-to-day. Assess whether meetings, feedback, politics, and people problems sound engaging or draining.
5 Key Questions to Ask Yourself
Before making this decision, work through these questions honestly:
- 1Do I genuinely enjoy helping others succeed, even when I get no credit?
- 2How do I feel about spending most of my day in meetings rather than doing the work?
- 3Have I observed managers in my organization—do they seem fulfilled or burned out?
- 4Am I pursuing management because I want it or because it seems like the expected next step?
- 5Would I be satisfied as a senior individual contributor if compensation were equivalent?
Key Considerations
As you weigh this decision, keep these important factors in mind:
Watch Out For: Status Quo Career Ladder Bias
Society conditions us to see management as 'up' and individual contribution as a plateau. This arbitrary hierarchy causes many skilled practitioners to become mediocre managers. The best path is the one that matches your strengths and interests, not the one with the fancier title.
Make This Decision With Clarity
Don't just guess. Use Dcider to calculate your alignment score and make decisions that truly reflect your values.
Download on the App StoreFrequently Asked Questions
Is management the only way to advance my career?
Can I go back to being an individual contributor if I don't like management?
What skills do I need to be a good manager?
How do I know if I'd be a good manager?
Related Decisions
Should I Accept a Promotion?
Being offered a promotion triggers a complex emotional response—flattery, pressure, excitement, and anxiety all at once. You might feel obligated to say yes because it's what you're 'supposed' to want, even as doubts whisper about longer hours, new stresses, or leaving work you actually enjoy.
Should I Change Careers?
The desire for a career change often builds gradually—a growing sense that you're in the wrong place, doing work that doesn't resonate. But the prospect of starting over, potentially at a lower level or salary, creates paralyzing fear. You wonder if the grass really is greener or if you're just restless.
Should I Negotiate My Salary?
The prospect of negotiating your salary triggers a visceral fear of rejection, seeming greedy, or even losing the offer entirely. You know you should advocate for yourself, but the discomfort of talking about money makes you want to just accept whatever is offered and avoid the awkwardness.
People Also Considered
Similar decisions in other areas of life:
Sources
- Hill, L. A. (2003). Becoming a Manager: How New Managers Master the Challenges of Leadership. Harvard Business School Press.
- Gallup (2015). State of the American Manager: Analytics and Advice for Leaders. Gallup Research.