Further thoughts on this book describing the evolution of 19 individuals from individual contributor to manager:

Chapter 2, “Reconciling Expectations”, speaks to the shift in priorities as the individuals got to understand their role and relationships with others.

“By the end of the third month, most managers were beginning to realize that being a manager was as much a position of dependence as of authority”.

I think that being willing to relinquish complete control over projects I’m involved in would be good for me regardless of whether or not I ever move into a supervisory position. I’ve spent the majority of my time as the only front-end developer on a team, so I was solely responsible for certain deliverables. Cultivating trust and faith in a team (of peers or of subordinates) would be a great skill to hone.

Chapters 3 and 4 were very, well, “management” focussed, which is not necessarily immediately relevant. Chapter 3 was entitled “Moving Toward a Managerial Identity”, which I don’t actually intend to do.. There was, however, some mention of balancing short and long term goals that was interesting from an organizational standpoint: realizing that there may not be one best path to action. My current supervisor has noted that I have a tendency to ask a question and expect a definitive answer. Things may not always be so straight-forward and black-and-white. Exercising authority is not about “knowing the right answer”.

“Recognizing that the managerial role required balancing fundamental tensions was one of the most difficult and important insights the managers made. They had come to understand that overload, ambiguity and conflict were inherent in the management role.They had to learn to live with imperfect solutions and with the knowledge that they could not be experts about everything.” - p.80

Part II: Developing Interpersonal Judgment

Chapter 4 on “Exercising Authority” was interesting from the standpoint that it spoke on how to cultivate respect and trust not through the title of “manager”, but through behavior. Simple people-management activities like taking the time to get to know someone as an individual or support them are what help establish positive, respectful relationships. This is obviously good information for someone looking to get into an advisory role without that title commanding respect. One theme I’ve noticed again and again through this book is really the focus on “people-skills”. This is not a book about project management, ensuring tasks get completed on time. It is about people management, ensuring people work together to support each other, AND ensure tasks get completed on time
That being said, it is noted that there is a difference between being respected, and being liked. The manager has to do what’s right, even if it means not being ‘a friend’.

Another area that I recognized that I have to work on personally is not taking criticisms or critiques personally (or as a threat to authority). That comes with confidence, or as stated in the book, “only by giving up the myth of the boss as expert and feeling more self-assured could they tolerate negative feedback”.