How to Move Into a Management Role

Management is a huge job area which many people find their career progresses into, as it involves taking on more responsibility as well as enjoying a higher salary. 

Managerial roles involve overseeing projects, people and the goals of the company, or that branch of the company, in order to ensure that everything is running smoothly. If a managerial role sounds like the right fit for you, find out more about how you can move into a managerial role in your career.

When examining the key skills of a manager, people often reduce the role down to someone who can take charge and isn’t afraid to be the boss of people. However, there is a combination of several skills that make a great manager, including soft skills (personal skills) and hard skills (knowledge-based or practical skills). 

Some of the key skills that good managers need include:

Additional management skills will likely be needed depending on the environment you are in, and some career paths require managers to have a certain amount of experience or a specific managerial qualification relevant to the sector they are in. 

For example, managerial positions in nursing often require a Master’s degree, although this does vary depending on the healthcare organisation. Therefore, becoming a manager can also highly depend on where you work and whether you need higher-level industry qualifications or new skills to advance.

Managers take on a variety of responsibilities day to day, which will vary depending on the area they work in. Generally, their work will fall into three categories: personal, practical and professional. 

This area involves discussing employees’ duties with them, resolving issues, answering questions, interviewing and hiring candidates, carrying out one-on-one employee performance reviews and any other tasks which involve overseeing the welfare of their team members. The best managers ensure that they are on hand to help their team and that all employees are well-equipped to do their daily tasks. 

Practical tasks include delegating daily duties, putting together time sheets, organising employee training, arranging meetings and other duties which involve getting their team in the position to do their work. This is often administrative work, which requires good organisational skills and helps to monitor professional development. 

Professional tasks include any duties related to the wider company goals and various departments. This includes meeting with other managers, liaising with other departments, communicating with clients/customers, delivering presentations and direct reports and other company or project-focused duties. 

The specific tasks of a manager will depend on the place they work, the type of industry they work in, which level of manager they are and the size of the company. Smaller teams may rely on the manager to carry out more practical tasks, for example, whereas larger companies may require managers to oversee projects in collaboration with other department managers.  

New managers and first-time managers might also still take on duties that they are used to if being promoted so that the move into a new role isn’t too much of a quick shift from their current role.

Management roles require several key skills, as explored above, including leadership and communication. Therefore courses in Business, Business Management and Leadership can help you advance in your career and take on management positions, as they include modules to help you prepare for a more senior leadership position. 

Completing a Certificate in Management Fundamentals can give you an overview of the basic skills you’ll need to move up to a management position. Meanwhile, a Diploma in Management and Team Leadership can give you the skills to both lead and manage teams effectively.

In addition to qualifications which are directly related to management, taking on extra training and enrolling on courses which can give you more knowledge of your industry is also a great way to obtain career progression. 

For example, if you work in IT, then expanding your skills and knowledge through a certification in cybersecurity can help you become a more valuable member of the team and increase the likelihood of your being promoted to a management position. 

Gaining experience in a leadership role is an additional way to advance your career into management. Practising your leadership skills by taking on more duties where you take charge of a team, manage a project or supervise new colleagues all demonstrate that you are building the skills to become a manager

Selling yourself can be a hard thing to do, as it can be difficult to tread the line between talking ourselves up and not seeming as though we are being too arrogant. That’s why having qualifications or/and experience to draw back on is key, so instead of needing to sell yourself as a manager, your employers can see the hard work you have put in to develop the skills you need to become a manager. 

Completing business management courses in Ireland or gaining a qualification in Leadership, for example, will demonstrate that you have the theoretical and practical knowledge to manage others. When discussing your managerial goals with your employer, make sure to highlight these training courses in management and explain what you have learned during this and how you can apply it to your work if you were to progress to a management position. 

You can also draw on past experience to demonstrate how you can effectively take on the duties of a manager. Although you might not have direct management experience, there will be experiences you can draw on where you have taken on new responsibilities, demonstrated mentorship to colleagues, communicated effectively or managed your time well. 

The key is to explore times when, no matter what role you were in, you were able to display the skills and know-how needed to become an effective manager and prove that you can step up to a new position with more responsibility and duties.