A Quick View Into My Journey
It took me 20 years of my career to move from being an individual contributor to a leadership role. Part of this time was due to my personal life. Part of this was due to a lack of coaching and mentors. Part of this was due to me not understanding my value within the organizations I worked for.
I longed for this promotion. It appeared to be the only way for me to rise to the salary level that I wanted, but still maintaining the safety net of being in an organization.
I admit, I focused on the getting there. And not the would-I-like-the-job once I earned it.
When I was finally promoted to a manager position, the day-to-day business didn't change - except now I had to manage a team. I needed to learn how to people and document conversations better and how to motivate people who don't have the same motivations as me. And assign hard work to staff who don't have my skill levels.
But now I'm on the cusp of getting the the next level. It's a level where I get to flex my muscles as a thought leader (which I think I'm excellent at from my time as an individual contributor. But have missed as a manager stuck in the day to day.