I'll explain something as a technical person to another technical person, assuming you have some level of civility and you weren't born in a cave and raised by

I'll explain something as a technical person to another technical person, assuming you have some level of civility and you weren't born in a cave and raised by an algorithm Human beings communicate in many ways outside of words, so you're in luck, you don't have to have good verbal skills, you have to have better non-verbal skills If I were in your position I'd rise to the challenge and understand that although becoming a manager is not a promotion in many senses of the word, there is an additional level of responsibility, and some people will consider you to be in a position of 'leadership' or even a 'boss' whether you like to admit it or not As such, it is helpful and humble to apply a semaphore, a visible, definite cue that you accept this duty and wish to make the most of the opportunity, and that you're aware that people's careers are now interdependent with yours even more than before One traditional cue that has been lost to the sands of time is the humble necktie -- it has been worn by such giants of computing and computer science such as Alan Turing, Vint Cerf, and Steve Jobs, Hewlett and Packard.. The reason I call it humble is because it is, contrary to popular opinion, wearing a necktie is not haughty or entitled, on the contrary it can also be humbling and genuine if done with a pure heart for the right reasons (of which I assure you there are plenty --) It's a way to signal in a definite, visible, nonverbal way that you take your role seriously and are willing to put in that extra effort and expect more of yourself than your 'charges' 'underlings' 'reports' 'resources', 'assignments'.. call them what they are: 'people' You can consider my words of advice to you and I'm sure you'll go with the hoi polloi and make a million excuses as to why it's inappropriate to wear a tie, as a manager, as someone who openly admits your own deficiencies I say it's better to rise to the occasion You'd think technical people would've figured these things out by now but I guess in some cases it's one thing to read about things in books and another to understand context still matters in real life