Very unclear from your question, do you mean make the switch from IC, or technical track? Or do you mean from first line management? I think the former because

Very unclear from your question, do you mean make the switch from IC, or technical track? Or do you mean from first line management? I think the former because that latter isn't "switching" into management, it's more of a promotion. I'll answer the former question because you're posting on HN, so that's probably your meaning. Tip #1: it isn't by merit. Tip #2. your people skills are the most important thing. the only important thing. even in a technical director+ role. work on that. Tip #3. get a role, somewhere, that will hone your people skills. most importantly, interacting with people that are not like yourself. run for city council. do some kind of organizing in the neighborhood. i was going to say church but those would be people like you, if you are so affiliated. join the national guard for weekend duty. remember, you don't just want some improvement here, you want rapid improvement. that calls for really applying yourself. i mean you could even start small -- get a job as an apple genius or at best buy. but be sure to graduate from that quickly. Tip #4. talk to the managers around you. every day. ok, now you've done all that. switch jobs to a smaller company. commit to this for 3 years. do not stay longer. after that, you must job hop every 2-3 years to get fast promotions. you have to be careful that your job hopping are more responsibility each time, otherwise it's a bad look. be absolutely focused on getting to your next job, on day 1 of your new job. that means solving as many impactful problems as you can, starting in week 1 of a new job. i hate to say it, but make sure you collect linked-in "friends" at a prodigious rate.