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Agree with all the advice that doing it internally will likely be easier (per the "When you're doing something new, don't do something new" maxim). That said,

Agree with all the advice that doing it internally will likely be easier (per the "When you're doing something new, don't do something new" maxim). That said, changing companies can enable rapid evolution. It'll (potentially) make it easier to be the manager you want to be, as opposed to the manager they think you'll be. In many cases it's likely better to do it where you are, but wanted to advocate for the benefits of the alternative, it's not guaranteed to be worse. My path involved switching to a combo IC & manager at a place where I was an experienced IC, but my skill as a manager didn't really develop until I switched companies.

civilized 5y ago
What changed when you switched?
- bigethan 5y ago
  Generically: - shedding of responsibilities (no longer an expert) - shedding of preconceptions (new people, new me) - being new means that people are looking for you to bring your new perspective, which isn't always the case at an existing role - working with all new people polishes management skills as you can't rely on built up relationships And then there's the choices you make when interviewing about what kind of company culture/new manager/new team you're going to. Like, if I care a lot about DEI/4-day work week/etc, and my current company doesn't, do I want to work to make that happen (if even possible), or go to a place that also cares about that which allows me to learn and iterate on something that I care about.
cornel_io 5y ago
Who is going to hire someone to manage when they've never done it before, though? I certainly have never and would never taken a risk like that, it's hard enough to hire decent managers when you're looking at people who have proven histories, whereas when picking from internal candidates you at least have a sense of personality already and can guess who reports will trust. I don't think I know any managers who didn't start doing it at a company they'd already been ICs at.

civilized 5y ago

What changed when you switched?

bigethan 5y ago
Generically: - shedding of responsibilities (no longer an expert) - shedding of preconceptions (new people, new me) - being new means that people are looking for you to bring your new perspective, which isn't always the case at an existing role - working with all new people polishes management skills as you can't rely on built up relationships And then there's the choices you make when interviewing about what kind of company culture/new manager/new team you're going to. Like, if I care a lot about DEI/4-day work week/etc, and my current company doesn't, do I want to work to make that happen (if even possible), or go to a place that also cares about that which allows me to learn and iterate on something that I care about.

cornel_io 5y ago

Who is going to hire someone to manage when they've never done it before, though? I certainly have never and would never taken a risk like that, it's hard enough to hire decent managers when you're looking at people who have proven histories, whereas when picking from internal candidates you at least have a sense of personality already and can guess who reports will trust. I don't think I know any managers who didn't start doing it at a company they'd already been ICs at.