Exceptions are when the new manager has had actual management training before moving up, or has benefited from the gift
of competent mentorship. If the mentoring continues after the promotion, the
value is multiplied.
The great majority of entrants into
management aren’t so lucky. They arrive unprepared in this strange new place,
and some of them never really recover. Look around you. How many of the
managers you encounter actually perform the work well?
In case your ability to evaluate managers
has been dulled by years of exposure to the general run of the practice, let’s
step back and freshen our perspective.
To clarify: in most situations, the
manager is NOT supposed to be the most accomplished worker bee in the place.
Your widget-making days are over now.
The responsibilities of managers vary
limitlessly, so we’ll start with the universal basics: What is a manager
supposed to do?
