I’ve Seen Brilliant Managers Doubt Themselves.

“I’m not sure I’m very good at this”

I’ve worked with managers who can solve problems at speed, keep a team going through a difficult week and spot things everyone else has missed. Then, in a workshop, they’ll quietly say, “I’m not sure I’m very good at this management thing.”

I’ve heard some version of that more times than I’d like.

A promotion changes the job

Often, they were excellent at their previous job. That’s why they were promoted. But now their success depends less on what they can do themselves and more on what they can help other people do. Nobody has really helped them make that shift.

So they work harder. They step in when someone struggles. They take work back because it’s quicker. They avoid a difficult conversation until it becomes a much bigger one. From the outside, they look busy and capable. On the inside, they wonder why the job feels so hard.

“You’ll be fine” isn’t preparation

When I ask what support they had when they first became a manager, the answer is often a short course, a few policies and a well-meant “you’ll be fine”. They may have been fine at the technical work. Managing people asks something different of them.

I’ve seen what changes when managers get the chance to practise those conversations, make sense of the pressures they’re under and try a different approach back at work. Their confidence grows because they have something concrete to do on Monday morning. Their teams begin to feel the difference too.

Why I created The Shift

I wanted managers to have the space, skills and tools to grow into the role, with support as they put the learning into practice.

Some of the most capable managers I’ve met have doubted themselves. When you hear what they’ve been asked to do with so little preparation, that doubt makes sense.

Contact me today matt@twentyoneleadership.com