People get assigned management positions through a number of different ways, including:
- They do their current non-management tasks/role very well
- They “walk the walk” & “talk the talk” (ie dress in suits and can interweave buzz words in conversation)
- They have been with the company or in their field for a long period of time
Notice that none of the above is a reliable indicator of how a person will perform as a manager (even if they look the part).
A lot of companies still use this “sink or swim” method of Management Training. I’ve also noticed that management training is often given to people who have been managers for a couple of years and less often to potential managers.
Some people get pushed into management and end up asking for their old job back. Management is not for everyone and you’ll be doing your company and your manager a favour by telling them you don’t want to be a manager up front (especially if you have decided this already or if you just don’t have the passion).
Other people want to get into management and get overlooked because they may not have certain leadership skills that area required in such a position. Then again, there are people who get into management and think they are doing a good job even when it is clear to everyone that they are not… this is why we have performance reviews…
Read The First-Time Manager by Loren Belker & Gary Topchik <- everyone should own this book
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