Being a manager isn't just about bossing people around, it's about understanding what makes your team tick, fostering a positive work environment, and ensuring everyone's heading in the right direction. It's a delicate balancing act, but for many, managerial roles are given when the person has been in their role or at the company for a certain amount of time, and often with no real regard for whether the person wants to be a manager, or training and support.
Defining a manager is a good place to start: It is an easy title to bestow, and can mean a lot of things to different people. Essentially, a manager is an individual within an organisation who is responsible for overseeing and directing a group of employees or a specific department to ensure that organisational goals and objectives are met. Managers typically have authority over a certain area of the business, and their responsibilities can include planning and setting goals for their team or department, organising workflow, directing and supervising team members, monitoring performance, and communicating with higher management and other departments to ensure alignment and collaboration.