I trained as a Psychologist and worked in clinical settings for the first five years of my professional journey. I really enjoyed helping young people and adults who experienced challenges with their mental health. One day, my manager called me into her office and offered me the opportunity to act in her role. It turned out she was asked to step up to her manager’s role so she needed someone to take her place for a year. My job at the time was in the public sector where you only received a salary increase if you worked an extra year or completed a (very expensive and time-consuming) Masters’ degree. So, the potential to skip a salary ceiling while learning to be a manager appealed to me. While I liked being bossy (I am the eldest child in my family), I never saw myself as a leader. It seemed that my manager and colleagues saw something in me that I couldn’t see. So I said yes to the opportunity and it led me on an exciting journey of change from being a clinician to becoming a leader.

My story is not unique. Many leaders were once technical experts in their field: accountants, software engineers, architects, engineers, doctors, etc. Stepping up into a leadership position seems to be a logical progression for those working in organisations. However, there are several traps that technical experts can find themselves stuck in if they are not careful.

The pay trap

Salary levels for managerial and directorial positions are often much higher than they are for technical employees. For example, salaries for medical officers in leadership positions can be double the rate of clinical specialists. Stepping up to managerial positions is also a natural and exciting career progression. However, while the pay is a great motivator, leadership roles are not to everyone’s liking. Enjoying a software engineer role where you can develop advanced algorithms does not mean you will enjoy dealing with the issues of managing a team of disgruntled software engineers with high turnover rates.

People in higher paid positions often adjust their lifestyles and habits accordingly. They buy bigger houses, have larger mortgages, an extra car, and spend on regular overseas holidays. The thought of stepping down from a leadership position and returning to a lower pay scale can bring real and uncomfortable financial consequences, and here is the pay trap. People may find themselves feeling trapped in a leadership position they don’t enjoy and knowing they can’t afford to return to practising the technical skills they have trained and developed for many years.

The expert trap

It is not easy for a manager to shut down or push away knowledge that has been accumulated over many years of university training and on the job experience. However, while the manager’s main role involves leading people, technical issues are constantly being brought to the manager’s attention. While the manager’s expertise and experience can bring tremendous value to their management role, it can interfere with the functioning of the organisation if the manager neglects leadership duties to focus on being a technical expert. And here is the expert trap. Managers neglect their leadership role to step in and solve the technical problems that their staff are responsible for solving. In doing so the manager runs the risk of micromanaging the team and leaving their staff feeling under appreciated, controlled, and stifled in a work environment that feels negative and uncreative. Neglecting leadership roles to focus on problems the team can solve can also adversely impact the organisation. It is likely that no one else can step in and perform the manager’s duties while they solve problems for their team. The end result is sooner or later, managerial and organisational duties, such as setting strategy and direction, engaging with stakeholders and coaching talents, begin to pile up leaving the manager feeling stressed, bitter and overwhelmed.

The competency trap

Most technical experts turned leaders do not start their leadership journey with sufficient training. They are expected to learn from their bosses and to learn on the job. This may mean copying and imitating what their bosses have done in the past, both the good and the bad, because the new manager hasn’t got the experience to know any better. I was fortunate to have a great manager and mentor who taught me for a good six years before we parted ways. During that time, I was able to learn from others experiences, and I was also able to observe poor leadership practices. The contrast helped me learn to discern between good and poor practices. I have noticed over the years that many people who struggle in their leadership positions have never sufficiently focused on building their leadership competencies. They are good people and competent technical experts in their fields, but this does not necessarily translate into them becoming good leaders. It is these leaders who fall into the (lack of) competency trap.

Leadership is a competency and a discipline that one must master. As we have focused on continuing professional development in our technical areas of expertise, so must we focus on learning about leadership when managing staff. Psychologists have found that to become an expert in a skill, at least 10,000 hours of deliberate practice is required. Good leaders spend time every day learning to be good leaders, practising their leadership skills and seeking feedback about their leadership practices.

Are you a skilled professional in your field? Do you feel that you may be trapped in a leadership position you do not enjoy? Contact Optimal Minds today for a confidential discussion with our skilled coaches. Set yourself free from the pay trap, the expert trap or the competency trap and return to feeling fulfilled in your career and life journey.