Can optimism ever be bad?

Find your place on the outlook matrix

“Self-Portrait. Between the Clock and the Bed” by Edvard Munch. Needless to say, the symbolism here is quite pessimistic, given his apparent age and positioning.

Taking a first step into management from an individual contributor background can be tough. Not only is the role a step up in terms of accountability and responsibility, it also widens the interfaces in which one operates: increased debate and discussion, more exposure to opposing views both inside and outside of the team, and deeper emotional connections, tensions and breakthroughs.

A manager can find themselves as a conduit and chair for all sorts of situations: debates about scope and priority of projects, dealing with clashes of ideals about which framework should be used for a new piece of software, through to fallout in the team after missing a deadline, ongoing performance issues, and believe me, I could go on!

In addition to continuing to utilize your technical strength, you also need to also develop a strong mindset that can identify and work with the psychology of those on your team. Having worked with a great number of people over the years, I have seen that conflict can manifest in so many ways beyond the prescribed roles that people work in.

Yes, of course, there is a natural tension between different parts of the business. Engineering and Commercial will always have some conflicting desires, for example. But even people with the same skillset can…