Becoming a Manager

2

Reconciling Expectations

Throughout their first year on the job, the new managers reframed their understanding of what being a manager meant. Each reframing represented a further refinement and enrichment of their appreciation for their new role. Over time, through this process of continual reframing, the new managers began to move toward a managerial identity.

In Chapter 1, we saw that their initial framework was of the manager as the formal authority and stressed their agenda-setting responsibilities in financial and business matters. They generally overlooked the other aspects of their new role: getting things done through people or their network-building responsibilities. Surprises in three critical areas provoked them to rethink the managerial ...