Being mindful of transition ramps

Imagine you are in 12th grade. Today is your first day in class, and the teacher (Mr X.) walks in. He asks to open your books. You ask, "Which subject". My X says, "Please open Physics, Chemistry and Biology textbooks, study the first chapter of all 3 in parallel, and be prepared for a test with a mix of questions from the 3 subjects at the end of your class".

You are flustered, but you still try to slog through the next 1 hour, prepping for the test.

How do you think were the results of this test?

NOT SO GREAT. Right?

You wonder "Why did Mr. X give me an impossible task anyways?"

Very true - he shouldn't have. Even if he did, you should never have signed-up for it, by preparing and giving the test. You might not have had the option - in that case, probably it would have made more sense to just study 1 of those subjects for the full hour and maximize on answering questions of that subject correctly. You might have scored better.

Now, think of this in the context of when you are switching teams or roles - for example, if you are switching from a different career into product management.

When you are newly entering product management, you are essentially taking on the task of learning a new subject, from scratch. So, this is a ramp, which comes bundled with a role transition you are making.

Now, if you are taking on a switch to product management within your current team, you are trying to learn one subject at a time. However, let's say you did not have product management opportunities in your current team, so you had to consider a different team or company.

If the different team/ company operates in the same business domain as you are currently in, then it's good. Otherwise, learning a new complex business domain is another subject you are taking on, and hence another transition ramp.

Let's stretch this further. In your current team, you are a people manager since several years, and have not been doing the ground level project work on your own - your team used to do it. Now, initially when you laterally switch into product management, you are quite likely to be an individual contributor (IC). That too, not just for some time, it could be a while (few years even) before you get into people management. So, tasks like data analysis, discussing core technical problems with engineers etc. would need you to re-learn those IC skills. So, in a way, you are taking on another transition ramp by moving from people management to IC role.

Now, let's throw in another complication. Let's say your new role or team needs you to relocate to a different country. So, learning the culture and how to manage stakeholders there is going to be another ramp.

By now, I guess you see where I am headed.

When you are looking to transition into a new role or team or geography, it is critical to take a step back, and think through of how many transition ramps you are signing up for.

If you are not mindful of these transition ramps, you could find giving yourself a career test in your new job, of simultaneously studying Physics, Chemistry and Biology all at once, and not being able to perform well. Basically, you might unknowingly set yourself up for failure. In this situation, you can't even blame your new manager for giving you an impossible test with this new job, in fact you have to be grateful that they presented you with the opportunity when you needed it.

In my opinion, when you are doing a transition, be conscious that you are taking on 1 or maximum 2 ramps and NOT MORE. Beyond that, it might just be mentally too exhausting and possibly not even feasible. Allow yourself the mental space to ramp effectively in a structured way and grow in your new position.