What to do when you make a big career jump — both technical and management — all at once.

Someone asked for my advice. They just made a big career jump with a large increase in role — both technical and management — all at once.

This is what I shared with them:

1) Identify the Problems & Fears

Get specific about everything you anticipate struggling with. Managing the workload? Building relationships? Knowing how to delegate? Context switching? Pressure from being in a higher visibility + higher responsibility role? Name all the problems and your fears, get it all out in front of you -- so you can look it more clearly, look for patterns, categories, emotions, assumptions. . . and can then organize your approach accordingly.

2) Be Strategic & Intentional

Being strategic and intentional requires that you *slow down* to step back and look at the big picture. It might be hard, because you may feel pressure to Know and Do All The Things. You may feel urgency, like you're being pulled in multiple directions at once. But being reactive is not the solution. If your fear or insecurity flares up, if you feel like you need to prove yourself, it's easy to slide into being reactive -- which makes everything harder. You'll also miss the big picture, which means you'll make decisions trying to solve for the wrong things. Slow down. Breathe. You will make better use of your time, energy, and attention when.

3) Have a Plan

Expect that Big Change creates Big Emotions, for you and your team. You will have a lot of change to manage, for yourself and others. You want to have a plan for this. It doesn't have to be *perfect* (no such thing as perfect) but it will help you feel more calm, capable, and in control. You can always adjust a plan as needed. Effective communication will be KEY here, especially for the first 30-60-90 days. You're setting the tone, establishing working agreements (explicitly or tacitly). You want to plan your approach. If you're not sure where to start, get help. See (5) below.

4) Expect Imposter Syndrome

You're making 2 big jumps. You will likely have days when you feel like you are failing at both and your self-doubt will flare up. Expect this, and have a plan to handle it.

5) Have a Support Team

Coach, therapist, mentor, maybe all of the above. But do be intentional about curating a team to support you as a leader and a human. This becomes more important as you gain more responsibility. When more people are looking to you and more is at stake, you'll feel more pressure. While at the same time, you're facing more uncertainty and being challenged to grow in new ways. This is not the time to isolate and ruminate.

The number one pitfall I see in situations like this in feeling OVERWHELMED. Everyone deals with overwhelm a bit differently. High performers often attempt to outwork it by simply trying harder, doing more, and masking the effort. This is unsustainable and does not address the underlying issues. It can turn into negative self-talk, which is both draining and undermines your self-confidence. So be mindful of how you typically try to solve for overwhelm, because it will likely come up big time and your past strategy may not be effective in this case.

Finally, be compassionate with yourself.

Give yourself some grace. And approach this new chapter mindfully, so you can adapt, grow, and set yourself and your team up for success.

You'll be more likely to navigate new challenges while still enjoying your life.

Additional resources:

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