December 04, 2025

195 - We Are Not All Meant To Manage People

14 minutes

In this episode, Cindy Esliger addresses the myth that managing people is the only way up the career ladder. We’re often told that stepping up into management is the only way to advance in our workplace, but shoving people into management roles unprepared can come with devastating fallout. Both the managers and employees find that the move exacts a painful toll. Cindy explains why it’s critical to rethink how careers can grow and employees can advance beyond people management. Leadership and success do not have to be synonymous with managing people.

Managing people requires a very different set of skills than most people imagine. Cindy breaks down four of the key things managers are responsible for: 1. Morale, 2. Performance, 3. Retention, and 4. Culture. As Cindy notes, “a great manager is in the trenches with their people, shaping how employees experience the workplace”, and not everyone is cut out to do this. We’ve all had bad managers, and they may have been people promoted into management positions without preparation, told that it was the only way to advance.

If we do end up in a management role, Cindy offers six strategies to add to our toolkits: 1. Have people create informal personal operating manuals, 2. Ask the right question, 3. Balance, 4. Practice presence and curiosity, 5. Brush up on conflict resolution and stress management skills, and 6. Set and enforce boundaries. But if we aren’t ready for managing people, Cindy urges us to ask where we can thrive and how we can make the biggest difference on an alternate path. Roles like Principal Engineer, Distinguished Scientist, and Senior Strategist are designed for those who want to deepen impact without taking on direct reports. The goal isn’t just climbing higher, it’s building the career we actually want.

Resources discussed in this episode: