That's what I jokingly used to say when someone mentioned the career path of a manager. I've been working at Visma Labs Slovakia for years, as a developer and later as a software architect. We had a well-established team that grew over time from 3 to 9 local developers before I got asked a strange question: "Do you wanna be their personal manager?"

I wasn't sure what to do at first, it wasn't a simple yes for me. I was afraid that balancing two roles will be difficult, afraid that I will have no idea what am I doing. But I saw a need for a local PM and had already felt "responsibility" for the team, in some sense. I knew that I wouldn't be alone in this challenge - having the support of our wonderful HR, being able to talk to our experienced managers and my direct team manager. I genuinely wanted to help and make a positive impact.

Since then I read many books and blog posts about management. I attended a bunch of mentoring sessions (thank you, Visma!) and held a lot of easy (and not so easy) 1-on-1 meetings with my people. I was looking forward to our next PM mentoring session at Visma, when Richard Chudý opened his presentation with a simple "You are who you are!" Confused at first, I listened to his explanation and thoughts began to rush through my brain. And then, it clicked! I don't need to be perfect, I can (and will) make mistakes.

When going to others for help, it is easy to get lost and try to replicate their behaviour, tactics and methods. It worked for them, so sure, it must work for me, right? I used to think that and I tried a bunch of methods that did not work as well as I hoped.

Slowly but surely I started discovering my own "management style" - using an old try-fail-learn-repeat process. I opened up to people, I explain situations where I feel it is needed and ask frequently for their feedback. I still look for advice when I feel lost or frustrated, but now I understand that these are different ideas and perspectives, not a strict step-by-step prescription.

I am still at the beginning of my management journey and wouldn't consider myself one. While I remain a tech-person at heart, working with people has opened new doors and challenged me to grow in unexpected ways. The most valuable lesson I've learned? Authenticity matters more than perfection.

People appreciate honest leadership and can easily see through artificial personas. As Richard said - you are who you are, and that's exactly who I'm learning to be.