Hill, L. A. (1992). Becoming a Manager,. Boston, Harvard Business School Press.

This book is about the lives of 19 new managers in their first year. All are sales and marketing managers in a securities or computer firm. All switched from being a strong individual contributor to being a manager.

The managers mastered four tasks

* learning what is means to be a manager

* developing interpersonal judgement

* gaining self-knowledge

* coping with stress and emotion

Their initial expectations were incomplete and simplistic. Over time they developed personal theories of management, which came to guide their behavior. The first year was a period of considerable introspection and growth. They learned the four tasks simultaneously and experientially. Sometimes they were aware they were learning, but most of the time they were not. The learning was "gradual and tacit", with the erosion of one set of beliefs and the creation of another.

Chapter 1

They grappled with three critical problems

* how to reconcile their expectations with reality

* how to handle the conflicts with subordinated

* how to make sense of and meet superior's ambitous demands

The daily routine in management is pressured, hectic, and fragmented.

2; Reconciling Expectations

3: Moving toward a managerial identity

(6th to ninth month)

4. Developing Interpersonal Judgement

6. Gaining Self-knowledge

7. Coping with Stress

8. Critical resources for the first year.

* networks of relationships

* previous and current peers

* formal training

9 Easing the transition

Ideal management transition program should be an apprenticeship.