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Career Reshaped Episode 15: How Not EVERY MANAGER Should Be a Manager
Ever wonder if you’re really meant to lead—or if you’ve just been climbing the ladder because that’s what success is “supposed” to look like?
You’re not alone.
In this bold solo episode of Career Reshaped, Pauline shares something many people feel but rarely say out loud: not everyone is meant to be a manager—and that’s not a flaw, it’s a fact.
As someone who’s spent years in HR and leadership, she’s seen how often people are promoted for doing their job well, not because they’re ready—or even interested—in leading others. It’s the default path: do well, move up, take charge. But when that path isn’t intentional, it can create more harm than good.
Pauline opens up about the reality of poor management—how it affects team morale, culture, and even the overall success of a company. She reflects on the truth that great leadership isn’t about having power or a title, but about being someone others trust, respect, and want to follow.
She also touches on a powerful shift she’s noticed: some companies are no longer forcing teams to adjust to bad managers. Instead, they’re starting to find leaders who fit the people—not the other way around. And that’s a shift worth paying attention to.
This episode challenges the traditional career narrative. It asks you to pause and reflect: Are you chasing leadership because it’s aligned with your values and strengths—or because you think it’s the only way forward?
Whether you’re thinking about your next step, questioning your current role, or simply trying to figure out what kind of leader you want to be, this conversation will leave you with more clarity—and a little more courage to define success on your own terms.
🎧 Tune in for an honest, thoughtful take on leadership, growth, and what it really means to lead with care.
Discussion Overview
Because leadership is often treated as the natural next step in a career—regardless of whether someone has the skills or desire to lead. Many step into the role for the title or pay, not because they truly want to support or develop people. The result? Teams are led by individuals who don’t enjoy leading.
It usually comes from performance in a previous role. When someone excels as an individual contributor, they’re moved up—often without proper training or reflection on whether leadership suits them. The promotion becomes more about progression than actual leadership potential.
Bad managers demotivate teams, create toxic environments, and stifle productivity. When leadership doesn’t fit, companies often suffer from disengagement, high turnover, and strained team dynamics. One powerful shift mentioned was a company choosing to fire a poor manager rather than lose good employees.
Do I genuinely want to lead and support others?
Am I prepared to take responsibility beyond my own work?
Can I handle difficult conversations and build trust?
Is this about growth or just the title/pay?
Leadership should be a conscious decision, not just a checkbox on a career ladder.
Am I prepared to take responsibility beyond my own work?
Can I handle difficult conversations and build trust?
Is this about growth or just the title/pay?
Leadership should be a conscious decision, not just a checkbox on a career ladder.
Build a case around the value and results you've delivered.
Show how your skills and contributions impact the business.
Propose alternate growth paths like specialist or consultant tracks.
Highlight industry benchmarks to support your request.
Not everyone needs to be a manager to grow—and it’s okay to want the compensation without the team responsibilities.
Show how your skills and contributions impact the business.
Propose alternate growth paths like specialist or consultant tracks.
Highlight industry benchmarks to support your request.
Not everyone needs to be a manager to grow—and it’s okay to want the compensation without the team responsibilities.
Podcast Transcript:
| Time | Transcript |
|---|---|
| 00:00 | not all managers are built equal 80% of them and this is not a fact this is an |
| 00:07 | opinion should not be in their jobs and I suggest that these managers quit hi my |
| 00:14 | name is Pauline and I am one of the career coaches for my career angels and |
| 00:20 | this is our podcast career reshaped so welcome hey it's Natasha and I'm Pauline |
| 00:28 | we're so pumped to bring you even bigger and better stuff this season 2 of Career |
| 00:32 | Reshaped we've got new guests free master classes and all the good vibes |
| 00:37 | you'll only find here so don't forget to hit subscribe follow us on Spotify at |
| 00:42 | Careershaped and check us out on Instagram at |
| 00:47 | my.career.angels today I would like to talk about something a little bit |
| 00:51 | different i want to use this platform to not just educate but connect and I am |
| 01:01 | sure that many of you really don't like your manager and you will be very happy |
| 01:07 | to stand them up and walk them out and I can tell you as a HR individual HR |
| 01:14 | manager myself that I empathize I sympathize and I agree whoever your |
| 01:21 | manager is I agree okay so how do managers become managers let's talk |
| 01:28 | about this it's typically the evolution of one's career when you are thinking |
| 01:34 | about your career when you were at university or maybe you're entering |
| 01:38 | university now what's the end goal oh well to go as high as I can go to climb |
| 01:43 | as as far as I can climb to break the ceiling whatever it may be the role the |
| 01:48 | goal of the role is to be a manager a leader but not everyone is born to lead |
| 01:54 | not all of us are natural leaders and yes whilst it can be |
| 01:58 | taught if you are not that interested in actually leading and managing and just |
| 02:05 | looking for that money and the title then it doesn't matter what lessons are |
| 02:11 | given to you you will not accept it so I do hope that the end of this uh session |
| 02:18 | our time together that I have provided some of you some career advice cuz |
| 02:22 | that's the whole premise of this channel not just to for me to vent and uh |
| 02:28 | connect with you uh but I want to talk to you about a couple of things that if |
| 02:34 | you are looking at becoming a leader and want to be a leader what are the things |
| 02:38 | that you need to consider in order to be successful and someone that inspires |
| 02:46 | motivates and truly does lead and take your team to those next levels to not |
| 02:52 | just to justify your role but to put some respect into the position where you |
| 02:59 | know you are going to be hot property because larger other organizations will |
| 03:04 | want to hire you because wow you can really make an impact for them i have |
| 03:09 | seen managers fired because of their poor leadership because instead of |
| 03:15 | making the employees fit the leader the company wanted the leader to fit the |
| 03:20 | employees bravo i agree with that because well majority outweighs minority |
| 03:26 | but how do people eventually get into this role so like I mentioned before |
| 03:32 | it's like a natural progression of one's career so when you are at a certain |
| 03:38 | level and you're doing really well you're exceeding you pretty much |
| 03:41 | outgrown that role you move up so from a junior to maybe a coordinator to a |
| 03:48 | specialist to management and even higher than that there is a principle called |
| 03:55 | the Peter principle now the Peter principle is that a person can only go |
| 03:59 | to a certain point in terms of skills and abilities before they can no longer |
| 04:06 | manage and succeed so perhaps in a specialist role you are excelling but |
| 04:13 | once you hit the next level or now it's beyond your capabilities and even your |
| 04:19 | desires a lot of leaders are not really happy in their roles they don't really |
| 04:24 | want to be managers they they're not enjoying it the same way they did when |
| 04:28 | they were a lot more handson doing the work before we get into the nitty-gritty |
| 04:33 | of this topic we just wanted to check in and say that if you believe that you |
| 04:37 | need some assistance and that we could help you reach out to us today check out |
| 04:42 | our website join our newsletter we'd love to be in touch we wanted to quickly |
| 04:46 | mention that subscribing to the podcast is the best way to support the show and |
| 04:52 | ensure you never miss an episode it's super easy just click the subscribe |
| 04:57 | button whenever you're listening thanks for tuning in so this is the things you |
| 05:02 | need to consider if you are thinking about being a leader is why do you want |
| 05:07 | to be a leader is it because of the status the prestige that you feel that |
| 05:13 | you will get with the title is it the salary that you are going to receive or |
| 05:19 | is it because you genuinely truly feel that you can inspire motivate and that |
| 05:24 | you can do a better job than your manager and you want to do a better job |
| 05:28 | than your current manager so what is the motivation now I'm not dismissing status |
| 05:34 | or well I am some job titles are just titles that don't define you or mean |
| 05:40 | anything but income of course income is important and |
| 05:45 | unfortunately in Australia especially a lot of us are paid by our job title |
| 05:50 | rather than the skill and the work that we produce so in order to get that pay |
| 05:56 | rise you need to get that title changed as well which is ridiculous but that is |
| 06:01 | the reality now I understand you know we we all want to have a certain uh salary |
| 06:08 | because well life is expensive i get that but it's all about balance and |
| 06:15 | quality of life overall you could be earning a lot of money as a manager but |
| 06:22 | you could be absolutely miserable and that misery follows through with our |
| 06:29 | relationships our mental health and the overall quality purpose |
| 06:38 | and I guess drive of life it can lead todepression and you can become someone |
| 06:46 | quite sour and pretty much turn into the manager you don't like so how do you |
| 06:50 | then meet the salary expectations of the work that you're doing without having |
| 06:57 | that management title well it is about finding the right manager out there the |
| 07:01 | right organization will value what you bring to the table and you can negotiate |
| 07:07 | my advice will be to write a list of everything that you do and the |
| 07:13 | achievements that you have done that is of significant value the impact that you |
| 07:20 | have created to that organization and present that to the company and explain |
| 07:27 | this is what I've done this is what I am doing this is what I can do I need to be |
| 07:33 | compensated accordingly if they are not willing to do that then you can use that |
| 07:38 | information on your resume to show potential other employers who are |
| 07:44 | willing to pay the extra dollar the other thing is if you do decide that you |
| 07:49 | want to be a leader but you know you just don't have the skills then go and |
| 07:53 | upskill yourself and take the lessons you've learned seriously i have been in |
| 08:00 | companies where the leadership is amazing and there's a lot of joy a lot |
| 08:06 | of enjoyment in coming into work and a lot of pride taken in the work that we |
| 08:10 | do i've also wor with leaders who are that bad that the whole |
| 08:17 | company looked gray everyone looked depressed we were all dreary and pretty |
| 08:24 | much counting the hours and the days and the weeks until we had some time off |
| 08:30 | work now that is not really the type of leader that you want you don't want to |
| 08:34 | be the person that impacts other people's quality of life |
| 08:38 | so in conclusion bad leaders are bad good |
| 08:43 | leaders are good if you want to be a leader then find out why you want to be |
| 08:50 | a leader and what kind of leader do you want to be and make sure that you are |
| 08:56 | practicing and implementing the leadership style you want and value if |
| 09:03 | you need to upskill upskill and if you feel that this is not for you then don't |
| 09:10 | pressure yourself to get there just because of titles and whatnot or because |
| 09:17 | that just seems like the next logical step it doesn't have to be all right |
| 09:22 | well that's all I have to share with you today i'll see you next |
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