A Study to Describe the Issues That Emerge Among Professional Employees When Transitioning from a Technical Role to a Managerial Role in Their Organizations

Abstract: When professional employees transition from a technical role to that of a management role is often a challenge for individuals, and this challenge has implications for organization managers and the human resource development (HRD) field. In essence, professionals are defined and influenced by their roles in organizations because of the unique value they provide with their knowledge and skill (Lepisto et al., 2015). When professional employees decide to make a voluntary transition from a technical role to a managerial role, they may prompt to deal with a set of issues by negotiating individual professional identity with the requirements of current managerial role (Hill, 2019; Ibarra, 2005). The construction of professional identity is an ongoing process in the transition of professional employees from one occupation to another in organizations. Professional identity refers to one’s work-role coherent set of mindsets, goals, behavior, self-concept, and the way one position themselves in individual professional network (Caza et al., 2018; Pratt et al., 2006).
However, in spite of the relative high level of attention given to this phenomenon, numerous questions remain about understanding the transition of individuals from a technical role to a managerial role. Specifically, during the transition process, professional employees often experience a psychological conflict (Guardia, 2009) between the expectations of their organizations in current managerial role and their individual professional identity (Bolander et al., 2019; Hill, 2019). The reasoning for this change in role suggests the principle that individuals who are skilled in their own area of technical expertise may also be skilled in managing others involved in that area as well (Sillett, 2015). Essentially, the acquisition of managerial knowledge and skill is intertwined with the reconciliation of professional identity among these first-time managers which has implication for initial career advancement (Caza & Creary, 2016; Giacomelli et al., 2019).
Professional employees undergoing role transition differ in self-concept, mindset, motives, self-esteem, expertise, and prior occupational socialization (Arthur, 2014) which bring in powerful independent influence over the transition experiences of these individuals (Plakhotnik et al., 2011). Therefore, the purpose of this study to describe the issues that emerge among professional employees when transitioning from a technical role to a managerial role in their organizations. Since learning is also about reconciling with one’s professional identity (Black et al., 2018; Jørgensen & keller, 2008), an emerging set of both personal and professional issues in the voluntary transition process to management, appear to be critical to analyze in the lenses of HRD.
This work in-progress study is designed in a qualitative descriptive method (Sandelowski, 2000) by using a critical incident technique (Flanagan, 1954) and a semi-structured interview guide (Maxwell, 2012) for answering the four correlated research questions including the primary research question of this study: What are the issues that emerge when professional employees undergo in the transition process from a technical role to a managerial role?
To collect data, 10 engineering managers who have completed the transition process from a technical role to a managerial role that can be a collateral or horizontal move in organizations, will be interviewed with an interview guide. Responses then will be transcribed and coded for themes using a coding and thematic analysis technique (Braun & Clarke, 2013). The patterns of issues in voluntary role transition that are derived from respondents will navigate to recommend structured training curriculum so that professionals who have technical expertise are cognizant of the potential shift in professional identity when transitioning from a technical role to a managerial role in organizations. The findings will unfold and capture the effective adaptation strategies of professional employees for reconciling with dilemmas in role transition. The findings will further describe the tackling strategies of professional employees that they perceive to be effective in current managerial role to advance their career being first-time managers in organizations. Specifically, this study has implication for the career advancement of professionals who are at mid-career level when the transition into management is one of the predominant career changes (Yeh, 2008).
Keywords: transitioning to management, first-time managers, managerial training