Earning the opportunity to be a manager is a career milestone. It marks a big shift from employee to leader, and is often part of a promotion.

You may have been working toward becoming a manager for a long time. But becoming a manager for the first time — whether you are responsible for one person or a whole team — is a big change, and there are some things you might not have considered. Here’s what no one tells you about going from employee to management.

1. You will have to make tough calls. You may find yourself in situations where you’ll need to make difficult decisions — and they won’t always be popular. While it’s important to gather your team’s input, in the end, it’s your responsibility to decide what’s best — even if that means disappointing (or even angering) some of your team-mates, trying to please everyone is a recipe for leadership disaster.

2. Your employee isn’t your friend. Being a likable leader isn’t the same as being a friend. Always remain professional. Being professional doesn’t mean you need to be a robot. You will be spending a large portion of each day interacting with the people on your team, invest in understanding them.

3. The people you manage are a direct reflection on you. The best leaders groom employees and help them grow. In addition to overseeing others’ work, you now have a hand in their career development. Take the time to learn about your team members’ short-term and longer-term goals. Explore ways in which you can help them reach those goals.

4. Managing people is time-consuming. Be prepared to put in some extra time as you get up to speed and initiate your new hire. There will be administrative duties as well, part of being a great manager is the ability to explain projects and tasks, not just dump a list on someone and walk away. Even a 10 minute face-to-face conversation can make you both more comfortable with this new relationship.

5. Your focus will shift. You will now be overseeing and “conducting” the bigger picture. At this level, you will be expected to manage and create workflows, timelines, and budgets.

6. You may not be a natural leader — and that’s OK. Not everyone is a born leader, but you can Learn, Think back, Read, Ask for advice, Consider working with a Mentor.

EMBRACE THE OPPORTUNITY : Enjoy becoming a Manager — it’s a big career milestone. Being promoted to management is a great acknowledgment.

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