The best mangers are those who have an unending appetite to learn and a strong will to work on their own. Management is not an easy task; even the most gifted people need to assign themselves to this enduring learning experience of self-development. Let me give you an example of a young man, Harsh, who sky rocketed his very short career to becoming a Senior Vice-President of Marketing of a Mega Store chain in just 3 years. When I asked him how he managed to tread this fast; he said "I just raised my hand to every new opportunity that was presented to me in the firm, luckily they all worked..."

Although Harsh was being humble, we can gain an important perspective that to be a good manager, you need to take, what people call "career risks". From his story, we learn that leadership can be a thrilling journey to self-development. Over the coast of his first few years, he made a series of upward and lateral moves that included a number of very tough assignments across many functional areas.

Harsh began as Director of regional operations in Mumbai. He had a profit and loss responsibility of more than thirty underperforming stores. By creating a string of direct reports, he set store standards, instituted training programs and rejuvenated performance. With an overwhelming market response, sales tripled in just one year. This success prompted further challenging assignments and then there was no looking back.

How can a manager learn to manage and lead?
Best managers are those who have an appetite to learn and are willing to work on themselves. Like Harsh, good managers need to be learners and willing to reinvent themselves time and again. Although some qualities of effective management are inborn, they can be acquired through experience and self improvement. Management is primarily learned from on-the-job experiences where the essence of development is diversity in adversity. The best way to succeed as a manager is to learn from your experience, reflect and consolidate the lessons through these experiences. Introspection is a necessary habit in all new managers.

A good manager is one who collects feedbacks and analyzes their behavior, attitudes and values. The more frank feedback that managers can obtain, the more accurate their assessment will be. No one can grow and develop alone; individuals should be prepared to seek assistance. Managers need to devote time and energy to build a network of development of relationships (superior and lateral, internal and external to the organization). From these developmental relationships (e.g. mentors or sponsors), potential managers can better learn from their own experiences by receiving feedback and advice and emotional support. These relationships can be helpful only if the managers are willing to take some risks by disclosing some of their shortcomings and open themselves to constructive criticism - admittedly a tall order.

Choosing the right responsibility
Although leadership is the best way to forge ahead, a realistic approach is omnipotent. Two factors need to be kept in mind while deciding on taking up a responsibility:
. How good is the "fit" between the competencies needed for the job done and what the competencies are present in ones self
. To what extend is this "fit" perfect - do you have the competencies to achieve the targets that are

This "fit" is rather subjective and has seen many people be excluded from better positions. One way most people cope with this reality is by hiding their real ambitions until they get their foot in the door. This is a dangerous tactic; as values of individual may vary from that intended by the company. The kind of compromises expected consequently may be substantial. Besides, being a credible leader when acting out an inauthentic self is very hard.

The finest assignments from the developmental perspective are those where the "fit" is imperfect and rather extended. Please note that this somewhat stretch is in terms of talents and not values. These assignments have more risk, as managers tend to make more mistakes that could easily blow up a great career progress. I would suggest that new managers should look for only those jobs that can influence initial fit to establish a self-reinforcing sequence of success, whereby, year after year they obtain more of the sources of power necessary to be effective and successful. Risks though significant must not be too great. Risks must never be more than the individual's ability to cope with it. The best way to scale risks is by the time it will take to actualize the more the time it takes the more risk it has.

Tips on getting the flying start:
Be aware of your strengths, limitations, purpose and ethics in order to make the appropriate trade-offs between "fit" and learning opportunities while selecting a position. These traits are more visible to those who have a bit of experience. Those new in the careers can bring together their key strengths, important inadequacies and core values through careful and organized introspection. The following are points you need to keep in mind while trying to get the right start:
. Ask specific questions to yourself about the job you wish to undertake. These questions should be more like SWOT analysis you studied in your Management classes.
. Choose suitable position, this would help convert general competencies into company or job specific expertise. You can only grow in a company when you make significant contribution to organizational performance, hence match your competencies with the industry demands.
. Once you begin making these important contributions, your credibility in the organization will increase. Now you may find people ready to sponsor your ideas and become your mentors, taking risks on your behalf and endorsing you into the stretch assignments.
. From these assignments you will be able to gain more confidence, expertise and probably more relationships may be developed.
. Soon, this cycle of success becomes self boosting; your track record and credibility will touch new highs bringing you closer to the inner circles of an organization.

This is the best way to reach the top the quickest and with competence.