It's interesting coming back to this editorial after 4 years.

I moved into a management position some time ago and from my perspective I was left to sink or swim. Zero help with transitioning into the role and frankly an extremely miserable couple of years.

I've learned a great deal and find being a manager of my team an honour and a privilege. As a junior manager I've learned that you have to manage upwards as well as downwards. If anything more upwards!

I've had to learn to balance the needs of a wide variety of stakeholders rather than a very narrow set of technical requirements.

I've learned that everything is negotiable, why tech debt is necessary (but still evil), how to identify the politicians, those who do most of the work but are rarely get recognised, those who are good at self promotion but are slow to help their colleagues.

All stuff that increases my value as an employee. But ye Gods I miss the technical side!

You can never know where a different choice would have taken you though I have often thought about the day I accepted that first management promotion