Career Advice Career Doctor

To advance to a management role or technical role

 

I am terrible with clients. This problem is really holding my career back. I work in IT and have made rapid progress up the ranks over the last six years. Now I am second in command of a team. But I just can’t see myself taking my manager’s role because I can’t handle clients well. Many times at meetings I’d feel like I’d said something wrong and back in the office I’d find it difficult to hide my frustrations in the face of their constantly changing demands. I really want to be a manager in the future. What can I do to improve?