You may be the best developer in the world, or you may be able to diagnose any network problem in three minutes flat, but that does not automatically make you a good candidate for a manager. That’s like saying “I play a mean cello, so I should conduct the entire orchestra.” These are two different skill sets.

The Manager tag should not be your goal. It is not something by which to measure your personal worth. It’s a responsibility, and it’s a lot of work. It’s also very unfair to team members to take on their management if you don’t really know how to do it.

If you think you deserve to be in management, ask yourself these questions:

* Could you lay off an employee that you like very much because upper management needs to make cuts?
* Could you confidently promote one of your employees above others?
* Would you be able to tell an employee he or she needs to attend to his or her hygiene better?
* Can you lead a team to results without micromanaging?
* Could you say “no” to upper management when they make unreasonable demands of your staff?
* Could you take responsibility for failures of your team even if only one staffer screwed up?

Regardless of your job, role, or organization – and, no, it doesn’t matter what your political beliefs are – keep these 3 management rules front and center when making plans for the future:

1. The strategies most likely to win are the ones that are the easiest to understand. If the situation is complex, figure out a way to make it understandable. Otherwise, you’ll end up being another one of those really smart people who has no followers, no success stories, and no promotional future.

2. Emotion wins over logic 9 times out of 10. When we get emotional we generate energy and enthusiasm within others. An emotional team can get a lot done, they’ll work longer hours, and help make converts. It can beat a larger or better-equipped team without emotional buy-in. You’ll accomplish what you intend.

3. The best deals come together fast. You’ve probably experienced this before like when you were buying a car, or being hired for a new job. Things just fell into place and everyone walked away feeling good about the deal. It’s the same for new programs, or changes in business direction: If you find that the same things need to be addressed repeatedly, it’s a warning sign. It may be time to cut bait.

In many companies, and in life generally, some great projects are shelved while other poor ones get the green light. We see it with choices for technology and vendors all the time. Usually such decisions have more to do with how each side made their case, and less to do with logical comparisons of features and prices. It’s often the same, by the way, for decisions affecting who gets promoted and who doesn’t.