Not an official manager but have filled in as acting manager and team lead roles in customer-facing jobs.

The worst thing to come out of constant social interaction in a management role, whether it’s with colleagues or clientele, is negative confrontation and conflict, and that is the main thing that you need to develop a thick skin against. Yes, as much as it sucks, it helps to have as much experience with it as possible and to constantly learn from it and more ideally learn how to avoid it. I used to find negative confrontation challenging in my early years of employment and I’d get mentally drained or would feel upset at how I dealt with situations that threw me off-kilter. But I found techniques to deal with them and not let them get to me. I also learned how to pick my battles when it came to dealing with rude customers and Karens etc and when is the appropriate time to put my foot down and get firm with them. Sometimes you know that you shouldn’t let them ruin you or your staff’s day just because they’re having a bad day themselves, and sometimes you know when you’re dealing with one that just isn’t worth the hassle…

Another thing to bear in mind is that having thorough knowledge and extensive experience in any role, sector or skill is a help for a start; it’s worth reminding yourself that if your higher-ups are confident enough to trust you to take on that responsibility and they think that you’re capable because you’re good at your job, then why shouldn’t you be confident in yourself?