The article first notes that as a profession, child and youth care practitioners have not been successful in breaking into the ranks of management in the human services. This may be due to a preference for being on the front line of service delivery, a lack of educational qualifications, or limitations that create barriers to competing successfully for management positions. One such limitation relates to professional communication skills, both written and verbal. The inability to frame the work of child and youth care practice in clear, concise, and professionally relevant language is a major barrier to the career advancement of many practitioners. Recruitment is another major issue discussed as a factor in finding a pathway to management. If the field of child and youth care does not attract highly qualified personnel, it is unlikely there will be an attractive pool of candidates for management positions at some stage in their careers. Issues in effective recruitment are discussed. Another section of this article discusses the orientation process as a factor in setting workers on the pathway to management. Although orientation is typically effective in preparing people for daily tasks of the job, it most often fails to provide workers the larger picture of the philosophy and values of the organization, which is the orientation needed for a management position. Performance management is also discussed as an important aspect of preparing front-line personnel for management positions. Performance management should include a focus on skills and knowledge pertinent to preparation for a management position. In addition, supervision standards in child and youth care practice are discussed, as well as barriers that can prevent child and youth care practitioners from becoming effective managers. 29 references