Managers: What got you here won’t get you there

29 Jul Managers: What got you here won’t get you there

7 skills a new manager needs to learn

Remember those first few months of being a brand-new manager. When you first learned that your knowledge, expertise and hard work have paid off, and you have been promoted to a management position. Did you feel a little nervous, or were you mostly excited? Did you stay awake at night thinking of all the things you would do to build a strong and engaged team, and how you would prove yourself by achieving impressive results?

Flash forward a couple of months.

Your confidence has faded; self-doubt has crept in. Now you are staying awake at night asking yourself: “Can I do this?”, “Do I want to do this?”

You’re feeling the pressure. You’re working longer hours correcting others’ work or simply doing the work yourself as you have the expertise and think it will save you time and energy. You’re feeling frustrated by spending so much time in your day answering questions, solving problems and fielding interruptions. You’re discouraged by the team’s lack of performance and seemingly low levels of engagement.   What happened?

The transition from being an individual contributor to a manager who must complete work through others is a significant one, and one that most people are unprepared for. The knowledge, expertise and skills that contributed to success as an individual contributor can no longer be relied on; and if relied on too heavily, may have detrimental effects.

To make this pivotal transition, most new managers need dedicated support to develop the mindset, behaviours and skills they need to motivate, inspire and lead their teams. They need to learn how to:

• create a shared and compelling vision
• value and build open and trusting relations
• delegate, and clearly define work expectations
• manage performance and provide critical feedback
• adapt their style to meet the different needs of others
• deal with conflict and have difficult conversations
• build collaborative relationships and influence others

Since the arrival of Covid-19, new managers are likely to feel more pressure to lead effectively and produce results than ever before. At the same time, they might feel less supported by their leader, who may be managing remotely and stretched too thin to have time to focus on their development.

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How are your new managers feeling?  If you have a manager who needs support, consider having them enroll in the 6-month Development Forum for Emerging Leaders taking place from October 2020 to February 2021. For additional information, download the Development Forum for Emerging Leaders PDF.