Being promoted to management can be a thrilling experience. It鈥檚 a vote of confidence in your abilities and can be a testament to the work you鈥檝e done for the company. Along with the promotion, though, should come a shift in mindset about your approach to work.
Unlike an individual contributor with a clear to-do list, you might find your new
workload is less defined. On top of this, managing other people requires a different
skill set than what you might be used to. Here are four skills new managers should
master to help ease the transition from individual contributor to workplace leader.
1 - Seek Feedback on Your Manager Skills
When you started working at your company, you probably grew accustomed to asking for feedback from your supervisor or even fellow coworkers. As a new manager, it鈥檚 important to keep up this tradition, but with a minor adjustment: ask your employees for feedback on your manager skills as well.
Feedback should be multidirectional. Just as employees should expect to receive performance
evaluation from you, create an atmosphere where employees feel encouraged to provide
you with their comments as well. This will help you identify areas of improvement
and growth. It also demonstrates to your employees the value of feedback. And don鈥檛
forget to hone your ability to 鈥� one of the most important tools in a manager鈥檚 toolbox.
2 - Delegate
There are myriad reasons delegation can be a difficult skill to master. For example, if you鈥檝e progressed through the corporate ranks and are now managing individuals who are doing the job you used to do, it can feel strange to see someone complete a task in a different way than you would. What鈥檚 important is that the task gets done and is well executed, not that it鈥檚 completed the same way you would complete it. Likewise, you might feel like explaining the task would take longer than simply taking care of it yourself. If you used to be the 鈥渒nowledge keeper,鈥� it can also be difficult to let go of that feeling of importance.
Finally, you might enjoy completing the task at hand and feel guilty about adding work to your team鈥檚 plate. Whatever the case, delegation can be challenging. That said, delegating tasks to your employees helps clear your schedule for other items that now demand your time, such as higher-value activities.
When determining what to delegate, play to your employees鈥� strengths, provide the
resources necessary to complete the task, be clear in your communication, provide
feedback, and define the desired outcome. Finally, make sure to .
3 - Address Difficult Situations
Whether it鈥檚 a disagreement over how to approach a project or performance issues, you will face many new challenges as a manager. Human dynamics are complex, and in your new leadership role, you鈥檒l need to learn how to lead a team of people who have their own thoughts, opinions, and ways of doing things. Instances will arise when you鈥檒l need to support a grieving employee, handle conflict between team members, or potentially even fire someone.
Learning to navigate difficult situations can be challenging, but it can help to : listen to your employees, give clear feedback, document the issue and the conversations you鈥檝e had with your employees, and be consistent in your actions.
Try to ultimately turn these difficult situations into learning experiences. Reflect
on the issue and outcome, as well as what worked and what did not.
4 - Trust and Empower Your People
鈥淟eadership is communicating to people their worth and potential so clearly that they are inspired to see it in themselves.鈥� 鈥� Stephen Covey
Trust your experts.
There鈥檚 a . Those who are less trusted have been shown to be less productive and are more likely to leave the organization. Employees who receive a higher level of trust, on the other hand, have been shown to put in extra effort and are seen as high performers.
To help your team achieve higher performance, your employees should know you support
them. Build a culture of collaborative leadership by asking for their opinions and
how they would approach projects. You can accomplish this by familiarizing yourself
with your employees鈥� strengths, providing context for the work that鈥檚 being done,
and relinquishing control where possible so your team can take the lead.
Learn More About Leadership and Management
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