7 Tips To Succeed As A New Manager In The New World

Transitioning from individual contributor to new manager increases your roles and responsibilities in the company. In fact, it is one of the most stressful roles in business until you succeed in it.

You’ll need to manage employees (working under you), solve their problems, deal with the higher management, and manage how the business functions, all at the same time.

According to a post by Pradco, 60 percent of new managers fail within the first two years. The most common reason for the failure of new managers is that they aren’t provided proper training for the role.

As a new manager, you’ll have to deal with individuals who have different ambitions, personalities, and thought-process. You’ll also meet more experienced and talented people.

Let’s have a look at some of the tips to succeed as a new manager.

1. Learn to become a leader

Becoming a leader in an organisation is not only about leading a team, but it is also about having a certain amount of expertise in your industry or niche.

Teach people things to keep them from making the mistakes you have done. Also, in order to maintain leadership level, keep learning new things about your industry or niche every day and master additional skills.

2. Always set your own individual goals as well as team goals

You need to set individual as well as team goals in order to ensure that the whole team (including you) is as productive as possible. Make sure that the goals align with the department and company. Create an action plan once you’ve set goals in order to accomplish them.

Never miss an opportunity to give your team the spotlight be it for successful project completion or office’s cultural activities. Have a conversation with all levels of department staff to understand the organization’s point of view about your team and recognize areas where you can make relationships better.

3. Offer guidance when needed

Instead of telling your employees how to do the task, just tell them what to do and watch them do it in their own way. Interfere, only when you think they’re going in the wrong direction.

As a manager, you need to help your team members grow professionally. Offering guidance when they need it will help them learn from their mistakes and find better work processes in the future.

4 – Learn to manage “accountability” and “credibility”

Handling the “control” aspect of management is important. Hold your employees accountable for results. But, try not to put the blame on them in case the result is not as good as expected.

Make promises only when you’re sure you can keep it. A breached promise or unfulfilled expectations can kill your credibility. It will make your employees doubt every your words.

5 – Lead by example and treat employees with respect 

You lead by example when you walk the talk. Therefore, always play by the same rules you ask others to. Understand that everyone makes mistakes and be kind to your employees when they make one.

Give them the benefit of the doubt when they mess up. Listen to your team and respect employee’s differences when making a decision involving them. It will help you establish a foundation of trust.

Besides, the best way to build trust with employees is by respecting them and treating them as equals. Have a conversation where they feel you’re one of them and not someone from the higher management who cares more about the company than them.

6. Involve your team in decision making

Involving your team in decision-making process will not only increase overall team morale, but it will also lead to overall increased productivity as they will want to see their efforts succeed.

This will also help you generate new ideas and brainstorm the selected ones. When each one of the team members gets the opportunity to voice their opinions and share their knowledge, it will improve your relationship with the employees.

It makes employees feel valued and when they’re involved in decision making, instead of blaming management for their current problems they’ll start focusing on future-oriented problem solving.

7. Constantly seek to improve your communication and leadership skills

One of the most important ways to succeed as a manager is with good communication and leadership skills. Regardless of what you’re talking about, make sure it is clear, delivers the message you want to convey, motivates, and inspires action.

Not communicating or leading effectively as a manager can cost you: in both business and employee productivity/engagement. But the good news is you can always improve and further your communication and leadership skills.

Find courses to improve aspects of leadership or communication that can help you in your management position or consider going back to school to earn a degree that’s in demand for managers today. The choices are truly endless from where to study, program options and even course format so there’s no excuse not to continue furthering your own education within the communication and leadership arena.

When you know how to choose the most appropriate response for every business interaction, you will find a greater degree of success in your management role.

Bottom Line

Succeeding as a new manager isn’t difficult unless and until you know how to balance the pressure from both sides (employees as well as your higher management).

Make sure you listen to your employees, value their opinion, and let them be a part of decision making. Remember the phrase “Walk the Talk” and treat your juniors with respect.

However, the biggest struggle is managing accountability and credibility. Once you have mastered it, you’re more likely to succeed as a new manager.

Source: e27