1. Tips for First Time Managers
1. Learn the Business
You'll feel tempted to overhaul and start fresh. But
there's so much you don't know. Rather than risk moving
too fast too soon, spend your first months observing,
listening, and learning. Keep a log of everything you
question. To know what's critical and what's clutter. Lean
on those with institutional knowledge and memory. In
short, be humble and grow into the job. Take small steps
so your employees have some continuity. You'll have
time to leave your fingerprints as you mature.
2. Meet with Your People Individually
Don't judge the holdovers, at least not initially.
Instead, give everyone a clean slate, no matter what
you've heard. Remember, all your reports will be on their
best behavior initially. You represent a fresh start; they
want to be seen in the best light. So give them plenty of
one-on-one time early. Learn about their history and
aspirations. Watch them in action to see who'll tell the
truth, help, or inevitably disappoint. Most important, get
buy-in from your stars and respected veterans. Without
their support, few others will follow.
2. 3. Set Objectives
You have their attention: Capitalize on it. Set ground rules
and expectations early. Outline your short-term and longterm vision for the department. Identify what's mission
critical, why, and how everyone's roles contribute to the
end result. Set goals, but keep them relatively short,
unambiguous, and achievable. Establish time lines and
benchmarks to measure progress. Help them understand
they're working toward something larger, and how their
careers, lives, and world will profit from their labor.
4. Make a Memorable Gesture
Want to make an impact in your first weeks? Strip
everything down and simplify. That's right: Take them
back to basics. Determine what's holding them back, such
as a bad apple or redundant paperwork. Take a dramatic
action to send the message that times have changed. Or
build goodwill by skewering a sacred cow or making a
symbolic giveback. Whether you're looking to drive
service, productivity, or profitability, focus your team on
that area and remove any obstacles or excuses for
delivering it.
5. Have a Department Plan
An idea is doomed to failure without a plan behind it.
After meeting with stakeholders, draft three- and sixmonth plans. Set targets, replete with starting and ending
3. points (and the steps in between). Hold yourself
accountable by evaluating progress weekly and making
adjustments as circumstances evolve. At minimum, your
job is to get your team members on the same page and
level, and foster an environment where they can excel.
Without a plan and a dedication to executing it, they will
inevitably drift, gradually losing sight of their potential
and value.
6. Develop Each Person (Including Yourself)
It's the universal question: How can I take my employees
to the next level? Like anything, it requires planning,
attention, and commitment. Start with recognizing each
person's strengths, goals, and areas for improvement.
From there, establish individual plans, no different from
your department plan. Seek out opportunities where they
can learn and contribute (and move out of their comfort
zones). Check in regularly on their performance. Face it,
your reports won't all stay in their jobs forever. Know
where they want to go; motivate them by helping them get
there.
7. Recognize Your Limitations
You haven't done the job long enough to own a real track
record. Seasoned managers will condescend to you;
employees will try to roll you. Your newcomer status puts
you at an innate disadvantage. So don't place yourself in a
4. losing position until you've built up your capital. Pick
those fights and drive those issues you can win. And
realize you can't be everything to everyone. It takes time
to make things happen, and there will be mistakes along
the way. Be patient and take heart with any victories you
achieve.
8. Cultivate a Mentor
You've seen it before: One bad manager can stifle
creativity, siphon energy, and poison relationships. And
you'll have times when you'll ask if you're causing more
harm than good. When this happens, reach out to
someone who's already gone through that. Find a mentor
who can pick you back up and put your challenges in
perspective. Stay in touch regularly and take his or her
advice, however critical, to heart. Chances are, a mentor
will be flattered by your trust. Eventually he may be the
one who introduces you to the right people and
champions your cause.
9. Build Bridges with Other Departments
Along with being a manager, you're also an ambassador.
Invest time in building relations with the other
departments. If they're not coming to you, go to them. Sit
down with their leaders and rank and file. Take an
inventory of how your department is viewed. Identify
areas where you could improve your performance or
5. potentially team up with someone to help. Communicate
regularly, so you keep your capabilities on their radar. It
only takes one opportunity, and a mutual awareness of
your unexpected synergies, to forge a long-term
partnership.
10. Increase Your Team's Exposure
Take it a step further: Turn your reports into your
department's ambassadors. Look for opportunities to give
them the spotlight, such as training sessions, newsletters,
project leadership, and success stories. Sponsor company
events or causes and give out awards and gifts. Use your
influence to get employees into other departments'
meetings or field operations. Most important, get them
face time with leadership. You want to expand their
world, not narrow it, to enhance their value to the
organization.
11. Prove Yourself
People often like holding a title more than the work
required to keep it. Your résumé and rhetoric may
sparkle, but they'll only win respect for so long. So start
by learning what your people do: the constituencies,
responsibilities, systems, and schedules that drive their
day. Don't hide in your office; jump into the trenches and
get your hands dirty. Show you can step in and do their
job if need be. Similarly, notch some early victories to
6. prove you can get things done. Bottom line: Establish
your credibility. Without it, you're another dead-weight
boss, the one employees know will just confuse
everything.
12. Be an Example
You're wired into the powers that be. Your people will
adopt your attitudes and anxieties, conscious or not. So
recognize the image you project at all times. Be the
example: Convey confidence and stay composed. Own up
to your mistakes, so your people do the same. Follow
your own rules, knowing no job or rule is beneath you.
And stay approachable and positive at all times. At
minimum, your people should respect you. At best, they
should aspire to be like you. People watch what you do
more than they listen to what you say. Always walk the
walk.
13. Energize
You're a leader; you set the tone and pace and they feed
off you. So pump it up. Recognize publicly and praise
regularly, accentuating the positives. Reward them for
excellence with unexpected treats like a free lunch or a
few hours off. Bring in speakers or share articles so
they're exposed to best practices. Assign projects to foster
collaboration and closer relationships within your team.
Bottom line: Don't let them stagnate; stay on the offensive
7. to keep your momentum going. Reinforce every day why
they want to work here, not somewhere else.
14. Treat Them Like Adults
You're managing highly driven, talented, and
accomplished professionals. Chances are, some think they
could (or should) be you. Adjust accordingly. That means
asking questions and examining all sides instead of
rendering snap judgments. Respect their time: Always be
prepared, relevant, and succinct in your dealings. Don't
micromanage unless they're not meeting expectations. Set
boundaries, but be flexible; they have families and
responsibilities, too. Keep an open mind. Don't be afraid
to accept input (or even criticism). In other words,
practice the golden rule.
15. Care About Them Personally
No one aspires to be a lousy manager. It's often the
accumulation of little things—careless comments or
hypocritical acts—that erodes camaraderie and trust.
Fortunately, little things like a private gesture or kind
word also set managers apart. So how can you strengthen
your relationships? Start by learning what makes them
tick. Are they looking for money, recognition, influence,
or meaning? Who are their family members and pets?
What are their interests? Most important, accept them for
who they are. You won't mold everyone into a superstar,
8. but steady performers bring equal value over the long
haul.
16. Keep Out Emotion
There's a price to pay for leadership: You always have to
be the bigger person. And that means you cannot take
things personally, publicize your views or personal life, or
get too cozy with your reports. As a manager, your guard
must always stay up. Like it or not, you'll eventually hold
gut-wrenching meetings on conduct and performance with
your people. Your comments and relationship will be
used against you. Even more, never use the threat of
discipline to stifle questions or dissent. Taking your
insecurities out on your employees is the quickest path to
mutiny.
17. Delegate
Stepping into management is often a battlefield
promotion. You may even hold onto your previous duties
as you assume new ones. In this atmosphere, you can't
juggle everything. No one expects you to have all the
answers, and you'll only hurt your team by pretending to
know more than you do. Instead, swallow your pride.
Recognize your shortcomings and your reports' strengths,
and capitalize on them. Step back and let them lead,
checking in and providing counsel from time to time. Just
9. be careful not to abuse delegation: It can never be a
means to regularly duck work or leave early.
18. Provide Ongoing Communication
Your employees' perception of you can be your biggest
asset or drawback. So how can you reinforce a good
impression? It starts with reaching out. Appearances
matter, so set aside time for each person to provide
guidance and support. Collectively, keep them current on
company developments and share what you're doing to
help them. Maintain a two-way dialogue and seek
feedback on what's important to them. You're now
responsible for others, and they need to know you're
watching out for their interests.
19. Be Consistent
Think a title automatically bestows respect? Guess again.
Reality is, it ebbs and flows for many managers unless
they possess a distinctive quality: consistency. As
business grows more complex and uncertain, your people
should never guess how you'll react. Instead, they should
view you as a patient arbiter who'll provide a fair hearing
and honest feedback. Otherwise, they'll invariably tell you
what you want to hear rather than what you need to hear.
And silence is a far greater threat to any business than
candor.
20. Reflect on Your Employees
10. Management can be a thankless job. Some will turn your
name into a punch line. Others will predictably undermine
you with human resources. In these times, ask yourself:
Are they right? Over time, some lose sight of the big
picture, focusing on looking good over helping people
succeed. But everyone, employees and peers alike, can
see through the self-importance. Fair or not, your personal
reputation rubs off on your department. Make sure your
conduct and attitudes don't hamper your employees when
it comes time for securing resources or earning
promotions.