Introduction to Management

Welcome to Management – Advice for New Managers

It takes time to adjust to any new work role, but if you’re moving into a management role, there can be a lot to take on board in the first few months. Now you’re responsible not only for your own success, but the success of an entire team – a team that looks to you for guidance and leadership. For new managers that can leave you feeling a little bit overwhelmed (have a look at our management training courses London), so here are four areas to focus on to help you transition into your new role more easily:

Optimise your team

You’re now responsible for getting the best from a team and to do that, you need to get to know their strengths, weaknesses and how they like to work individually. After that, you’ll know who to delegate which task to, what training and tools they need, and how to motivate them.
Make individual and team objectives clear and regularly hold meetings to keep everyone up to date with progress. Be inclusive and, if you can, allow team members autonomy so they can use their initiative and shine.

Communicate effectively

All the above demands superb communication skills – not just to build a good working relationship with each member of your team, but to brief in tasks, manage internal conflicts, instigate disciplinary procedures and communicate with your own manager and peers within other areas of the organisation. If you’ve got this far, then you’ve already got solid communication skills, but that doesn’t mean you can’t improve them further.
Being a good communicator means fostering solid listening skills too. Be empathetic and think about your audience and objectives before talking, learn from those you admire as speakers and practise public speaking.

Lead by example

Demonstrate the behaviours, work ethic and attitude you expect from your team. Your own behaviour will be scrutinized not only by your superiors, but the people under you. At the same time, don’t forget to ask for feedback from your team on your own performance.
Always try to be consistent in your actions. Surveys show that team performance is directly linked to ability of management to keep employees engaged. In other words, be a role model for your team.

Keep getting better

Always look at ways of honing your management and leadership skills. When challenges arise, ask yourself are you tackling it in the right way? Or could you handle it differently for an improved outcome? Are you fair, patient, analytical, assertive and decisive when it comes to problem-solving? If not, look at the reasons why, and fine-tune your approach.

Learning how to be a good manager takes time, effort and experience. Nearly half of all new managers feel unprepared for their new role. If there’s training and support available, make use of it, and if you need help, ask. Our project management training can help with that!