If you're a new manager, there are big demands on you. Regardless of whether you are a manager for the first time or experience a change in your leadership role, you must be a leader from day one. This means that the initial period as a new manager is crucial to your later success. How your employees perceive you and your leadership skills, and the impression they leave with, will carry over into future work.
When you are a new manager, it is essential to quickly reach a level where you add sufficient value to the organization, also known as the "break even point". A good methodology with attention to the right elements will provide the fastest learning curve and the best starting point for you as a new manager.
By: Hildegunn Danielsen
1. Clarifying expectations with your own manager
Understanding your own manager and other key stakeholders is invaluable and necessary for building your own success if you are new to management. Don't wait for your boss to communicate goals and expectations. Be proactive and schedule early meetings to review expectations, resources and the company situation.
Don't expect your manager to take responsibility for this, but take matters into your own hands, as it is often you who has the greatest interest in putting this in place. This will give you the necessary insight into the organization and a good interaction with your manager. It will also give you a better foundation for managing your own team in an efficient and appropriate manner.
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2. Adapt strategy and set direction
Every organization or company is its own organism and has its own culture that has often been created or developed over time. Sometimes after careful planning, sometimes more randomly. After gaining the necessary insight into culture and other organizational conditions, it is essential to adapt a strategy with a direction based on the situation, so that you and your team can achieve the goals and expectations that have been set. Spend time with the team and create a good understanding and insight into what needs to be done, how and why.
3. Secure early wins in the team
Change processes can be demanding, and it is important to ensure early, tangible benefits to show that the team is delivering well. This will build pride and an understanding that you are on the right path. To achieve the best early wins, look for improvement opportunities that can be addressed quickly and deliver visible organizational or financial results.
4. Focus on team building internally
When you are new as a manager, you will often be able to take over a team that has established routines, expectations and has worked in a particular way with a previous manager. Take time to work with the team and identify strengths and weaknesses. Map out how this fits in with any new priorities and strategies. Then adapt the team in an efficient and appropriate way so that the team is aligned with new strategies and the company's overall objectives going forward.
5. Cross-collaboration partners and coalitions
In order for you and your team to succeed, it can be essential to identify and create collaboration and winners across the organization. Draw the organization to visualize and get an overview, especially if it is a complex organization. The parts of the company that are important in terms of organizational development, culture and politics may be particularly important to identify. Understanding potential supporters and what is important to them provides the basis for securing support and increases your and your team's chances of influence and future success.
New as a manager can be demanding
Being a new manager can be difficult and challenging. There's a lot of new information, new things to learn and a lot to prove. For many, this can feel like drinking water from a fire hose, and you're not alone in feeling overwhelmed! If you are good at prioritizing and structuring your everyday life, and have the discipline to follow the advice above - you will have a great advantage over others.
I wish you the best of luck and I can promise that you will soon reap the rewards of your work.
