A new beginning appeals to everyone. The excitement of trying something new for the first time, the adrenaline it gives you, is incredible. However, as a new manager, you only have one chance to make a good first impression, so you want to make the most of it. This article is about First-Time Managers.
The failure rate of first-time managers is significant. Many people are unprepared because they have only been introduced to classic management & control leadership techniques. Handling a first-time manager necessitates a unique approach. The corporate world has evolved into one that is smarter, faster, more adaptable, more democratic. Managers in the next generation will have to think differently than their forebears.
But, before you jump into these new shoes and become overwhelmed by different methods and duties, pause for a moment, and read through this comprehensive management manual.
MAKING OF A MANAGER
There are 3 levels to making a manager:-
People – Our interpersonal interactions are the most interesting and challenging aspects of our life. Being a great manager entails not only choosing the appropriate individuals for the position but also coaching and supporting your team during challenging times.
Process – Being a part of management entails not just constructing a fantastic team, but also assisting your team members in operating successfully and efficiently. To make the most of the available talent, solve problems, and resolve disagreements, you’ll need to create the correct procedures and structure.
Purpose – To ensure that your staff is aligned with your company’s larger goal, you must communicate effectively. Is everyone aware of what constitutes success? Creating a clear picture of your department’s values and desired objectives, as well as ensuring that everyone is on the same page, is an important element of managing a team.
IMPROVE EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Emotional intelligence expertise allows leaders to better comprehend and encourage those they manage.
Emotional intelligence can have a huge impact on team workers’ productivity, performance, and management, as well as the company’s overall profitability.
Sensitivity, likeability, sympathy, and sociability come to mind when we think of emotional intelligence (EQ). Emotional intelligence, on the other hand, encompasses a far broader range of skills.
It is comprised of five elements:
- Empathy – It enables you to comprehend the difficulties and incentives that your employees confront.
- Sociability – Good sociability contributes to high EQ since it enables you to effectively collaborate and interact in a group situation.
- Self-regulation – the ability to handle and process your emotions Controlling your emotions is an important part of EQ since it permits you to deal calmly with even the most difficult situations.
- Internal motivation – the desire to pursue individual objectives rather than for external incentives It’s crucial because it promotes curiosity and identity.
- Self-awareness – Simply understanding oneself, which is essential for good EQ because you must firstly recognize yourself before you can comprehend others.
How to manage different personalities at work?
Knowing and understanding various personalities at work is a necessary ability for developing a strong team.
You’ll discover how to function efficiently with each of your team members by knowing their varied personalities, perfecting how to energize and connect with them, and bringing them together like a high-performing team.
Distinguish people based on their personalities and then let them know what their job is. Individuals that are active, enthusiastic, and sociable, for example, are frequently team cheerleaders and are naturally innovative problem solvers. They respond well to supervisors that communicate in a positive, optimistic, and enthusiastic manner.
Those who are methodical and precise. They’re good planners who aren’t afraid to give the team a dose of reality. Always offer them specific directions with as much time as possible to finish their assignment when collaborating with them.
DEALING WITH DIFFICULT EMPLOYEES!
Faced with challenging co-workers is difficult, but the best way of dealing with them is to understand how to teach them effectively.
Here’s a rundown of the four sorts of challenging employees you’ll encounter in the office, as well as how to properly mentor them:
- THE ARGUMENTATIVE TYPE
We’ve all met someone who enjoys arguing merely for the purpose of arguing.
Most of the time, though, an argumentative person is simply a person’s defence mechanism against a hostile environment.
The most effective technique to coach an argumentative worker is to remember not to take it personally and to avoid getting involved in a debate with them.
Argumentative people do not behave in this manner because of something you have done. They’re only expressing their irritation and dissatisfaction through their rage.
Sit down FACE TO FACE with them and listen to their version of events but attempt to turn the conversation in a different way if you see a conflict forming.
- THE IMMATURE TYPE
Establish a professional approach to coping with workplace immaturity.
Begin by establishing clear limits. Reward adult behaviour while punishing immature behaviour. Tell an employee if they make an inappropriate joke at a meeting, for example.
Don’t be scared to call an employee out when they’re acting petulantly. Demonstrate how their activities affect the company.
Always encourage greatness and hold people accountable. Employees who set high goals for themselves are less prone to waste time. You can attempt to improve the standards of your staff by celebrating excellence.
Finally, give an immature employee time to mature.
- THE DISENGAGED TYPE
Employees that are disengaged typically feel cut off from their jobs and the company. They believe they have really no influence and that their efforts are in vain. The greatest method to keep team members engaged is to make sure they have relevant work goals, inspire them to solve challenges and provide clear and achievable work objectives.
Assure your employees that their job matters by offering them concrete examples of how their efforts have benefited the company and be sure to reward them for their efforts.
- THE NEGATIVE TYPE
Negative colleagues can be extremely difficult to work with since they sap the joy and energy from everything that you do.
Set up a one-on-one discussion with this employee to try to figure out what’s causing the issue. Something private can sometimes drive individuals down at work. If that’s the case, make sure to lend your support.
Assist the employee in realising that their mood has an impact on others. Give them an example of a time since they were negative and how it affected the rest of the team and show them how a different silver lining might have shown.
TIPS TO SUCCEED AS A NEW MANAGER
Embrace a growth mindset.
As a young manager, the most critical cognitive shift you must make is to adopt a growth mentality.
You have a lot more to learn as a rookie manager. It’s not simply a promotion; it’s a career move from being an independent worker. You won’t be able to learn new skills needed to be an effective leader if you don’t adopt a positive mindset.
Even if you’ve worked as a manager before, keep in mind that you’ll have a lot to learn at a new organisation. Because every organization and team has its own culture, what works at one company may not work at your new one.
Promote an enquiring perspective above and advocating one while making decisions as a group.
When members of a team place a high value on inquiry, they become more engaged in their challenge. Inquisitive minds test and assess assumptions by offering balanced arguments, evaluating alternatives, and being open to suggestions, rather than proclaiming their beliefs as the only true viewpoint.
Make friends with as many people as you can
Great professional connections are built on rapport. As a result of the trust and understanding you establish through rapport building, you will be able to:
- Interaction that is both healthy and open
- Gaining a greater grasp of what motivates others
- Allows you to give those people the benefit of the doubt more easily.
- Creates an enabling environment for you and them to share and obtain feedback.
Because of a basic concept, resonance is the foundation of a strong relationship: understanding leads to kindness and understanding.
How to Create a “Strong Relationship”? There are numerous methods for establishing rapport. The idea is to figure out what matters to them and what you might share, such as:
- A similarity in your history or upbringing
- Similar cultural or familial backgrounds
- You both root for the same sports teams.
- They share the same interests.
- The same shows are being watched.
- Alternatively, they may share similar goals or ideals.
Master the art of leading a team
You should devote effort to creating a good relationship with your manager in the same way that you devote time to building a strong relationship with your team.
The truth is that, in most circumstances, you have no say in who your boss is. If they aren’t the easiest to work with, this can make things harder. Gallup showed that more than half of respondents have had a manager they despised enough that they resigned their work because of it.
Thankfully, the strength of your connection with your supervisor isn’t totally in their control. By strategic leadership, you have the ability to improve that relationship.
When you have inherited your own team, it might be difficult to know where to begin when trying to improve overall performance. When trying to improve their performance, it might be difficult to know where to begin.
When inheriting a team, the simplest first step is to assess the condition.
Learn about the various personality types (mentioned earlier in the article) in the workforce and the group dynamic in which they’ve been functioning.
You’ll be able to observe where the team’s strength gaps are, as well as what modifications you wish to make as their new leader and how. When people feel linked to each other and to the company, they are more devoted to each other and to the company, which leads to improved performance.
Once you’ve developed a rapport, be open and honest about the adjustments you want to make and how they’ll affect your team’s and company’s goals.
Look at the bigger picture
Many first-time managers who have been recruited from an operational job position are so preoccupied with minor details and problems in work initiatives that they overlook the big picture. They never stop concentrating on the micro-details of the project, confident that the abilities that made them an amazing product person will make them a successful manager.
You were probably only involved in a small fraction of the overall process, but you knew everything there was to know about it. As a manager, you must now broaden your focus. In your initial months as a manager, how you handle this adjustment is critical. You must teach yourself to look beyond the details and concentrate on the big picture. Develop a low threshold for busy work and day-to-day tasks and set aside at least half an hour each day to consider new ideas, goals, feedback, and your team’s and company’s overall mission.
Learn to Not Be the Hero!
Have faith in your subordinates. In your initial months as a manager, how you approach the adjustment is critical. You must teach yourself to look beyond the specifics and concentrate on the big picture. Develop a low threshold for tedious work and day-to-day tasks and set aside at least half an hour each day to consider new ideas, goals, feedback, and your team’s and company’s overall mission.
Micromanaging and regulating your staff will drain their motivation and prevent them from taking initiatives. Try this rather than presenting solutions to your squad:
- To lead them to their own solutions, ask the proper questions.
- Describe the project’s intended result in detail.
- People should be involved in the communication process.
- Provide complete assistance and coaching.
- When your team does a good job, let them know how much you appreciate their efforts.
Be a good orator and a listener!
Asking the correct questions and being an excellent listener are two of the most critical aspects to making the most of those one-on-ones and any conversation you have with your team members, supervisor, or colleagues.
The role of a manager is to ask the correct questions.
Asking effective questions can reveal information that will help you enhance your team’s performance or reveal a problem you weren’t aware of. Here are a few examples:
- What would you like me to do or not do differently from your previous managers?
- What are your professional objectives, and where did your previous boss leave them?
- What is your preferred method of receiving feedback? What is the most effective method for you?
It’s also about how to listen well.You must be a good listener to get the most out of asking the proper questions.The majority of people are accustomed to conversing in such a way that they are simply waiting for their next opportunity to speak. They miss out on fully understanding what the other person has to say when they do this.
Instead, concentrate on what the other person says. Allow them to fully express themselves by pausing. Then, to make sure you comprehend everything they’re stating, ask a follow-up question or so.
Learn how to fire an employee
The process is unpleasant for both sides, whether you’re firing or being dismissed.
You can make these difficult conversations go much more easily if you remain professional and lead with emotional intelligence (EQ) throughout the process.
When it comes to terminating someone, you must lead with EQ by remaining understanding and empathetic. Prepare to listen and be open to comments.
Maintaining a professional demeanour necessitates remembering the legal implications of firing someone. Let’s say:
- Allowing them to grab corporate property is not a good idea.
- Make certain they don’t have access to any corporate systems.
- Allow the employee no access to his or her old office or coworkers.
- Attend the meeting with prepared documentation.
Then, once the firing process is over, communicate your decision to your colleagues quickly. To prevent creating water-cooler talk, you’ll want to be upfront and straight-forward with your team, making sure to leave all personal details out.
Finally, after an employee has been terminated, keep an eye on the future.
Starting over with a prospective employee will be a thrilling experience for your team, so make use of the energy to keep moving forward in a good direction.
IMPROVE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
In five stages, you can turn disengaged employees into engaged employees and solve their concerns.
- Select the appropriate employee engagement survey-
You must first assess employee engagement in order to understand where and how to improve it, and your data must be accurate.
- Pay attention to employee input.
Take feedback from your staff to ensure that meaningful change occurs. They are specialists in business procedures and operations, and they understand what works and what doesn’t, as well as why. Employee engagement aspects will be maximised, and the workplace environment will be improved, thanks to your employees’ powerful and original ideas.
- Choose the best managers for the job.
Remember that not everyone is cut out to be a successful manager when you promote your team leaders. Managers play an important role in team engagement, so look for someone who has strong communication and interpersonal skills, as well as the ability to provide feedback and support to their subordinates.
Follow this through and this will be the ultimate guide for you to be amazing at your job.
