Just landed your first management role?
Congratulations! Now be sure you don’t mess it up.
We’re kidding, of course. Everyone has a first management role. And we’re all human! At one point or another, we all make management blunders. But with sound information and a little diligence, you can avoid the most common management mistakes that plague “rookies.” Here are a few of the biggest – and most preventable – from our Lebanon staffing service:
Holding onto the “star” mentality.
Your exceptional performance is probably what landed you your first management role. Once you step into that role, however, you need to realize that your job is no longer to be the “star” employee – it’s to create stellar team performance by managing others effectively. Be sure to shift the focus away from your own accomplishments, and onto those of your reports. Only by working together will you accomplish the new goals you’re pursuing.
Ignoring the need for “focus time.”
With new management responsibilities come new challenges and increased demands for your time and attention. You’ll likely find yourself working long hours, responding to problems and addressing the needs of your team. Be careful, however, to stay out of the “reactivity trap.” Each week, block off a few focus hours for strategic thinking, long-term planning and proactively pursuing your key priorities.
Attempting to make every decision yourself.
Trying to control every single decision doesn’t increase your power; it just turns you into a micro-manager. To avoid this trap, make it clear to your team that you value their opinions. Explain that you’re in the process of learning, and that their insights are important. By including employees in your decision-making process, you increase mutual respect and help your team develop their leadership skills, too.
Attempting to do everything yourself.
New managers often fall into the mental trap of “if it’s meant to be, it’s up to me.” After all, the more you control, the more you accomplish, right? WRONG. By entrusting your reports to handle certain aspects of your job, you give yourself more hours to focus on your top priorities. Furthermore, intelligent delegation:
- Helps employees grow – and allows them to work on projects that really matter.
- Promotes teamwork – by transferring responsibility for results collectively to the group.
- Increases productivity – by enabling everyone to spend more time doing what they do best.
At the end of the day, delegation does more than just take things off your plate – it builds more cohesive, productive teams within your organization. And if you need high performers to add to your organization’s team, give our Lebanon staffing service a call!
