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The Career Path PI
New Manager Survival Guide —
Part One

Hi,

I’m Alix and it’s my mission to help as many as possible work in jobs that allow them to reach their full potential with the intent of making them happy and fulfilled adults. Providing support and hand holding where they may not have any.

A ‘virtual mentor’ if you like…

Join us as we start a new section called ‘New Manager Survival Guide’ for those just stepping into the role who may need hints and tips from the angle of “what nobody tells you before somebody gives you responsibility for other humans.”

Grab a coffee (or tea if that’s your preference – don’t worry I’ll wait) as today we look at what happens when you start your management role.

Your second block of text...

So, you’re a manager - now what…

Congratulations! You’re a manager.

Someone, somewhere, has looked at you and thought:

“Yes. That person should be responsible for other humans.”

Which is both flattering and, if you think about it for too long, mildly terrifying.

Perhaps you’ve been promoted from within your existing team. Maybe you’ve started a brand-new job. Perhaps you’ve been working towards management for years. Or maybe somebody announced the promotion, everyone congratulated you, and you spent the journey home wondering:

What exactly am I supposed to do now…

Well, firstly, don’t panic.

Becoming a manager doesn’t mean that at 9am on Monday morning you’re suddenly expected to know the answer to every question, resolve every disagreement, deliver inspirational speeches and understand seventeen spreadsheets you’ve never seen before.

Management is a skill. And, like any other skill, you can learn it.

Your job has changed…

One of the biggest adjustments for a new manager is realising that being brilliant at your old job and being brilliant at managing people are not the same thing.

Previously, you might have been judged largely on your own work:

Did you hit your targets?

Did you complete the project?

Did you meet the deadline?

Did you successfully avoid breaking the photocopier?

As a manager, your focus becomes wider.

Now you're helping other people succeed too.

That means answering questions, removing obstacles, setting priorities, giving feedback, making decisions, solving problems and making sure your team understands what they're supposed to be doing and why.

Your success increasingly becomes connected to theirs.

That can feel strange at first and you may finish a day thinking:

“I haven't done anything today.”

Then you realise you've helped one employee solve a problem, given another some useful feedback, reorganised the workload, dealt with a customer issue and stopped two departments accidentally working on completely different versions of the same

project with the resulting extra cost of time and, therefore, money (always a company’s bottom line).

You have been working, it just looks different now.

You do not need to know everything…

New managers sometimes feel they need to prove themselves.

After all, you're the manager, surely you're supposed to have all the answers.

No.

In fact, pretending you know something when you don't is a remarkably efficient way to create a much bigger problem later.

Try: “I don't know, but I'll find out.”

It’s one of the most useful sentences in management.

Simply, it’s a fact that your team may know things you don't. Especially if you’ve just moved into the role from either outside or through a departmental transfer.

And that’s good.

That's why they're there.

Someone may have more technical knowledge than you. Someone else may understand a particular customer better. Another person may have been doing their job for twenty years.

Being their manager doesn't mean you suddenly have to become better than them at everything. Being their manager allows you to use the strengths of your team, not compete with them.

Start by listening…

When you first become a manager, it can be tempting to arrive with seventeen improvements, a colour-coded action plan and an overwhelming desire to demonstrate that promoting you was an excellent decision.

Resist.

Especially if you're taking over an existing team.

Before changing everything, find out how things currently work.

Talk to people:

What is going well?

What frustrates them?

What takes far longer than it should?

What do they think could improve?

What do they think could save the company money if done differently?

What support do they need?

You don't have to agree with every suggestion that comes up, and you certainly don't have to promise to fix everything by Friday.

But listen.

You may discover that the problem you were preparing to solve isn't actually the problem at all.

Experience is gained from doing the nuts and bolts of a job, that done by the team you are now managing and now it’s your job to use that experience and make decisions based on it.

Be clear about expectations…

Your employees shouldn't need detective training to work out what you want from them.

Be clear:

What needs doing?

When does it need doing?

What does a good result look like?

What are the priorities?

What decisions can they make themselves?

When should they come to you?

Unclear management creates unnecessary stress.

If you've ever received a message from a manager saying:

“Can we have a quick chat?”

…and immediately assumed you're being fired, arrested or possibly both, you'll understand why communication matters. So:

Give context.

Be specific.

Don't make people guess.

And don’t make people worry when it can be avoided by treating each member of your team with respect.

Don't try to become their best friend…

You can absolutely be warm, approachable and interested in your team.

You can laugh with them. You can know that somebody has a dog called Colin and another employee is currently engaged in a bitter dispute with their neighbour's hedge.

You're still their manager.

There will be times when you have to give difficult feedback, make unpopular decisions or deal with poor performance.

That becomes much harder if you've spent six months trying desperately to make everybody like you.

Aim for trust and respect, not popularity.

A good manager isn't necessarily the person everybody wants to go for a drink with. They're the person employees know will listen, be fair and do what they say they'll do.

Don't do everything yourself…

This can be particularly difficult when you've been promoted because you were very good at your previous role.

Perhaps up to now it was:

Someone gives you a task.

You know exactly how to do it.

It would be quicker to do it yourself.

So, you do.

But then came another task and you do the same thing. Then another. And another.

Congratulations.

You are now doing your old job and your new one.

Delegation isn't laziness.

Your role as a manager is to decide what needs your involvement and what somebody else can take responsibility for.

Instead you:

Give people opportunities to learn.

Let them make decisions.

Allow them to solve problems without immediately swooping in like a Management Superhero while keeping your door open for access when needed.

Otherwise, you'll become exhausted - and your team will never develop.

You will get things wrong…

Accept that at some point, you’ll make a bad decision:

You’ll phrase something badly.

Forget something.

Misjudge a situation.

Hold a meeting that could unquestionably have been an email.

Welcome to management.

What matters is what happens next. What you do about it. And what will work?

Own it:

“I got that wrong.”

“I'm sorry.”

“Here's what I'm going to do differently.”

Those sentences don't make you look weak. Used genuinely, they make you trustworthy.

Your team doesn't need a perfect manager.

They need a human one who takes responsibility.

Your first mission: learn your team…

Before worrying about becoming an inspirational leader, start with something simpler.

Get to know the people you're responsible for:

What are they good at?

What do they enjoy?

What do they find difficult?

How do they prefer to communicate?

What are they hoping to learn?

Where might they want their career to go?

The better you understand your team, the easier it becomes to support them, challenge them and recognise when something isn't right.

And remember, different people may need different things from you:

One employee may want regular check-ins.

Another may work best when you give them a goal and leave them alone.

Management isn't about finding your one perfect management style and applying it indiscriminately to every human who crosses your path.

It's about learning to adapt, knowing your team.

Finally: you don't have to become “The Boss”…

You don't need a new personality.

You don't need to start speaking entirely in corporate jargon.

You certainly don't need to walk into Monday's meeting and announce:

“There's a new sheriff in town.”

Please don't.

The qualities that helped you reach management — your knowledge, judgement, reliability, communication skills or ability to work with others — haven't suddenly stopped mattering.

You're simply adding another set of skills.

You won't learn them all in your first week. Or even your first month. Possibly not even your first year.

And that's okay.

Good managers keep learning. You’ve been moved into a management role because your company has faith in your abilities, so, if you've just been handed a team, a new title and possibly a company laptop you haven't worked out how to log into yet, your first job isn't to prove that you know everything.

It's much simpler:

Listen. Learn. Be clear. Be fair. Ask questions. Help your people do good work.

And when you're not sure what to do?

Welcome to management.

You're probably doing it properly.

There’s no panic, one step at a time…

I have faith in you and know you’re going to be amazing.