I read a Fast Company article called “These are the 4 Key Skills New Managers Need to Develop Most”. The four skills introduced are openness to learning, empathy, giving feedback, and handling pushback. The article suggests that these skills can be developed before you become a manager and I couldn’t agree more.
You can check out the article and see how the tips could apply in both your work and personal life. Some suggestions provided include learning from people around you (in addition to books and classes), considering how others are feeling in a situation, and not becoming angry in situations where disagreement crops up.
My Perspective
In addition to the advice in this article, I’ve been thinking about three additional challenges. I’ve personally experienced these (in different ways at different levels of my career) and have heard leaders I coach struggle with as well. These three challenges often aren’t realized until someone finds themselves in the new role.
Managing In all Directions
New managers and many seasoned managers have a challenge that C-Suite executives and individual contributors don’t have – balancing the needs of their leader with the needs of the members of their team. Many also have the added challenge of balancing the needs of an external or internal “client”. This can cause a leader to be pulled in so many directions that you don’t know where to focus first.
While the tendency will be to prioritize the need of your manager or client, consider putting the focus on what your team needs first. If a morning arrives and two team members are waiting for your feedback, responding to them first ensures the team is working and productive for the day. Your primary role is likely to run a successful team. Ensuring your team is set to do their work will always provide benefit to both your manager and your client.
Throughout my career, I have tried to do take this approach. I’ll admit it’s not easy and I slipped and didn’t do it all the time. That said, having this as my guiding star always had me striving to serve my team first. Based on my schedule and energy levels, responding to the team worked best for me in the first part of my day.
Delegation
This is a challenge for many and only gets more difficult as you move up in your career. I hear conversations like “it’s quicker to do it myself” and “I’m not confident my team will do it the right way”.
The interesting part of delegation is that we often assume those on our team aren’t as responsible as we were when we were in their roles. This is the mindset that needs to shift as a new leader starts to delegate. Sometimes it is also helpful to not just assign a project but instead assign the responsibility. This can help you feel you have given the responsibility to someone else, and you don’t have to watch over it quite as much.
Of the three areas in this section, this is one that challenged me the least. I wanted my team to be autonomous in their work. The biggest challenge I faced here was finding the right balance of involvement so I knew the status of projects, could provide timely input if I had it, but wasn’t feeling overly involved.
Finding Your Contribution
A final challenge I see with new managers is a struggle with their own identity in the new role. As an individual contributor, you had projects that you could look to as “complete”, and you knew your role in getting that project done.
As a manager, you suddenly feel wrong taking “credit” for work the team did. If you get too involved in the work you manage, you can slip into micro-management. Many new leaders struggle with the need to have work that they can call their own.
The right solution on this one will vary from person to person. For some, creating a side project that is all their own will be the solution. Others might spend time writing down the things they are now responsible for. Seeing a list that has items like:
- Helping team members work through challenges.
- Setting priorities for our team to meet our goals and objectives.
- Working with our client (internal or external) to discover new opportunities.
With a list like this, leaders can look back at the end of a week/month/year and see where they had made an impact with these less project-based activities.
This third area was the toughest for me personally. I didn’t want to take credit for work I didn’t do, and the list of leader activities above didn’t feel like “enough” for me. So, I’ve always had a side project going. Something I’m passionate about that would provide thought leadership and/or a benefit for our internal team or our clients. This is how I feed my creativity.
No matter your level or role in the organization, the challenges and skills can crop up.
Your Turn
Have you experienced any of these?
Are there other areas you’ve noticed that aren’t covered here?
How might you change your approach the next time you face one of these challenges?