Good leaders have a knack for sizing their new teams up within the first few weeks. They can meet these challenges only if they have cadres of effective leaders capable of both managing the complexity of the status quo and initiating change.As they go through the daunting process of becoming a boss, new managers can gain a tremendous advantage by learning to recognize the misconceptions I’ve just outlined. Try to minimize how many times you say, "We tried that before and it didn't work." Indeed, the complexity of maintaining the status quo can absorb all of a junior manager’s time and energy.But new managers also need to realize they are responsible for recommending and initiating changes that will enhance their groups’ performance. It's a little scary, but you also get the chance to redefine yourself. Assume you already have a positive and stable working relationship, and act that way. And be patient. Ask any new manager about the early days of being a boss—indeed, ask any senior executive to recall how he or she felt as a new manager. Learning to lead is a process of learning by doing. These aren’t impaired managers operating in dysfunctional organizations. Instead of gaining new authority, those I have studied describe finding themselves hemmed in by interdependencies. Besides, negotiating with these other parties from a position of relative weakness—for that’s often the plight of new managers at the bottom of the hierarchy—gets tiresome.But the dividends of managing the interdependencies are great. They will ask around.
Then I saw what she wanted. What I have found in my research is that the transition is often harder than it need be because of new managers’ misconceptions about their role. Your relationship with your manager can make or break your job performance and satisfaction. And herein lies a lesson not only for new managers but for experienced bosses, as well.The new manager avoids turning to her immediate superior for advice because she sees that person as a threat to, rather than an ally in, her development. Harvard Business Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School.Beginning managers often fail in their new role, at least initially, because they come to it with misconceptions or myths about what it means to be a boss. Michael was confident he understood what it took to be an effective manager.
“Once I stopped talking all the time and began to listen, people on the desk started to educate me about the job and, significantly, seemed to question my calls far less,” Isenberg says. He has spoken, written, and taught on management for more than 20 years.
They hardly ever rely on group forums for identifying and solving problems. It was as if he had said, ‘That was the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. At his company, new branch managers were generally promoted from the ranks on the basis of individual competence and achievements, so no one was surprised when the regional director asked him to consider a management career.
This is the most important way to impress your new boss—be really good at what you do. He also conducts DISC workshops and certification programs. Instead, he needs to build his influence by creating a web of strong, interdependent relationships, based on credibility and trust, throughout his team and the entire organization—one strand at a time.Most new managers, in part because of insecurity in an unfamiliar role, yearn for compliance from their subordinates. (The identities of individuals cited in this article have been disguised.) “Once I asked him a question and he made me feel like I was a kindergartner in the business. Delhorne contended it wasn’t his fault that the company’s strategic-planning and budgeting procedures were flawed.
To enhance communication with the women’s magazine, she initiated regular Latin American board meetings at which top worldwide executives from both the teen and women’s publications could discuss regional strategy. “It was like I was talking to myself.”Many new managers are surprised by how difficult it is to earn people’s respect and trust. (For a comparison of the misconceptions and the reality, see the exhibit “Why New Managers Don’t Get It.”) He had been working on the assumption that if he could establish a good relationship with each person who reported to him, his whole team would function smoothly. The CEO’s response: It was Delhorne’s responsibility to create the conditions for his success.In fact, most new managers see themselves as targets of organizational change initiatives, implementing with their groups the changes ordered from above. If people aren’t committed, they won’t take the initiative.
A Chart Your Course International survey found that 50 percent of employees left their last job because of their first-line supervisor. Organizations must continually revitalize and transform themselves. “But she would ask and ask and ask to get to the bottom of something. And it points up the critical importance of starting off on the right foot with your new team.Becoming a first-time supervisor or manager may seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be.