The exciting experience of being a first-time manager

For the first time in your life you get promoted to manager and this is everything you ever wanted, because not only you love your job, but you also love the people that work alongside you.

The best way to experience this wonderful challenge is to accept the fact that mixed feelings are a huge part of such unique and important moment. It’s always a big milestone that you will probably never forget and that will sign a transformation in terms of professional relations. Because, when you are in charge of such type of management role you have to find the right balance in terms of likeability and good leadership. According to the author William Gentry, ‘becoming a manager is one of the most stressful and challenging transitions in any career […] and everything about your job needs to change–your skill-set, the nature of your work relationships, your understanding of what “work” is, and how you see yourself and your organization. You have to operate from a brand new script, one that’s about “we”–ensuring collective success.’

Follow these tips if you want to avoid any inconvenience during the transition period:

Get to really know your new team and express authentic interest

One of the biggest errors is to distance yourself from the people that carry on tasks for you. It’s true that you have a management position that implies having a great deal of responsibilities but remember to keep and express your humanity in terms of support, active listening and empathy. John Hall in a piece for Forbes stated that ‘employees who feel valued and appreciated by their leaders are infinitely more likely to go above and beyond for the company and hold themselves accountable for their part of a project.’ Show an authentic interest and organize frequent coffee-breaks and have a chat with each one of your colleagues. You will benefit in terms of better teamworking and communication.

Learn to trust and delegate

The degree of accountability can become quite daunting and most first-time managers tend to micromanage. If you want to build a professional relationship based on trust you must learn to delegate and wait for the final output. Allow people to be creative and give their contribution at work and contribute to their personal development. If you want to succeed as a leader and feel appreciated, create an environment build on trust.   

Provide a transparent and clear communication

First-time managers are afraid of not being charismatic enough and not being able of capturing everyone’s interest. This is actually not a true fact. In most cases it’s about delivering an elegant and effective communication, that everyone can easily understand. A good strategy is to ask for regular feedback and make examples when you share complex cases. This will facilitate and make more accessible your key messages.

As a first-time manager you should always keep learning! Don’t miss these 5 books that will provide the right inspiration and give a real boost to your new career. Now get on board and trust Jobrapido for finding your new role as a manager!