Dos and don’ts

You will make mistakes in your first management role.

And you'll learn from them.

But by doing your homework, you can avoid making the same mistakes that pretty much every new manager makes.

This'll give you a head start in your new role, impress your boss and put you on the fast-track to further advancement.

Here are our top tips for new managers.

Do keep learning

You've made it as a manager, but that doesn't mean you can stop learning. As well as developing your management skills, try to learn the basics involved in every role within your team. Sure, you don't need to suddenly become an expert programmer or award-winning designer, but it helps to understand the processes and tools each member of your team uses on a daily basis.

Don't micromanage

It's surprisingly difficult not to micromanage when you start off as a new manager. After all, you're so used to working on the front line of the business that it's a hard habit to break. But if you're to win over your team, micromanaging is just about the worst thing you can do.

Do think beyond now

You may not have had the luxury of looking to the future in your previous role, but now that you're a manager, you should dedicate a significant amount of time to planning for the medium and long term. If you're always busy fighting fires, you'll never have the chance to implement the changes you're desperate to make. To get there, delegate more tasks and revamp key processes one by one.

Don’t get emotional

Even if an employee's actions leave you seething with anger, always rein in your emotions before discussing the issue. You don't want to gain a reputation as a manager with a short temper who threatens and insults employees instead of reacting professionally. If you need to, take some time to calm down before meeting with the employee in question. This'll help you form a more coherent set of arguments.

Do work hard to secure resources

Whether it's software, hardware, or more employees that your team needs, you must do your best to secure the required resources from your boss. Your team are counting on you to persuade senior management to invest in them.

Don't deflect criticism onto your team

As a manager, you must give your team all the credit after a successful project, but equally, you must take responsibility when something goes wrong. Sure, an employee's mistakes may have contributed to the problem, but you should never push the blame onto your employees. Your boss won't be impressed that you deflected criticism instead of admitting fault. You should have double-checked that project for mistakes before you signed off on it.

Do praise your team - publicly and privately

Recognising the achievements of employees is critical if they're to stay motivated at work. Some team members will prefer to be given credit publicly - in a company-wide email, on the website, or even in the press - while others are happier with private praise. Learn what motivates each of your team members.

Don't act differently with senior management

This should go without saying, but many managers present a different side to senior managers without even thinking about it. Don't start moaning about your team when you're talking to your boss if you've told your employees that you back them completely. Similarly, don't sit there singing your team's praises if you've spent the week telling them to up their game. Be authentic and honest.

Do familiarise yourself with company policy

Discipline, absence, social media, dress code, and any other company policies are critical to your new role. Familiarise yourself with all these policies, and do your best to apply them fairly when applicable. You may be tempted to take your own informal approach to dealing with employee disputes, but this route will only lead to inconsistency, and, potentially, expensive employment tribunals.

Don't send mixed messages to your team

As an employee, you've probably worked under a manager who gave you conflicting feedback. They might praise your work in the same sentence as a hefty criticism. They might tell you your work is off the pace but only yesterday said you were ahead of schedule. Don't be that manager.

Do what you say you’re going to do

Again, if your team can't trust you to stick to your word, they're going to quickly become disengaged. Don't promise anything that you can't deliver.

Don't jump to conclusions

Even if there seems to be an obvious reason behind a dispute or incident, take time to gather more information before pointing fingers or turning to disciplinary measures. You could easily ruin someone's reputation at the business, or even their entire career, by jumping to conclusions before finding out the facts.

Wrap-up

You'd be surprised at the number of managers who don't get the basics right - or make any effort to improve their management style.

By applying what you've learnt from this guide and, most importantly, adapting these lessons based on your team, company and goals, your new managerial career should be off to a flying start!

About RotaCloud

RotaCloud is workforce management software for SMEs, designed to make managing and communicating staff schedules a breeze. Ditch the clunky spreadsheet-based rota for easy-to-use specialist software to manage shift swaps, leave requests, and employee availability all in one place.

With RotaCloud's Time & Attendance add-on, track actual hours worked against scheduled hours. Monitor patterns in absence and lateness, prepare payroll, and automatically generate timesheets based on clocking in data.