3 Must Have New Manager Skills
What Are The Must Have New Manager Skills That Matter Most?
You’d be surprised how often companies promote an individual contributor to a management position and just “walk away” leaving the new manager on their own. Beocing a new people leader is too big a step for even the best performers to take without adequate new manager training and support. Consider the potential costs of failure withoit the must have new manager skills:
- A less productive team
- Decreased team engagement and morale
- Loss of top talent
- Increased risk of potentially avoidable employee relation issues and costly lawsuits
If you are in charge of the promotion, you should be in charge of seeing that your new manager has the all the leadership skills, tools, and support required to succeed.
3 Must Have New Manager Skills
Based upon people manager assessment center data combined with 30+ years of providing new manager training, we have learned what newly promoted managers find most difficult as they step up to the challenge of their new role. The common thread that links these three new manager challenges is effective communication. New managers have to understand how to negotiate, inspire, and give meaningful feedback.
- Managing conflict between members of their team
New managers need to connect with all the individuals that report to them, understand what makes them tick, and earn their trust. The best way for them to begin is by setting up regular one-on-one engagement meetings with each team member, ask a few open-ended questions, and listen well. - Motivating team members to greater discretionary effort and positive employee engagement
New managers need to be able to clearly set and articulate team goals with a clear line of sight to the overall company business strategy in a way that the team knows the value of their specific contributions. Each team member needs to feel a critical part of something meaningful. They need to know that their manager has their back and is committed to supporting their efforts in a way that makes sense to them and their career aspirations. The best managers are role models for their employees…they operate with integrity, fairness, transparency, empathy, and optimism. - Giving effective feedback
No one looks forward to the old-fashioned annual performance reviews. New managers need to learn how to give feedback regularly…both positive and negative. Tweak unproductive behaviors whenever observed but with an attitude of a good coach who believes in continuous learning for improvement. Praise productive behaviors so team members feel appreciated when they make an honest effort to change. Straightforward, direct communication should be a value that all practice.
The Bottom Line
Promote your new managers but provide a comprehensive individual development plan to set them up for success. Work with them to identify the managerial skills they will need to succeed and to help their team to succeed. And make sure that whatever training you provide is supported by the fundamentals of effective communication.
To learn more about must have new manager skills, download The 4 Management Metrics that Matter Most