How to help your new managers succeed

Transitioning from an individual contributor to a leadership role can feel disorienting, confusing, and overwhelming. Especially when that happens during a pandemic.

One day you are an individual contributor, successful and thriving. You are a top performer. Then suddenly you get promoted to being a manager. It’s great. It’s the thing you have been wanting. You have had this goal and finally created it. Except now, instead of excitement, you have crushing overwhelm.

What got you success as an individual contributor is not what will make you successful as a manager. Not only that, but the things that made you successful as an individual contributor will hold you back from being a good manager.

Despite this, few companies have training and new manager development programs. Even if yours does, they very likely aren’t covering the topics that will help managers get up to speed faster. They are usually focused on tactical, company-specific processes (how to approve timecards, what the performance management system looks like, etc.).

Teach managers how to get results from their teams, not try to do it all on their own.

Teach them how to manage their time so they don’t burnout. I am convinced this alone can help improve retention within companies.

Teach managers how to set clear expectations for their teams. Teach them how to build a team that can identify, discuss and solve issues together. 

Teach managers how to delegate, how to figure out what to delegate, how to be clear about what they want, and how to coach the employee to still get the results (without the manager taking over and doing it themselves).

Teach managers how to set boundaries around their time, team, and meetings. Teach them how to have hard conversations.

The longer it takes to make the transition from individual contributor to manager, the more it costs the company money and the more it can damage the culture.

Your new managers don’t need more videos to watch. They need another human to ask for advice and to share experiences with. They need another human to go to with all their doubts, insecurities, and overwhelm to work through it and leave calm, focused and ready to show up for their team. 

This is what my clients get.