Moving Into Your First Management Role

• Can I still perform well as an individual, while being responsible for the contributions of other people too?
• How do I set effective goals for my team?
• Will the transition from "team member" to "team leader" cost me my friendships?
• Have I got what it takes to motivate others and earn their respect?
• What if the team doesn't like me – or they don't like each other?

Try to step into your new role with your eyes open. Address any management misconceptions you may be harboring before you start, and focus on what's most important: building trust and bringing out the best in your team.

Stepping into that role for the first time might feel daunting but, with a little preparation and planning, you needn't feel overwhelmed. Here are our eight top tips for becoming an exceptional manager.

1. Define Your Role

First, make sure that you understand your new role's responsibilities, goals and objectives.

Start by studying your job description and use it to develop a plan that will turn those objectives into actionable results. If it is vague, or nonexistent, you might need to write your own.

Speak to your boss about your primary responsibilities and objectives, and make notes of what they say. If possible, talk to the person who held your position before you. What were their primary responsibilities? What did they consider to be their most important objectives? Go back to the job posting or old job descriptions. What responsibilities were listed? Were any performance goals outlined? If so, are they still relevant?

Finally, talk to the people you'll be managing. How do they see your role? What kind of guidance do they need?

Write all this down and show the job description you have created to your boss or mentor, to see if they agree with it.

2. Work With a Mentor

When you're starting out in a new role, it can be very helpful to work with a mentor who can give you feedback on your performance, and coach you on the specific skills you need to be successful. They can provide invaluable advice and guidance in your new role, and boost your self-confidence with support and encouragement.

To start with, write down exactly what you'd like to gain from a mentoring relationship. For example, you might want to develop expert knowledge, work closely with someone who can motivate and inspire you, or bounce ideas off someone.

To find a mentor, look within your organization first. Are there any senior leaders who you'd like to learn from? What about leaders in your wider network? Schedule time to contact each one, to see if they would be interested in helping you.

Keep in mind that mentoring is a two-way relationship. You need to have something to offer your mentor in return for their expert advice. That might be a fresh perspective on the industry, familiarity with new technologies, or introductions to other professionals you know from your previous roles. If they benefited from having their own mentor when they were starting out, they may relish the chance to give something back.

3. Build Good Relationships

Being a great manager isn't all about being a brilliant strategist or an inspirational speaker. According to a white paper by Dale Carnegie Training, the most important part of a manager's role is their ability to make an authentic, personal connection with the people on their team.

As a manager, you can't expect to be everyone's friend. Your first responsibility is to be a leader, and to do that you need to take a balanced approach to relationships. Yes, you want to be on great terms with your team, but you need to be a guide for them as well.

Be open with your new team about your past business experience and why you took this position, to help gain their trust. Don't be afraid to share mistakes you've made along the way. Handled sensibly, self-disclosure like this helps your people to understand who you are, why you're there, and why they can trust you, which is important if you want to have a happy and motivated workforce.

Connect with team members by respecting their individual differences. They may have diverse cultural or generational characteristics, or have widely differing levels of experience. These differences can help to inspire discussion and creativity, and to avoid groupthink.

4. Identify and Communicate Goals

If you've suddenly found yourself in charge of a team after years of being led by someone else, you're probably full of new ideas for improving its practices and procedures. But try to curb your enthusiasm – at least for a little while.

"New broom syndrome" – sweeping away all the "old ways" as soon as you arrive – can be counterproductive. Take some time to settle into your role before you make any major changes to the way the team works. Observe its performance from a leadership perspective and talk to people about how things work.

Once you've settled in, write a team charter that defines what you're all there to do. Next, set performance goals for each person on your team. Consider making some of these stretch goals – goals that "stretch" everyone's abilities. Use Management By Objectives (MBO) to make sure that these goals are aligned with those of your organization.

Having identified some meaningful goals for your team, communicate them regularly. One of the best ways to do this is with Business Storytelling, especially if you are to help others find deeper meaning in what they're doing.

You should also set yourself some personal goals, including developing any new skills you need to work more successfully in your new role.

5. Be a Good Role Model

As a manager, you need to be aware that your team looks to you to set an example of how to behave at work. If you want to shape team members' behavior, improve performance, and build good habits, you need to lead by example.

Show them, by your words and actions, that you mean what you say. For example, if it's important that everyone shows up for Monday morning team meetings, make sure that you never miss one yourself. If you want people to start trusting each other, demonstrate trust by sharing information about yourself.

By building expertise in your team's role, and practicing what you preach, people will trust your judgment and your decisions, and feel more inclined to follow your lead.

6. Provide Timely Feedback

Your people can't improve if they don't know what they need to work on. And, they won't stay motivated unless you praise their hard work and successes along the way. This is why constructive criticism and timely praise is so important.

Try to give feedback as close to the event as possible. It's important to find the right balance between helpful criticism and a positive approach to improvement. Use tools like The Losada Ratio or the Feedback Matrix to get this right.

Be consistent in your feedback. Weekly or monthly feedback sessions will be more productive than annual ones, so try to discuss performance frequently. This way, individuals can improve incrementally, which will lift your entire team's performance and productivity.

Also, use good judgment and sensitivity when giving feedback. Always address performance issues privately, but give praise publicly to demonstrate your appreciation for a job well done, and to inspire others.

Discover how well you give feedback with our interactive quiz, "How Good Is Your Feedback?"

7. Delegate

The best managers know that they can't do it all, which is why you need to know how to delegate effectively. Delegation, when used appropriately, helps you to manage your own tasks and responsibilities better, while building your team members' skills and boosting their confidence.

To delegate successfully, make sure that you match the right task with the right person. Try to delegate tasks that will help someone develop new skills or further their career.

When you assign a task, tell the team member what result you want, but don't tell them how to do the work. Avoid the temptation to micromanage. Instead, check in regularly to see if they need help, but otherwise let them accomplish the task on their own.

8. Stay Flexible

Management is not a "one size fits all" exercise. Different situations require different approaches, and the most effective managers know intuitively when they need to change roles.

For example, sometimes you'll need to be an inspirational leader for your team members. At other times they'll need you to be a mediator, a figurehead, or a negotiator. Read our articles on Mintzberg's Management Roles and Path-Goal Theory to learn more about the various roles you'll fill as a manager, and when it's best to step into each one.