I thought being promoted to be a manager of my peers would make things easier. Oh boy, was I wrong!
One sunny day in Berlin, I was asked by my manager if I wanted to join her and the other leader and create a power trio. She was a great manager herself, and that question, coming from her, meant a lot. I knew I was being tested, that I was ready, and that I had the potential to be a good leader myself. I also thought I had to mimic her, which led to interesting new developments, but that’s a story for another blog.
The story of my transition into management is one of trial and error.
I didn’t have all the answers from the get-go. I had support from my new peers (my ex-manager and the third design leader in the organization) but very little guidance from my new manager.
I had lots of issues. With my team, with my peers, with stakeholders, and most importantly with myself. Little did I know at this point, that what I was experiencing was not a unique “I suck at this!” experience but a well-researched, totally natural, and quite frankly expected learning curve.
Years later, having gone through this transition myself, and with many new managers I’ve coached, I can tell you — you’re OK. The things you’re experiencing are not so much about you, but about the job. A tough one, to be precise.
4 Challenges of a New Manager
While each new manager experiences it their own way, and their challenge is filtered through their specific set of past trauma, defense mechanisms, and personality features, these are all typical challenges new leaders go through in their first development phase.
- You’re no longer one of us. In other words, it’s about clearly and visibly assuming the role of a manager. This change is not about making status differences visible by switching from informal leader to formal manager title. What I’m referring to here is the straightforward and appropriate delegation of work previously performed by the new boss, freeing him or her to fulfill the new responsibilities fully.
- You have to tell people to do stuff. Who likes to boss people around? No one, but as you’re not doing the work anymore, you need to assign it to your ex-peers. It’s hard, especially as a newly promoted boss—you know from personal experience how pressed your former colleagues are. The worst-case scenario here is being constantly overworked and unable to cope with the management load even by working on weekends. It doesn’t improve until one starts systematically delegating tasks. Period.
- You need to work with people outside your function. I always liked talking to other designers. That was rarely a challenge. As a new manager, you need to venture outside of your function and meet the dreaded “other teams.” You know how marketing legendarily doesn’t get along with sales and vice versa. Now that’s your experience — you need to go there and build working relationships.
- You know too much. The problem is not that having a great amount of insider knowledge is bad, but rather that this knowledge usually stops you from seeking out as much information as possible during the early phase of transition. In a way, you know too much and too little at the same time, not only missing the chance to gain new perspectives but also unintentionally failing to prepare your team for possible changes.
Your Onboarding Laundry List
“I heard you, Piotr, it’s tough being a manager! What can we do?” I’m glad you asked, as the solution is totally figurable-out!
This topic is a staple in my manager coaching practice.
Focus on these 6 areas during your onboarding period:
- Speak with your former colleagues about your new duties and how you want to delegate them. Be frank, open, but decisive. This is the start of you assuming the role.
- Have regular 1:1 chats with your team. It’s crucial you talk to your team as a whole but also as individuals. Especially if you feel like you already know a lot about the situation, go deeper and talk to everyone separately. Earn those trust points!
- If the recruitment was open and others also applied, try to find them and talk to them. Be as objective and understanding as possible but make the discussion focus on how you can constructively cooperate, as you, not them, got the role now.
- Have a deep conversation with your own manager about what is expected from you, what the timeline for the transition is, and what you can expect from them as support. Initiate this one if they don’t do it first. It is in your best interest.
- Don’t rush for changes and help the team go through this transition with you. Openly say what will change and when, so they get the chance to prepare. Include them in some changes; build that trust one conversation at a time.
- Don’t assume that you will be able to meet all their expectations and be prepared for some employees to potentially leave. It doesn’t have to be about you—some might have been wanting to leave before. Inquire about the reasons, but don’t let the departure get to you.
Reflections For Your First Days
Here are a bunch of questions to guide you during your transition. Reflect on them and decide which you want to answer for yourself, which ones you want to ask your manager, and which ones you want to consult your team about.
- What new tasks do you have to perform in your new position?
- What expectations will your employees have for you?
- For what changes among your employees must you be prepared?
- What is your boss expecting from you now?
- What changes will you find especially difficult during the transition?
- What are the key relationships to build from day one?
- What are your 3 most important goals in the first 6 months?
That’s enough for a start. These questions will have you think about your priorities and help you avoid the lamentable 4 challenges of a new internally promoted manager.
Reflection is step one, action is step two. If you need help implementing these insights, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me, and I will help you develop an initial action plan through a combination of leadership coaching & collaborative decision-making. Let’s chat!
