Stepping Into the Role of a First-time Manager

Stepping Into the Role of a First-time Manager

By Robert Boroff | Google +

Now that you’ve landing the management position you’ve been working toward you need to reassess the landscape of your new role, and what it means to existing relationships with your colleagues, says Barrie Gross, Esq., of AllBusiness.com.

Setting new boundaries with coworkers is an essential first step in your new position. You can maintain existing friendships, but you need to establish your authority and credibility as a manager, Gross says.

“It’s not about becoming demanding and asserting yourself in aggressive ways. Rather, it’s taking seriously your need to refocus your thinking so that you position yourself as a leader deserving of the respect of others,” Gross said.

Gross recommends that new managers have a meeting with their own superior and clearly establish the role you will plan within the company and what is expected of you in your new management position. Be clear on the following:

• Your own manager’s expectations of you in your new job;
• The department’s strategic plans, both long and short term;
• Your department’s tactical requirements;
• Your manager’s perception of the quality of the work in your department and where he or she thinks there need to be changes or improvements;
• An action plan for implementing your management and producing results;
• What resources and tools your manager thinks would be advantageous for your own development

Next, Gross recommends sitting down with each member of your department and assessing what is working and what is not before implementing changes too quickly.

“Successful managers engage in open and ongoing communications. And it doesn’t matter if the issue is company wide, department specific or with regard to a specific employee. When you take the time to communicate, you create an environment of trust and respect. Employees who feel valued will give back to you more than you ask,” Gross advises.

Including your former colleagues in the transition and planning process of what it will mean to work for you as the new manager will benefit everyone.