4 New Manager Challenges that Must Be Overcome

Have You Identified The Major New Manager Challenges at Your Company?
While most new managers face similar obstacles, every company presents their own flavor of new manager challenges that must be overcome for new managers to be successful in their unique culture and situation.  As a new manager, it can feel as though you are one against many.

But smart people leaders turn themselves around.  They don’t behave like a pawn facing an army of corporate opponents.  They see themselves and act as the new leader of the team.

4 New Manager Challenges that Must Be Overcome
To marshal the right forces so they work with, and not against, you, we have identified four new manager challenges from our people manager assessment center that must overcome to succeed :

1. Incomplete, Inconsistent, or Unclear Communication
   Of all the major challenges new managers must overcome, you cannot expect your employees to deliver against your performance and cultural expectations if you do not communicate expectations clearly, consistently and completely.When employees don’t understand what you expect of them, their performance suffers, their engagement levels decline, and they are likely to focus on the wrong or redundant tasks  They may even head off in the complete wrong direction.

   Do not sugar-coat bad news at work.  Be crystal clear in how you describe work standards and job roles. This is the way to minimize conflict, avoid worker dissatisfaction, and complete projects on time.

2. Faulty Decision Making
   The best managers are decisive. Overall, effective decision makers gather data and seek to uncover root causes, operate by facts, not gut-feel or innuendo, are able to analyze pros and cons objectively, balance desired outcomes and relationships, and understand the implications of delayed decisions and inaction.Know how your organization gets things done and choose a path that makes sense given the strategic and cultural context, and make smart adjustments along the way.
3. Fuzzy Priorities
   Strategic clarity accounts for 31% of the difference between high and low performing teams.  Each and every employee should understand company, team, and individual goals, roles, responsibilities, success metrics,  interdependencies, and potential barriers to success.New manager training programs do not often emphasize clarity and prioritization enough. Yes, you need to specify tasks clearly. But what matters most is that workers understand how their tasks align with the overall objectives of the organization.
4. Ineffective Performance Management
   New managers are, above all else, rated on the performance of their team. When the team performs, the manager’s halo shines.It is the manager’s job to meet with each team member to define both success and failure in a way that is clear, agreed-upon, meaningful, measurable, and challenging but attainable.  When employees understand and commit to their own performance goals, they are accountable and strive to do their best to reach them.

The Bottom Line
Becoming a new manager is challenging but not impossible for those who are willing to change their perspective from leader-of-one to leader-of-many.  Are your new managers set up to succeed?

To learn more about creating high performing new managers, download The 4 Management Metrics that Matter Most