How to Excel as a New Manager

There is a tremendous opportunity for personal and professional fulfillment when stepping into a managerial role. We’ve all had great managers and poor managers. What makes a manager strong or poor is rather subjective, but is founded in a healthy, trustful work relationship that lends to an equal balance of accountability and respect.

My first management role was in retail, and I suffered what many new managers struggle with. It took career maturity on my part to get to place where I can now understand how to best balance between leading and being an individual performer.

Here are some things I’ve learned along the way…

One size fits all approach:

Managing is art of learning what behaviors, opinions and motivations of each individual. One size doesn’t work while managing a team; we all have unique motivating factors and ways of learning. As a manager, you need to adapt to that of your employee while providing direction, goal setting and ongoing training.

Most of us enjoy a good pat on back and positive feedback. Conversely, if there is an issue, discuss it with the individual versus addressing it to your team as a whole. You can lose credibility quickly that way. Don’t let it fester; talk it through and agree on actionable next steps to correct the issue and move on.

Communication:

Provide daily, weekly, quarterly and annual feedback. We should never stop learning, so challenge your team to learn a new skill from an internal or external resource. Let’s face it, in this industry, technology and online are constantly changing, this is a great area to start.

You’ve done a grave disservice to your employee if you provide feedback that is a surprise during an annual or biannual performance review. There should be no surprises but rather a reiteration of feedback—whether it is positive or negative.

Look in the mirror:

Take a self-inventory of your own strengths and weaknesses and surround yourself with talent who will compliment you, the team and the company. Do a meaningful SWOT analysis and understand the key skills and attributes needed to enhance your group. This will become your road map when going out to the market to hire.

About Profiles

Profiles is a unique staffing firm specializing in Marketing employment, Creative, and Web & IT jobs. Since 1998, we have served the needs of our Clients and Talent by matching the best candidates with the best companies in the Mid-Atlantic region: Baltimore, MD, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, PA and Richmond, VA.

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Author Name – Laurie Allen
Title – Branch Manager
Location – Philadelphia, PA
Twitter – @lwallen
Byline – Laurie has over 15 years of staffing experience and has worn many hats including that of an in-house and agency recruiter, account director and direct hire regional manager. In her current role of Branch Manager for Profiles, she has the pleasure of aligning the industries best marketing, creative and interactive talent to the regions premier companies.