5 Ways First-Time Managers in the UK Charity Sector Can Level Up Quickly

Congratulations, you've taken a step up to management within a UK charity - you're now a people manager, you're now a line manager, and with that comes more responsibility. Chances are you've not had any specific training for this change, and chances are it happened without much notice, so what can you do to get the basics right, and quickly?

I've mentored and managed many new managers over the past 15 years, so here are my top five takeaways to shorten your learning journey.

1. Look Beyond the Halos: Choosing Your Role Models Wisely

It's easy to fall into the trap of admiring someone simply because they occupy a high-ranking position, or have certain plaudits or status within any organisation, and thinking you have to do what they do in order to make the same progress. However, true inspiration often lies beneath the surface.

• Identify Your Personal Values, Stengths and Opportunities for Development: Start by asking yourself what qualities you value in a leader. Is it their ability to communicate, their empathy, or perhaps their vision? And what is it that you specifically feel you want to improve on. For me, it was my verbal fluency in conversations - I'd stumble, get nervous and not get my contributions out. I solved this by specifically looking at and learning from leaders around me who always seemed to be in command of their words. Look for individuals whose leadership style resonates with your values, regardless of their position in the hierarchy.
• Learn From Diverse Sources: Diversity in role models can provide a richer learning experience. Don't limit yourself to your immediate environment. Remember, the best role models may not always have the most visibility. Find a range of people who have specific skills, knowledge and understanding you might wish to emulate or develop - it might be how they chair a meeting and bring in diverse voices, it might be how they manage their resilience, it might be how they make their decisions, or how they learn and grow from feedback.

2. The Power of a Hype File: Building Your Confidence

In the hustle of daily tasks, it's easy to overlook our achievements. A hype file acts as your personal cheerleader, reminding you of your strengths and victories. Don't wait until you're moving on from a role to capture the nice things people say about you and the difference you make as their manager.

• Start Small: Every piece of positive feedback, no matter how minor, is a building block for your confidence. Use the notepad app on your desktop, or the backpage of your notebook. Our brains are wired to forget this stuff, because it doesn't pose us any type of 'threat' - so start hacking that by noting it down.
• Reflect and Repeat: Regularly review your 'hype file' to remind yourself of your progress and areas where you've excelled. You'll strengthen the neural pathways in your brain that tell you that you've got this!
• Build on Success: Use this feedback as a guide to replicate successful behaviours and strategies. Try and capture what exactly it was that you did that elicited the positive feedback, what mindset you were in when you did it, what your inner voice was telling you when you did it - if you can unlock some of this you've got your shortcut to doing it next time.

Your hype file is not just a collection of compliments; it's a roadmap of your growth and a tool for future success. Don't fall into the trap of using it to capture where people have said you've been nice - remember, it is there to capture where you've done your job well.

3. Embracing Accountability: "I'm the Problem, It's Me"

Recognising yourself as a part of every challenge is the first step towards finding effective solutions.

• Self-Reflection: Regularly assess your actions and their impact on your team and projects. Make feedback and debriefs a normal part of what you do - specifically encourage your team to identify what could have made something better and to be really specific about it. I have seen too many teams get caught in the trap of perpetually celebrating essentially mediocre outcomes; meaningful impact and changemaking does not this way lie - back it up and get candid, get really supportive but also get real about how to do a really good job together.
• Growth Through Accountability: Embrace this mindset as an opportunity for personal and professional development. When you see yourself as part of the equation, every problem becomes an opportunity to improve and innovate. Never discount the potential that your behaviour/decision/communication was at the root of the issue, but don't be too hard on yourself.

4. Microlearning: Curating Your Leadership Diet: Quality Over Quantity

In an age of information overload, it's crucial to be selective about what you learn.

• Filter Your Feed: Focus on resources that align with your leadership goals and challenges. Find five leaders, relevant to you, who are further along than you - and consciously consume their content, but if it's the same stuff on repeat, move on.
• Embrace Diverse Learning Formats: Whether it's podcasts, articles, or workshops, variety keeps your learning journey engaging. Get comfortable with 'snacking' on your learning - and don't give yourself a hard time if you move on before the end of something.
• Apply As You Go: The true test of learning is application. Try to implement new ideas in small, manageable steps - and then, pro-tip, catch your self doing it, reflect and do it again next time, and soon, it'll be part of your management muscle memory.

Think of your learning diet as nourishment for your leadership abilities. Choose wisely, and you'll see the benefits in your growth and effectiveness.

5. The Art of Seeking Feedback: Cultivating a Culture of Improvement

Asking for feedback should be a regular part of your leadership practice. It's a tool for continuous improvement and relationship building - and it is not fair to expect your line manager to dish out well done stickers for your work regularly unless you're are ready to ask them to point out and flag to you where you could be doing better. Feedback is a two-way street.

• Craft Your Questions: Specific, open-ended questions yield more actionable insights. Make it as regular as 'please' and 'thank you' - a light breezy, 'anything specific I could do better next time?' and you'll be amazed at what you can learn, and quickly. This is the single most effective way to move faster - but most people don't do it.
• Create a Safe Space: Encourage honesty by showing appreciation for all feedback, positive or negative. Find someone you trust and admire professionally who'll tell you how it is. Remember information about how you've done a task or approached a challenged bears no relation to your value as a human being. It can be hard to feel safe when asking for feedback, but without it you're missing out on a lot. Try to unpack why you might struggle to receive feedback and consider discussing what you think with your own manager.
• Act on Insights: Use feedback to make informed adjustments to your leadership style and strategies. It's just words if it doesn't end up improving the way you do your job. And if you don't do something with it, you've wasted the time of the person who gave it to you - and your own. What's more it's unlikely they'll take the time to share feedback with you again. Doing something with feedback doesn't necessarily mean taking it on face value, it might mean digesting, considering and thinking about what the feedback means and what you might choose to do with it.

Remember, the path to becoming an effective leader is paved with daily habits and deliberate practice. There's no secret formula—just the commitment to grow, learn, and lead by example. Healthy scepticism of status, microlearning, seeking out feedback, always considering your own accountability and firing up a hypefile just for you - those are my key shortcuts to becoming a great first-time manager. More power to your elbow!

Please follow me if you found this useful and share with a colleague on the same stage of the journey as you.

Feel free to drop me a note at [email protected]

www.elliepyemont.com

About me

I help mission-led teams build connections, deliver their projects and scale their teams. With 20 years experience forming, leading and growing mission-led teams in the UK public, private, not-for-profit, charity and voluntary sectors, I love an interesting challenge and change-makers with a passion for their mission.