Four Mistakes to Avoid Making on Your First Day as Manager
Rafael Maga?a
Senior Director Of Development - Corporate Partnerships, Major Gifts, & Planned Giving
On your first day as manager, your plan is probably to come in with lots of great ideas. You don't want to make mistakes that you've seen other managers make, and you want to use every lesson that you've learned from the best managers you've had. Unfortunately, as tempting as the idea can be of shaking things up from day one, it's probably an impediment in the way of your success.
Being slow, deliberate and methodical will usually achieve a lot more than jumping the gun. Rather than look for ways to make things happen right away, you should sit back, observe your new environment, and learn.
1. Don't make any major changes
Your first task as manager should be to learn about what your team is capable of. In the first few days, you should spend most of your time listening to your team, rather than talking. If you try to roll out big plans before you carefully consider your team's strengths and weaknesses, your push for change will lack credibility.
2. Reach out and make everyone comfortable
As nervous as you are about being a new manager, your team is probably even more nervous about how you will turn out to manage them. You should reach out to make sure that your team-members see that you aren't going to be a sour-tempered micromanager. Let them see that you care about how they want to be managed, and will stick up for them. Schedule one-on-one meetings with every member of your team. Get to know them, and find out what kind of ideas they have.
3. Make sure that you ask lots of questions
It's usually a bad idea to breeze in and assume that you know all about how an organization works. If you're making assumptions about your organization, you'll find half the time that you've missed the point. You shouldn't be afraid to ask questions. Ask your employees open-ended questions to discover as much information as possible, and pick the brains of your bosses to come by information that you probably weren't allowed to have before you became manager.
4. Set boundaries
If you've been internally promoted, you'll need to think of a plan for how you will continue with the friendly relationships that you established before you became manager. The transition from equal friendship to a relationship where you are manager and your team-members are employees, can be challenging.
If you used to hang out with your colleagues before, you can't continue such close arrangements anymore. To avoid suspicions that you play favorites, you need to make sure that you don't spend any more time with any one employee, than another. You even need to set up a system where everyone gets access to you, no matter how little they know you personally. You can still enjoy friendships, but they will need to be with other managers in the organization.
5. Remember that nothing worthwhile is acquired without effort
It's important to remember that you don't need to impress anyone on your first day, week or month on the job. Being an effective manager is a skill that you learn over time. The sooner you stop trying to wow everyone, the sooner you'll start learning what you actually need in order to succeed.
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Copyright August 17, 2019 by Rafael Maga?a. Contact for usage license.
Rafael Maga?a helps organizations grow. Helps leaders accelerate strategy implementation in their organizations. Specializes in donor-centered Philanthropy. Major Gift Officer -Veritus Scholar. Director of Development & Communications at BREATHE California of Los Angeles County. Director of Development at the Emphysema Foundation of America. Enjoys writing about leadership and management in organizations. Founder of Latino Professionals and Latina Professionals. Resides in California.
Follow Rafael on LinkedIn and on Twitter: @RafaelMagana
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed are solely my own.
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5 年#4?Set Boundaries/expectations. You can't come out of the gate being the nice guy. What you can do is to be firm but fare and then adjust as needed. But if you come out to nice'y nice you will be in trouble when you need to be firm.? Listening and reaching out is a must. Respect and observe. It will do you justice later. Great article Rafael.?
President, i5 Fundraising Teaching, coaching, and consulting for nonprofits seeking to engage donors in providing beneficiary and community-driven, life-changing, and sometimes life-saving, programs and projects.
5 年And if you came from somewhere else don’t say well we did it this way there maybe we should try that here.