New Manager Challenges (part 1 of 3)
Are you like this new “team” leader, paddling like mad under the surface?
Picture this: You’ve recently been promoted to a management role or taken a new job elsewhere as a first time manager. A camera crew is following you around for a ‘fly on the wall’ new manager case study and you’re narrating. What thoughts does the audience hear? In conversations, what’s your posture and tone of voice? At your desk, are you fidgeting? Where is your stress showing?
SCENE CHANGE: Instead of a camera crew, you’re being studied by senior management
As a result of the Great Resignation you may have been quickly promoted or you may have moved to an organization where you’re in a leadership role for the first time. As a new manager, you’re under scrutiny for how well you achieve your targets, your ability to motivate and manage staff and, in general, how you contribute to the company’s growth.
Struggling as a new manager?
If you feel unprepared for the challenges of being a new manager, you’re not alone: almost 60% of managers say they never received any training when they transitioned into their first leadership role (Center for Creative Leadership, Nov 2020).
To do the topic of new manager challenges justice, I’m going to address it over three posts where we’ll look at each of these topics through the lens of using creative problem-solving as a leadership tool. We’ll examine:
· Moving from colleague to boss, or moving to a new organization as a first time manager
· Managing and motivating the team
· Managing the corporate strategy and culture, and influencing stakeholders
In this first post, I’ll talk about moving from colleague to boss, or moving into a first time management role in a new organization.
SCENE CHANGE: Back to the camera crew. What are the thoughts you’re narrating as you’re being filmed?
This is a big question, with a lot of answers.
These thoughts may be in your head:
· These people are my friends… now I’m supposed to be their boss? How’s that gonna work??
· Being the new kid on the block and a new manager? So stressful!
· How do I earn their respect and loyalty if I feel I’m more like one of them than a manager?
More and more, employees are looking to be guided rather than managed. Have you heard the term “servant leadership”? Servant leaders act more as guides and, as the name implies, being of service to their team.
One way to be of service, and to ease the transition into a new management role, is by making work enjoyable and challenging. Fun opens the door to great ideas and laughter is a great de-stressor; professional debate keeps thinking fresh. Creative problem-solving, following a proven framework, is a powerful option: applying strategic planning principles and brainstorming tools to a specific issue is an elegant way to find new solutions, and possibly innovations. See “What can help?” below.
Or this thought:
· Not only do I need to continue managing my time, I also need to manage my stress and that of my team. That feels way stressful!
There’s no doubt that being responsible for other people’s stress is, um, stressful. Working collaboratively, though, makes it easier to find solutions and pick up tips and tricks, so the responsibility for managing stress doesn’t have to rest fully on your shoulders.
Or these:
· I’ve never had to delegate before. Wouldn’t it be easier to just do the work I know I can do?
· How can I trust others to do the work properly?
Feeling uncomfortable with delegating is a very common issue among new managers. Instead of asking yourself these questions, look at ‘delegating’ through a different filter. What’s your aim/hope for your team? Is it to develop new skills, take on more responsibility, become peak performers? Will you doing all the work allow this development to happen? Of course not.
What can help you be a better leader?
Tight knit teams work collaboratively to solve problems and are comfortable taking on an increasing amount of responsibility. Solving problems using creative thinking techniques makes work more enjoyable, and opens the door to not just fun and laughter but also respectful and productive debate.
Sometimes just having a system to follow and the right tools in your kit are all you need to increase your team’s performance and your leadership abilities.
As an Innovation Coach, I specialize in working with new managers to help them facilitate their team’s problem-solving. With regular practice, this leads to more interesting ideas, better decisions and results, higher retention, and making the world a better place faster.
Unlike other executive coaches who focus on just mindset and behavior, I help clients use creative problem-solving as a leadership tool to address the issues that keep them awake at three in the morning, and to design a culture of kickass innovation. My Light Bulb Thinking™ framework is designed to help leaders and teams navigate and increasingly speed up the creative problem-solving process. Light Bulb Thinking™ consists of four simple phases that can take team ideating from “boring” to “brilliant!”.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
If you’re struggling as a new manager, let’s explore how coaching in creative problem-solving could help you address your challenges. Schedule a free strategy session at https://calendly.com/ellia-harris/30min
In part II, we’ll look at difficulties associated with managing and motivating your team. Jump straight to Part ll here
Go to New Manager Challenges Part lll here
“You reinforced the importance of engaging in the creative process and gave us some new things to think about. We also enjoyed your energy and passion, which came shining through the screen! ”