Feeling better about new manager challenges
Feeling overwhelmed by your new management role? (pic by yan krukov for pexels)
PICTURE THIS: You’ve recently been promoted to a management role or taken a new management role elsewhere. A camera crew is following you around for a fly-on-the-wall documentary on new leaders 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.
You may have been quickly promoted to fill a gap or have moved out to move up, into 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.
Does this make you nervous?
If you’re feeling unprepared for the challenges of being a new leader, you’re not alone:
“Almost 60% of managers say they never received any training when they transitioned into their first leadership role ”
If you’re moving from colleague to boss, you may be thinking:
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!
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!
Try guiding instead of managing
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 leadership role – is by making work enjoyable and challenging. Fun opens the door to great ideas and laughter is a great de-stressor. Creative problem-solving, following a proven framework, is a powerful tool: applying strategic planning principles and brainstorming tools to a specific issue is an elegant way to find new solutions, and possibly innovations.
There’s no doubt that being responsible for other people’s stress is, um, stressful. Working collaboratively, though, makes it easier to find solutions, so the responsibility for managing stress doesn’t have to rest fully on your shoulders.
Feeling unsure about delegating?
I’ve never had to delegate before. Wouldn’t it be easier to just do the work myself?
How can I trust others to do the work properly?
Feeling uncomfortable with delegating is a common issue among new managers. Look at ‘delegating’ through a different lens. 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?
What can help build a stronger team?
Tight-knit teams work collaboratively to solve problems and are comfortable taking on increased 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… all of which contribute to fresh thinking.
Sometimes just having a system to follow and the right tools are all you need to increase your team’s performance. This also improves your leadership abilities which helps you stand out and get noticed by senior management.
Want to feel less stressed more quickly?
As an Innovation Coach, I specialize in working with emerging leaders to improve their team’s problem-solving. Unlike other executive coaches who focus on just mindset and behavior, I use Light Bulb Thinking™ to show the managers I work with how to build and lead a creative team that consistently delivers new ideas and solves difficult problems while having fun, so they can have a work experience that’s rewarding and meaningful, and which gets you noticed.
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 mini-consult here.
I coach emerging managers who want to excel at their work without losing their spark. I show them how to build and lead a creative team that consistently delivers new ideas and solves difficult problems while having fun, so they can have a work experience that’s rewarding and meaningful, and which gets them noticed.