THROWN IN THE DEEP END

I often find people are promoted due to their technical abilities. This seems to make sense – the person who performs best in their role is rewarded with more responsibility. The problem is, their expertise is in the discipline they just left – not in leading people. Most new managers simply lack the necessary skills and tools to successfully manage and lead the people they have been promoted to oversee.

I use the words ‘lead’ and ‘manage’ because it is important to develop both skill sets. In a managerial position, the majority of your time will be spent managing workloads, meetings, and people, among a host of other tasks and functions. But at times you will need to lead, making strategic decisions and determining business direction.

From my observations and conversations with people leaders over the past 14 years, the following points sum up how these managers feel:

1. Becoming a manager is like being thrown in the deep end with your clothes on and asked to swim to the side. The water is so thick with complexity it is almost like swimming through mud. New team leaders are in a state of overwhelm with the sheer volume of work that is expected of them.

2. Even as they flail in deep water with their clothes on, new managers are still aware that there are high expectations on them. The organisation is relying on them to do a great job from the get-go, and they feel this pressure. When you are drowning, you want someone to throw you a lifeline, not push you further underwater.

3. These new managers are spinning multiple plates at once. As well as being accountable for their own outcomes, they now find themselves responsible for supervising multiple team members, dealing with the issues that arise, and planning what needs to happen next. It is inevitable that some plates will be dropped and break.

4. Finally, almost every new manager is silently worrying, ‘Am I actually going to be able to do this?’ We call this ‘imposter syndrome’, and it’s all too familiar to most of us. It’s that nagging feeling of self-doubt that creeps in and tells you, ‘You’ll never be very good at this!’ or ‘The team will never respond to your leadership!’

It can be really, really hard rising up through the ranks. Suddenly, you’re leading the team. The business is relying on you. But there’s a part of you that feels like you’re not good enough, that you just can’t do it. You’ve got too much on your plate, and you feel like you’re sinking. Trust me, you can do it – you just need practical tools to use on the job.

I am passionate about providing team leaders, supervisors, and managers with fundamental, practical tools to enable them to manage themselves, their time, and their people much more effectively.

Get in touch to find out how.