The Top Ten Mistakes New Managers Make

So, you have been recently promoted from peer to supervisor or have been hired from outside your organization to lead a division, department or branch. Most likely, you have been promoted or hired into this position for one of four reasons:

1. Your track record: As a leader, you have improved the condition of your job, team or organization on every assignment that has been given to you.
2. You are technically strong: You can personally solve almost every challenge that comes into the department or gets raised to your level.
3. You have a really positive attitude:  Your boss feels that a positive attitude will be helpful in a department that was well known in the company for having hardened attitudes. More than one person left the company because of the poor morale or poor leadership in this department.
4. You are a leader: You are able to build strong relationships with a diverse team of people where they are highly motivated to move in the direction you are going.

As a new manager, most think they know what needs to be done. What they don’t know is the most common mistakes leaders make when taking over a new team. Based on 30 years of being executive advisors and coaches to great leaders, here is our list of the top 10 mistakes.

1. Assume you know the answers. Anytime you take over a new team, the worst thing you can do is assume you know all of the answers. These types of leaders believe that they have been hired or promoted to save the department or organization and their job is simple…tell people two things…how smart and great they are and, what people need to do differently to be as good as they are.
2. Poor or unclear vision and goals. Managers who go into their new position without a positive vision of what they want the department to become, what goals they want to achieve and most importantly, a deep belief that they are going to make a positive difference as a leader, are defeated before they ever start. Most likely, one of the biggest reasons that a department has low morale is because no one has a positive vision of the future and the goals are set low and/or unclear. Many times in these situations, managers find out the employees actually do not have clear goals
3. Do not delegate. In your old position as team member, you were paid to look at the details, do tasks and produce results. In the new position as manager, you will now be paid to build a team that produces much bigger results than you could ever do as an individual.
4. Do not deal with conflict. Whether it is team members who do not like each other and refuse to work together as a team, or a team member who is not accountable to producing the results you need, you need to lean into conflict quickly in your new role and hold all team members accountable.
5. Try to please everyone. Anytime there is a new manager, some team members are not going to be happy. In this situation described above, you know the team members who had been employed at the company longer feel that they should have the manager’s title, not someone who has been with the company less than a year. New managers need to remember to do the right thing as a leader. It is more important to be respected for doing the right thing than it is to be liked.
6. Rely on your new title: There is a difference between leaders and managers. Managers have a title and a position on the organizational chart. Leaders may or may not have a title, but they always have a relationship where people are motivated to follow them. Build strong relationships so you are able to say, “I don’t even need the title to get this job done.”
7. Bluff what you know. New leaders who know that not everyone is happy they have been selected as the leader, feel more compelled to justify why they were selected for the position. To provide reasoning of why they were selected, they love to tell people how much they know. It takes confidence to say to a new team, “I do not know the answer. If no one on the team knows, I will find out and get back to you.”
8. Do not ask for help. When the new team is not happy with your selection as the manager, it could make you uncomfortable asking for help. Nasty employees may even tell you, “That’s your job, not mine. That is why you are getting paid the big bucks.” Remember, as the leader, you are not going to be rewarded for building the team and getting the work done through others.
9. Don’t make decisions: When you are new, it is easy to lack confidence knowing that every decision you make has amplified ramifications. But, when you delay making decisions, you hold up other people’s work. Get the best information possible and make the decision. Even if the decision is wrong, most likely you can course correct along the way and learn from the mistake at the same time.
10. Withhold praise and recognition: When you are new, you tend to focus on ensuring your boss and senior leaders see your value as a manager. That means it is easy to take the credit without even realizing it. The more you give the credit, praise and recognition to others, the more others will feel motivated to do a great job for you. 

Being a great leader is not easy. Most new managers and supervisors have a good idea of what they need to do. If, as a new leader, you can do what you know is the right thing you need to do to improve your team and avoid the 10 most common mistakes, you will be on a clear path to becoming a great leader.