New managers often mess up in their daily management. What really matter is how they respond to that mistake and quickly enact a recovery plan and learn from the mistakes- things that not every man does. Here is the list of 10 mistakes new managers should avoid.
1. Over-committing
It’s natural for the new managers to please others and establish their credibility. They should only commit to those work which they can complete without any hassle. Promising too much too soon will backfire and ruin their credibility.
2. Micromanaging
Managers who dominate people, decisions and reminds their subordinate and employees about their work ultimately derails team motivation and creativity.
Micromanagement is considered to have a negative connotation because it shows lack of freedom in the workplace.
3. Not listening to team members
Not listening to team members is the most common mistake the new managers make. They are caught up in their own vision of the project.
The new managers should have attentive listening skills as sometimes their team members may provide crucial information which the managers might overlook.
4. Going power crazy
The new managers should be aware of the temptation to go on power trips. The managers who are operating on ‘’my way or highway’’ mentality or who refuses to own their own mistake erode team motivation and morale.
A little humbleness goes a long way as does taking responsibility for your own mistakes.
5. Failure for growth of team members
It’s new manager responsibility to ensure the growth of their team members. The managers should never ignore any opportunity of the growth of their team member.
6. Emotional Managing
As a team leader, the new managers need to remain calm when everything is falling around them. The team member looks up to their managers for support and guidance.
Managing emotional responses determines the team emotional state. Developing your emotional intelligence helps you develop you remain calm and positive in crisis.
7. Failure to provide timely feedback
This is the most crucial mistake a new manager does. Providing constructive criticism to employees can be difficult, but it’s absolutely vital for your team to develop and evolve.
Feedback is not the one-way street. The managers should also listen to criticism from their team, evaluates it and make changes if feedback is valid.
8. Being too friendly
Most manager want to be seen as friendly and approachable to their team members. However, you will sometime have to make some tough decisions regarding your team and people will take advantage of that if they are too friendly.
This doesn’t mean you cannot socialize with your people. But you have to maintain the balance between being a friend and being a boss.
9. Not Delegating
Some managers don’t delegate, because they think that no-one apart from themselves can do the key job properly. This cause a huge problem as work bottlenecks around them and they became stress and burned down.
If you don’t delegate the task, then you won’t be able to focus on the ‘broader view’ most managers are responsible for.
10. Failing to manage and communicate in all directions
Your direct reports are important, but don’t forget to communicate with your new boss and peer managers.
You need to manage your communication up as well as down and not to mention sideways as your team don’t feel siloed.
In the end we don’t need to demonize the managers who are subject to many of these responses, they are human too. They should be treated with grace and also empowered to succeed with proper development.
Submitted By: Sagar Sharma | Karan Sharma
(PGDM Batch 2019-21)
Leave a Reply