Comments on: Top 10 Mistakes New Managers Make (And How to Avoid Them)

By: Leena Kambonde

Leena Kambonde — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:45:29 +0000

in my opinion ithnk a manager should stay the same as he or she use to be when he or she was an ordinary employee,
to avoid certain things like telling employees something that isn’t supposed to be told to them at that moment.

By: Valerie Arca

Valerie Arca — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 19:16:27 +0000

Excellent information.

By: David Gibson

David Gibson — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 00:07:59 +0000

Excellent points Linda! Leading and Managing are very different and often times lumped into the same big pile. People get promoted to a “Management” position and then are expected to provide “Leadership”. The problem being that the only thing the person really knows is how to work the processes they are now to manage. The step from working a process to managing a process is very small compared to the unspoken expectation of also providing leadership to the people who work the process they are to manage.

This is all magnified by the fact that companies usually promote people who have demonstrated self-leadership. So they are assumed to have leadership and management skills, which usually they don’t and a great producer has been turned into a substandard manager.

Ok back on point! I totally agree a clear separation of Manager tasks and Leader responsibilites would be very helpful to those newly promoted to a management role.

By: John Trosko

John Trosko — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 17:39:31 +0000

A lot of companies tend to have a lot of meetings, especially creative companies with pipelines to discuss and plan. The meetings can last all day. Before you know it, it’s 5:30pm and work is supposed to end at “6:00pm.” When is anyone, newbie or seasoned veteran supposed to get their work done? That’s when you stay late and don’t leave until 7:30pm. In my opinion, productive or not, this atmosphere creates frustrated managers who stay late because of the pressure.

By: Linda Sasser

Linda Sasser — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 02:46:19 +0000

Great points Pat and Lindsey! It might help if you could separate management duties and leadership responsibilities in your mind and with your team’s expectations. Manage the system, lead your people. For you “producers and achievers” out there (whom, by the way I love dearly) it will help if you redefined what achievement is.

No doubt leading and managing requires sacrifice. Sacrificing your time due to serving your teammates first over your own 2-do list. However, this investment will pay off as your team becomes more productive due to your leadership, resulting in less 2-does on your list.

Unfortunately, managing isn’t an investment… it’s actually a task that needs to be repeated everyday…

Great article Express. Thanks for posting.

By: Lindsey Sparks

Lindsey Sparks — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:32:47 +0000

I completely agree with Pat! There are days as a manager where I don’t get anything really crossed off my to-do list, and I have to remind myself that doesn’t necessarily mean I didn’t accomplish anything. The people side of managing doesn’t really show up on my to-do list, but that’s obviously essential to my role. It does take a while to adjust to that, and I still have to remind myself of that every so often.

By: Pat Hernandez

Pat Hernandez — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:53:08 +0000

Excellent points. One thing that I constantly struggle with though is my own perception of my productivity. It’s very hard to feel productive when you are spending so much time dealing with the people side of management. It takes quite awhile to come to terms with how the manager position has to measure productivity differently than when one was in the staff position.

By: Scott Keegan

Scott Keegan — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:17:18 +0000

Related to your 2nd and 4th points is not delgating or poor delegation. Some new managers find it hard to move away from doing everything themselves, and then run the risk as being seen by their team as not trusting them by not giving them work.

The other danger is to start delegating work to your team with little or poor direction. I’ve rarely seen training in delegation for new managers but it’s one of the core skills you must master to succeed. It also takes practice to find that right blend of letting your team know what you want from them without telling them how to do the work.

My general tips for good delegation are; set clear timelines for completion, tell them why the work matters and if possible why you’ve asked them to do it, tell them everything they need to know and follow that up in writing, be clear what level of detail and frequency of reports you need.

By: Tiffany Monhollon

Tiffany Monhollon — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:04:58 +0000

It’s interesting how there can be extremes between the first two, even within the same manager. I think balance in this area is key and think it might be a career-long effort!

I’d also say that something to add is the idea that you don’t have to stop asking for help or advice when you move into management. But I think that’s also a hard balance to strike.