They say everyone has a desire to be a leader. No matter how confident a person is about their leadership and management skills, sometimes it becomes difficult to handle a team, especially when you’ve just taken charge of an organization or a team.
There are countless leadership qualities that new managers need to master. From the countless, there are some traits they must need to learn and bring to the table when they take charge. This article puts light on the best leadership tips for new managers.
Beneficial Leadership Traits and Attributes for New ManagersÂ
- Prepare before you get promoted: You’ll know when you are going to get a promotion, so organize yourself by learning the specialized leadership skills needed and prepare because you’re going to be the manager who is always in the spotlight.
- Observe to know your team before taking charge: Before you take control, knowing your team is better to manage them. You will not get better chances to observe when you get the promotion because there will be a natural distance between you and your subordinates after you’re promoted.
- Act like a boss and not a friend: You’re a friend to everyone around you when you’re an employee like the others are. When you become a manager, you need to act like a boss because you are the boss now.
- Be open to feedback and criticism: You’ll face more criticism when you’re raised to a higher position because your colleagues are now your subordinates and everyone will not like that about you, harsh but true. It would help if you stay open to criticism and should ask for regular feedback from your seniors and juniors at the same time.
- Learn situational leadership: Different situations require you to act differently. You need to learn the skills to be flexible and act according to the demands of the situation.
- Give respect to get respect: Respect is always earned, and you need to respect people working under you and above you to get the same or higher level of respect. Never disrespect your subordinate because you’re the boss, or you’ll lose your credibility as a leader.
Message from a New Manager on Day One of Taking the Office
A new manager’s best message to colleagues and employees should be teamwork, unity, and respect. The manager must play a role to motivate his/her employees to work as a unit and compete with themselves and not their colleagues. He/she should tell them that every employee is the toughest competitor of themselves, and they need to be the best version of who they are. On the other hand, the team should work as a unit and cooperate to help achieve individual and collective targets. The reason for this message is that it would motivate the employees to work better and cooperate and excel as a team. Try to encourage different team bonding activities.
Mistakes New Managers should avoid
There are two common mistakes every new manager should avoid, and they are:
- Frequent meetings: A new manager should never call frequent meetings with individuals or groups as these meetings may waste precious time. You need to prepare yourself on your own and should know what you need to do as a leader because self-assessment is the best quality.
- Don’t favor your colleagues: You can either be a boss or be a friend because as a friend, you may have to give favors to your colleagues, and as a boss, you cannot afford to give undue favors to anyone.
Leadership Traits Valuable for Long Haul
Two traits of a successful leader that go with them for an indefinite time;
- Leading from the front: Every leader has to be an example for their employees because leading from the front motivates your colleagues to imitate you and give their best. This trait also makes your subordinates respect you more as they think you’re better than them.
- Respect everyone’s opinion: Being a leader doesn’t mean that you don’t have to listen to anyone because you’re sitting at the top. By doing this, you’ll lose respect for yourself in the eyes of your subordinates. It would be best to make your colleagues feel that their voice matters too and their opinion is important in the organization’s decision-making process. This would make you one of the most respectable people in your organization.
What do you think about leadership tips for new managers? Let us know in the comments!