7 Things New Managers Must Know (but Seldom Do)

New managers are usually excited, optimistic, determined — and terribly unprepared.

No one wants to be the new manager who fails. Nearly half of them are at risk of failure, according to research from Gartner.

Even worse, new managers often fail their teams. In an Oji Leadership and Harris Poll study, of the employees working for new managers:

• 40% felt “stress or anxiety about going to work” because of working under a first-time manager
• 30% said working for a first-time manager had a negative impact on relationships at work and home
• 35% said they lacked motivation, and
• 20% had trouble sleeping over it.

The Impact of New Managers

Ouch! Who knew ill-prepared leaders could impact so much?

Naturally, no new manager — or veteran one, for that matter — wants employees stressed, unmotivated and ready to quit.

So let’s look at seven things new managers need to know, but seldom are prepared to handle — plus ways to better help get them equipped to take on their new roles.

1. Make New Friends

This is especially important to know — and address — in the absence of new-manager training, as most new managers are promoted from within the ranks.

Once they’re the boss, social relationships change. It’s nearly impossible to be the boss in the office and switch into friend mode when you step outside the office.

“Problems arise when authority becomes clouded by personal relationships,” says management professor and director of Wharton’s Center for Human Resources Peter Cappelli in his research in Knowledge at Wharton.

So there’s no real training for this: It’s actually more like restraining!

As Cappelli puts it: “Happy hours with your co-workers generally involve complaining about your bosses. So if you are the manager and you get invited, you should go. But be prepared to buy the first drinks and then go home. They don’t want you there. Even though you may feel you’re still buddies with these people, the relationship has changed — a lot.”

2. Set Expectations

Some new managers want to maintain the status quo. Others want to shake up everything. Either way, many don’t set the proper expectations, leaving employees to wonder what’s up, what’s next and what’s happened.

Rather than have them test you in some ways or wait to see how you’ll manage, make it clear. Cappelli suggests new managers explain that:

• You won’t micromanage
• You’ll deal with the people above you
• You’re ready to help with problems when they bring them to you, and
• You will give objective, regular feedback.

3. Set Boundaries

This goes hand-in-hand with friendships: As a new manager, you’ll need to set new boundaries. That means you want to let employees know that in your new role, you need to maintain confidentiality. You won’t be able to answer all the questions all the time.

At the same time, you want to ensure them that you are obligated and committed to their confidentiality when they request it.

“You’re not employed as a friend or a therapist. You’re employed as a supervisor, and there are resources that you can direct them to,” Cappelli says in his research. “And trying to fix someone’s life problems can take up most of your time, every day. Plus, being a supervisor with formal authority over people comes with legal obligations, one of which is the duty of care … The big lesson here is knowing when to bring in people who know more about this stuff than you do, like HR — and that’s almost always sooner than you think.”

4. Step In on Conflict

One thing most managers dislike is conflict. And one thing new managers often do is try to avoid it.

First, new managers want to recognize that conflict is inevitable on the team — and sometimes, conflict is a good thing. But new managers must step in and do something most of the time.

Fortunately, that doesn’t mean you need to smooth over or resolve every conflict. What is critical: You handle internal conflict with impartiality. While this isn’t a full tutorial on handling conflict, consider it a guideline until you take a course or read more:

• Acknowledge conflict. Whether you’re in a conflict with an employee or colleague, or you have to help employees at odds, don’t think it will resolve itself. Schedule a meeting quickly to address it.
• Listen and show empathy. You need to hear every side of the situation to fully understand it. Tell everyone you understand where they’re coming from (once you actually do, of course).
• Focus on the issue, not the people. This is especially important when you’re involved in the conflict.
• Encourage collaboration. Ask everyone involved to collaborate on a solution that aligns with your team goals.

5. Run a Meeting Well

In the Oji study, one of employees’ top complaints about new managers was their inability to run a productive meeting. That means, employees felt like their time was wasted — and they got less than they would like to get done.

I recently saw this mantra: No agenda, no attenda.

So take that as your first tip on running productive meetings. Don’t bother if you don’t have — and distribute — an agenda with a purpose, action and expected result. And tell your people that if they see an agenda that doesn’t seem productive for them, they can opt out of the meeting.

6. Make Decisions Quickly

Managers make thousands of decisions a day — To go or for here? Now or later? Turkey or ham? But it’s the decisions that affect your team that matter most at work.

Most managers aren’t trained to make effective decisions. They often rely on experience, their gut or questionable authority.

There are formulas and advice everywhere on making decisions. And a new manager’s abilities to do it well will evolve with time. One of the best pieces of advice is from Jeff Bezos: Make decisions when you have 70% of the information you think you need. If you wait for 90%, it’ll be too late.

Find more tips on making good, fast decisions here.

7. Give Quality Feedback

Feedback, like conflict, is often difficult for new managers to give — especially when they’ve been promoted from the ranks. And especially when it’s negative.

But the simplest advice here is: Give it often. When you step into a management role, tell employees you’ll give them feedback on the spot, in regular meetings and when they request it. Employees should never question where they stand.

And for those who are reluctant to give feedback, heed advice from here.