10 Rookie Manager Mistakes

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Rookie Manager Mistakes

Business owners have had to make many internal changes to manage this lagging economy. With all the layoffs and downsizing, many employees have been asked to step into roles they have little or no training for and, in some cases, no inherent skills. Managing is hard work – motivation is even more difficult.

When times were good, many managers and supervisors were promoted into their jobs simply because they were the best at performing a set of specific tasks among a team of people.

However, becoming a manager requires different skills, skills that the recently promoted employee may never have been trained to do. No wonder so many mistakes are made.

This week Diane, along with Matt Hedstrom from LPI, talk about the typical mistakes managers make and things that can be done to prevent the following from happening.

Here are 10 typical mistakes made by first-time supervisors:

1. They persist in still doing their old jobs, rather than their new ones. As a result, they don’t delegate; they burn themselves out while the people who report to them can’t grow and thus feel unmotivated.

2. Out of a sense of insecurity, they sometimes view smart new people as competition, rather than assets. As a result, this de-motivates the people who could well represent their best hope for making the team a success.

3. They can be so afraid of making a mistake that they make no decision at all. By their indecisiveness, they lose the respect of their people – and with the loss of respect comes the loss of any chance to motivate people.

4. They fail to consider the consequences of their promotion on their former relationships with teammates. You can’t be best friend with a subordinate.

5. As a result of these factors, new managers play favorites based on former friendships. That destroys the morale and motivation of everyone else.

6. They see themselves as crusaders. They represent their people against the company, which is bound to end in disaster – or the other way around, which is guaranteed to turn everyone into an enemy unmotivated to perform.

7. When pressured to act unethically, they’re afraid to take a stand and do the right thing. Loss of integrity in the eyes of the workers will inevitably result in de-motivation.

8. They fail to adequately communicate laterally other managers, as well as up to their bosses and down to their own team. To be properly motivated, people can’t be kept in the dark like mushrooms.

9. They fail to reach out for help, thinking they have to be all-knowing. Admitting one doesn’t have all the answers can be an important factor in gaining respect.

10. They’re either too direct or too indirect in their dealings with their subordinates. They have a hard time finding a middle ground.