So you got the job as the new manager. Congratulations! Scared? Of course, you are.

Entering a new company in a senior role is one of the most daunting experiences you can undergo during your career. You may experience feelings of intimidation and apprehension due to the heavy duties and relationship building coming your way. Knowing how to behave and getting your team on your side is one of the most crucial elements to surviving as the new manager in a new job. You also want to prove your skills in your chosen field. With our comprehensive guide – we’ll show you the skills and attributes you need to make joining as the new manager a breeze.

Common new manager mistakes

Making the leap to a managerial position (whether as a new employee at a firm or through progression) takes a whole new skill set to ensure your team and seniors trust you. Whilst most managers grasp not bragging about their skills quite easily there are still some subtle mistakes most new managers make which can lead you off to a bad start.

Here are the common mistakes a new manager needs to be aware of:

Leading from a position of power or ego

A new manager who feels the need to dominate all decision making and fellow employees is a manager who feels the need to lead by fear. This can encourage bad practice such as micromanagement – a management style that is often very autocratic and decreases morale. By constantly being the dominant character, especially in a self-promoting manner can come across arrogantly. You might be giving your team the impression you lack the ability to recognize the achievements of other people or let them make decisions of their own.

Not listening to your team and others

Listening isn’t just about hearing what others have to say, it’s being able to respond in the best way possible that takes their ideas into account. By not actively listening to your employees you encourage a lack of respect, which can come back around two-fold. By not listening to your team you decrease your approachability – which increases the likelihood of miscommunication amongst your team.

Not providing feedback

Feedback should be constant with every project you work on. Waiting for a bi-annual review can leave your team in the dark and discourage them if they’re told to improve in areas they assumed they were excelling at. It’s also worth noting that there’s a very fine line between criticism and actionable feedback. By telling your team what’s not working as opposed to how you can fix it is highly discouraging – the last thing you want your team to feel at the workplace.

Not making time for employees

You’ll be stretched thin trying to learn the ropes as the new manager, however, if one of your employees requires help then schedule a date and time you’re free to train them as opposed to refusing the offer to help. In terms of being approached for personal issues – it can be hard to relate to every single situation going on in someone’s personal life, but simply being there to listen and offering your time can help an employee feel listened to and will increase your approachability.

Skills and attributes needed to survive as a new manager

Build decent relationships with your seniors

Like any job you pursue – having a good relationship with your seniors is important for relationship building, career development, and job satisfaction. By setting a good impression earlier on you’ll be highly remembered for being a positive, hard worker and inspire trust amongst people within your workplace.

Get to know your team on a personal level

Dismantle the wall between employee and boss by asking your employees about their day, exciting things outside of work, friends, and family. When new managers take the time to do this it eliminates the strict persona that comes with being a manager and helps people feel at ease.

Clarify your expectations from your team (and your boss)

By setting expectations of your role and what you aim to achieve – you give your boss an idea of how to direct you and go about progressing in your new role. Your boss will understand how daunting managing people can be and can help diffuse your worries.

Adam Chapman is a Marketing Executive for Armstrong Appointments – a leading South African recruitment agency with over 10 years in the field. They recruit for roles ranging from Engineering to Mining and are passionate about placing the right talent with the right companies.

PS. Editor’s Note: If you are a new manager and struggle with your international team talk to us.

I sat on the train from Switzerland to France and my stomach gave me a signal. The four border officers who checked passports and went through passenger’s luggage seemed odd. I was on a different continent. In a different setting. I was in a novel. I wondered if I could explain myself in French. But no one wanted to know about my travel habits. I look white. I look the part even though I travel like a bag packer sometimes.

What was going on? I did not want to turn around. Probably this was an uncomfortable situation for the person who was questioned. I assumed it was a refugee or someone who looked like one.

When I go to “Europe” now, there is often a slight anxiety and feeling of worry when I am traveling on public transportation. Switzerland is not part of the European Union even though it is in the middle of Europe. Many people travel through Switzerland to get to Italy for example. In Switzerland, public transportation is clean and effective. Everyone uses it. We don’t really need cars. In other European countries, public transportation is for the underprivileged and the regular commuters.

The grass seems greener in France

Early February I thought that the grass looked greener in France than in Switzerland. In the literal sense. It was an observation. In Switzerland, I felt a few small signs that spring was approaching but in hindsight, this was an illusion created by flower shops around Valentine’s day. Spring was in the air but we were still not there yet. One reason why I could have perceived the grass greener in France was that I did not have WiFi and in Switzerland, I tend to read emails or check my social media on the train. I am usually too busy to see the grass outside. Has that occurred to you lately? And it is such a shame that we run on our robotic mode, are in our head most of our days and do not see the beauty of the nature around us anymore. This morning I sat on lake Zurich, watched the mountains and a Swan family. It was magic. And even though I could go to the lake every day I hardly take the time to actually see.

Perception versus Reality

On another trip to Munich I saw police officers circling a man. I thought that maybe he was a refugee without papers but when I observed the scene a bit longer I noticed that he got up with the help of the policemen. They held him so he could walk properly. Maybe he attempted suicide or maybe he was just dizzy and unwell. What this experience reminded me of was that we tend to make fast judgment calls. We don’t take time to observe. We prepare to run. We are on hyper-alert most of the time. Like / Don’t like / Comment / Don’t comment / Buy / Don’t buy.

This is a sign of the times. And it is a trap. Be mindful when you notice it.

Constructivism and Confirmation Bias

Our perception is influenced by our inner landscape. If you are already alerted and if you are expecting a terrorist around the corner everything your experience will be tainted by this idea. You will suffer from confirmation bias.

When I was out of Zurich I experimented with perception. In Munich, I was nice to everyone I met and people were nice to me. They were supportive and understood my requests and wishes. Or I was under pressure and apologized for being pushy explaining that I was delayed and would get nervous around presenting. I noticed first resistance and I could have been in an egotistical complaint mode but then the receptionist softened when I explained that I tend to get nervous before a talk if I don’t have enough mental space.

Training my observation skills changed my perception over the last 10 years. Being able to communicate my needs and wants (and a fair bit of self-discovery, progressive muscle relaxation, and meditation) helped me to stay calm and friendly in formerly stressful situations. I learned those skills and methods during my coaching education and working with many clients over the last years.

Now, I would like to teach you those skills and methods in our RockMe! program and especially in the RockMe! Retreat.

The RockMe! Retreat 2018

The RockMe! Retreat helps to change your inner landscape. I will work with you towards broadening your perspective. I will teach you practices and methods to move out of the reactive mode. This will improve your leadership capability and also your relationships at work and at home.

Sign up here for receiving more insights about the RockMe! Retreat.

I mentioned in my post “Simplify Your Digital Life – On Reducing Complexity” that I learned a few more principles about how I work with the companies I encounter as a small business and private individual. Maybe this helps you to improve your customer experience too.

Reduced Clutter Equals Better Choices

When you consider simplifying your life there are certain standards that you expect. One example that comes to my mind is a website for a seemingly simple transaction such as buying a ticket or sending flowers. In both cases, those websites were overly full of information and had too many options. I probably just clicked what I thought was right, did not read the fine print and made mistakes.

Treat your Costumers like Intelligent Humans

Another site annoyed me in the last part of the buying process where I had invested already about half an hour selecting and declining additional options because they did not tell me that the delivery cost would be added at the end of the transaction. You probably think that this is normal and that I should not be surprised. I understand the principle, but what I did not like was that the delivery cost about 100% of the product. That was way out of proportion and did not make sense to me. I would have expected that there is a standard service with a delivery (a bunch of flowers). Maybe it’s my inexperience with such transactions but I gave feedback. I got a reply but it did not help…but at least I did not have to speak to a robot again.

Consumers should not be treated like idiots. I am happy to spend money but I want to feel that my money is well spent and in a lot of those cases I wasted either time or money because of lame processes or lack of customer service. I often wonder then why employees take no pride in their work, why they are not trying to make their customers happy, why they are not communicating better. The only explanation I have is our corporate culture. If we want to create amazing customer experiences, we also have to create better employee experiences. I think we also need to give our employees more freedom to make decisions to support the customers, like the lady who helped me at the SNCF counter. I also think we need to hire Generation X customer service representatives into shared service centers, who do not treat a 45-year-old like their best friend or their worst enemy and who have the patience to explain a process step by step.

As a Customer Give Feedback

These days, if I come across a bad website or a bad email marketing newsletter I give feedback. I know that I have not been asked to provide feedback, but I know that most of the time it helps me a lot. There are so many misunderstandings in written communication, we all come from different places and for most of us we feel challenged to communicate in our mother tongue, let alone in a second or third language.

Customer Service of Humans Tops Everything

I was annoyed by SNCF, the Novotel, and other sites because they did not allow me easily to reverse a transaction that I made in good faith. I lost money and time. While I am writing this post I am sitting in the same hotel that had annoyed me a few months back. I did not book it. There is no better option either. However, this time I was not expecting service and I was wondering if anyone would talk to me about my 1-star review on TripAdvisor. I even did not have a functioning credit card as a guarantee for them. BUT my experience is amazing. I needed help as I am unwell. I got free medicine and a fresh lemon for tea. The kitchen staff gave me lemons. I was treated friendly and could choose the floor and have a great view now. I am almost considering to reverse the bad review…but then logging in to Tripadvisor took too long again. Maybe I leave it there for a little longer to keep them on their feet.

Kind regards

Angie Weinberger