spearheadtrainingblog.co.uk

Making the change from being a team member to being the team manger can create a great deal of anxiety in the newly promoted manager. After all you need to gain the respect of the team whilst ensuring results are still achieved and targets met. If you are a new manager and haven’t had any management training it can be hard knowing what type of relationship you need to have. In this article from Spearhead Training we look at some of the do’s (and don’ts) for managing.

Some new managers try to gain respect by adopting an autocratic approach becoming bossy and domineering. Others go to the other extreme, “mothering” their team and trying to protect them. Perhaps because they haven’t had management training such managers don’t know that treating your team members like children will make them behave that way – which just means trouble, either now or later. A better relationship to aim for is that of being direct and honest with your team members. An honest relationship allows you to address problems as they arise and then move on. If you don’t take this approach the problems won’t get resolved, they’ll just get bigger.

One question people attending management training often ask is “How much distance should I create between the team and myself?” It is not a simply question to answer. Keeping the balance between being close and remaining distant is hard because situations are constantly changing. Perhaps the most useful question for all new managers to ask themselves is “In the present situation, how would I feel most comfortable if I were a team member?”

Using this question regularly will guide you to making the right decisions, provided you are objectively assessing the needs of the situation and not simply making yourself feel more comfortable. Be aware that whilst it is natural for the newly promoted manager to want to use the team for their own emotional support (leadership can be lonely), this approach can seriously backfire. Instead aim to fulfil your need for fellowship by using interaction with people of the same or similar level. Sharing concerns on a management training course with other managers from different departments or organisations can be useful and reassuring fro the newly promoted manager.

Have you ever wanted a tailored management training course but been frustrated because you haven’t got the budget to commission the writing of a bespoke management training programme? Well Spearhead Training’s new “Pick and Mix” management training modules are the perfect solution.

We have used our 28 years experience to design a series of management training and business skills modules that can be put together in any combination you like to form your own unique training course that can be delivered at a time and venue of your choice.

Simply pick any four modules from the pick and mix selection to create your perfect one-day tailored training course and then leave the rest to us. We will use your choices to design a balanced course consisting of tutor input, exercises and skill development sessions. What’s more, this approach will cost you significantly less than a bespoke course.

There are currently over  50 modules to choose from, and we will continue to add more modules over time.

Ask any successful manager what they found hard in their first management role and invariably time management will come fairly close to the top of the list. It is not easy trying to balance the various demands people – including your team – make on your time whilst trying to get your own work done. If you are new to the role of management and haven’t had good management training you can find yourself working longer and longer hours and getting more and more frustrated. This article, based on the experiences of Spearhead’s top management trainers and the principles taught in our management training courses, provides some guidance.

First, if you are new to your role you need to appreciate that efficiency usually improves with experience. Don’t be too hard on yourself if, in the early days, you do take a little longer to do things that other (more experienced) managers do with apparent ease. All managers attending our management training courses agree that moving into their new management role required dedicated hard work.

As you start to get to grips with your new role you need to beware of becoming the type of manager who boasts of working exceptionally long hours every day with never any time off. This type of manager is clearly demonstrating that they cannot manage themselves let alone manage anyone else! What they should do is get themselves some good time management training, but they don’t because they never have the time!

The starting point for time management is for you to assess what you need to do – and what you can delegate to the team. Never fall into the trap of thinking you have to do everything yourself – if you fail to delegate you will fail to manage.

So having delegated effectively, the next thing you need to do is to distinguishes between the urgent and the important tasks; scheduling your discretionary time to ensure those that are important are progressed in a timely manner. Good managers know how to set and stick to self-imposed, as well as other-imposed, deadlines. Failure to do this results in the self-made crisis, and is stressful for you and for your team!

A final word of warning – remember the KIS principle and don’t become such a “time management fanatic” that you end up wasting time by trying to micro-manage it.

One aspect of time management newly promoted managers can struggle with is avoiding procrastination, particularly in the area of making decisions. There are always plenty of reasons not to take a decision, reasons to wait for more information, more options, more opinions… But this type of procrastination not only wastes managerial time but also leads to missed opportunities. Successful managers display a consistent bias for action; after all, the only manager who never makes a mistake is the manager who doesn’t do anything! Get into the habit of making decisions in a timely manner; use decision making techniques to help you, and if you find yourself procrastinating be honest with yourself about your reasons why then set yourself a deadline to solve those problems and make that decision you’ve been putting off.