Gentlemen, what are your suggestions to new managers? Dos and don’ts? Started my new job yesterday and I would like to set my team up for success.

46 comments

  3. Do everything in your power to make sure your position is no longer needed because you empower your team to manage themselves.

  4. Build authentic connections, you need to get in their corner. They need to know you are competent and fair.

    Understand each person will need different attention but really try to setup 1 on 1s with good specific feedback based on their goals. Not just negative micromanaging.

    Find your experts/ high achievers and champion them, make them feel appreciated.

  5. Have regular feedback sessions and write down actions to take from them.

    You need to listen to your team and hear the things they want to complain about. What’s stopping them from getting their job done productively, and do you have the power to fix those problems?

    My team has a session every two weeks and it’s very effective. Being able to escalate complaints and make sure people feel listened to makes them not only productive but also happy.

  6. Management isn’t about running things or being in control, but rather about being responsible for things. Show your crew that you take that responsibility seriously and they will do anything that you ask.

    And if they don’t, find someone who will.

  7. If you have a meeting and you don’t know what to say going around and doing wins and wisdom is a good way to get people speaking

  8. Know that you don’t have to know it all about each person’s job; they are the experts in what they do. You are the manager not the micro manager

  9. You can always go from being a strict manager to being a soft one, but you can never go from being a soft manager to a strict one. That being said, I’m a huge proponent of managing though kindness and understanding. I would recommend reading some of the books by Gary Vaynerchuk.

  10. *”you think you have to be a prick to get things done, and you actually think that’s a new idea.” – patch adams*

    don’t be that guy.

    ​

    and respect people’s need for mental health days. people don’t get nearly enough “just because” time off, and they suffer because of it. so don’t go hardcore mode and expect others to do the same out of “loyalty”.

    don’t be elon musk. for the love of all that’s holy, the world needs a lot of things, but the last thing it needs is another elon musk in charge of anything.

  11. If someone fucks up don’t put them on blast, let them know that you know they fucked up, no need to humiliate them, and give a few pointers on how they can improve.

  12. Most likely they have been a team before you came along so I would just see how they work first before nit picking it all then have individual meetings with them

  13. Read and watch Simon Sinek materials. Probably the best modern speakers out there in terms of good leadership.

  14. Don’t be afraid to let the team teach you. They know the company better than you do at the moment. Acknowledging that is not a weakness.

  15. Look at all the good managers you’ve had and try to replicate the good things they did. Look at all the bad managers you’ve had and make sure you’re not like them.

    Respect your team members and remember everyone is different with differing needs. Play to peoples’ strengths and don’t force someone to get good at something which doesn’t come naturally to them, they’d only ever be average at it. Encourage them to excel in whatever skillset(s) are natural to them.

    Don’t duck away from difficult conversations. The longer you leave it, the harder things get for you, the person and possibly the rest of the team. Be respectful when dealing with issues but you can still assert yourself at the same time.

    Finally remember to praise good work and to thank people sincerely and regularly

  16. If stuff that the old manager did works just leave them be. You don’t have to “leave a mark” by changing the whole schedule or change policies just to feel like you have control and power over the people on your team.

  17. Talk to the team learn their expectations of you and tell them your realistic expectations of them. And keep those talks in your mind throughout your career

  18. In some ways it’s not unlike being a parent. There may be times when they’ll test you to see what you’ll allow, but if you understand that it’s possible to be both firm and fair and you treat people with respect, you should be OK.

    Don’t expect anything of them that you wouldn’t expect of yourself. Be willing to admit when you’re wrong… being promoted doesn’t mean you stopped being human.

    People can change their ways, and people may surprise you sometimes, but in general, you probably will get a sense fairly quickly of who’s “on the team” and who isn’t. The person who’s a half hour late once because their car wouldn’t start and their kid threw up on the way to day care isn’t the same as the person who strolls in 10 minutes late every day with Starbucks in hand.

    If you’re in a position to train as well as manage, as a boss of mine once said, “you can train hard and manage easy, or you can train easy and manage hard”.

    Best of luck.

  19. Don’t use phrases like ‘set up my team for success’, it makes you sound like a dick.

    Talk to your team, don’t be distant, be approachable. I’m going to perform better for you and be more open and honest with you if you’re one of us rather than one of them and we can get along. I’ll take advice from someone I get along with much better than someone who is just a manager.

    Give credit to your team, accept when they screw up and deal with it effectively so it doesn’t happen again.

    Basically be a part of the team rather than the team being a thing you manage.

  20. Servant Leadership is a model that makes sense to me and details some of the things people have listed here. If you’re interested:

    https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/servant-leadership.asp

    The basic idea is that your job is to serve the employees and the organization, not to rule it but to make sure everyone has what they need to be both effective and content. You do so by making sure that the various needs of all stakeholders are met. You inspire leadership in others and practice empathy in interactions.

  21. One of the first things the Marine Corps taught me about leadership is that you have to be seen doing the job. That doesn’t mean everything has to go their way, but they need to know that you went down swinging.

    Second, feedback is important but HOW you provide feedback is equally important. Compliments should be public. Criticism should be in private.

    Third, you need the respect of your team. This gets to the second thing the Marine Corps taught me about leadership. A good leader never asks someone to do something that they cannot or will not do for themselves. That means you have to get in the trenches with your team and do the job with them. You don’t have to do their job with them all day every day, but you do need to first prove that you CAN hang with them so that you can help when things get ugly.

  22. Listen to your subordinates as much as your superiors. Don’t try and change things just to make your mark, and don’t try and change anything till you have a grasp of how it works.

    The fact that you’re looking for advice is in itself good, you’ll be a better manager for having that open attitude.

  23. Don’t institute any immediate changes. Just shut up and watch how things works.

    You have zero clue how the day to day functions. Don’t have a ego. Ask people who’ve been there a long time for their opinions. Regardless of their position.

  24. Don’t play favorites.

    Don’t be “friends” with your underlings. You can be friendly with them, but being friends with any of them can lead to favoritism or even just perceived favoritism.

    You job as a manager is to make sure the job gets done, and that the job gets done correctly and in a timely manner. And you do this by making sure the right people are doing the right work. If one person is better at one task than someone else, assign them to do this task and/or have them take on a mentorship role for others deficient in that task.

    And most importantly, lead by example.

  25. Trust your team. Ask them what they need to get the job done and remove any obstacles preventing them from getting the job done.

  26. Go in hard and make immediate changes, treat them like it is their first day on the job, for someone immediately so they know you are tough /s

  27. Disclaimer: I don’t believe a person’s worth is (solely) determined by their ability to produce/work. People are more than their jobs. The rest of this post can come off kind of shitty.

    So there are two type of management jobs in my experience (and that of my friends). There is management of highly skilled teams, wherein everyone has gotten to their position through either years of experience, education, or both, and there there is management of positions that require little to no training (weeks tops). Some management positions combine the two, but they are often either separate or heavily sided toward one or the other.

    A lot of the advice in this thread is great for the former. High achievers are usually best served by enabling them and getting out of their way. The advice about appreciating them and creating an environment they want to stay in (and staying competitive with market wages) is gunna save you a lot of headache and time trying to replace them.

    This thread doesn’t address the latter type of management as well in my opinion. These are the positions where you’re managing box stores, restaurants, etc. Generally, your employees are in the minimum wage to $15/hr range with limited to no benefits or PTO.

    The reality of those types of positions is that they are barely earning a living wage and they are hard to motivate because all of your tools are fear based. There are no bonuses and very limited opportunities for advancement. Their schedules are generally shitty, involving weekends, including holidays, and can rotate on a weekly basis. This is why you see most of these managers become the tyrant types.

    There is also the problem of what type of workers enter these positions. I break this down into the transients and the long haulers. The transients part timers are typically your high schoolers and people currently in school for better jobs/careers. They’re a mixed bag, but won’t be the core of your team anyway. The long haulers are a bigger concern. Long haulers are working these positions for a reason. The reason is either circumstance, ability, or problem.

    Circumstance (which isn’t always their fault) usually means that they come from backgrounds of extremely limited means and couldn’t access the education or training to get something better. There is also the subgroup in this category of people that had kids too young and are now too exhausted to pursue training and/or cash strapped with their kids to support. These tend to be the best worker category and generally make up your supervisor positions.

    Ability is more complicated. These are the workers in these positions because anything more complicated is beyond what they can handle. This can range from people with real, severe, disabilities, which can sometimes require the accompaniment of another worker, to people that are just “slow”. These can also be great workers, but they tend to thrive with easy repetitive tasks and can struggle otherwise.

    Problem workers are usually in these positions because they have some fundamental, core issue that makes them tough to manage and you want to avoid them if possible. These are the terminally immature types. 40 going on 14. Plus or minus a drug/alcohol problem. Nothing is their fault, etc, etc. We all know this type of person. They’re a nightmare to manage.

    These are all HUGE generalizations and you can run into any type of person in any type of position. Human beings are complicated and these are just my anecdotal observations.

  29. Don’t let upper management suck the life out of you, keep fighting for your team. If they’re happy, they’re productive.

  30. Don’t be an asshole. Do be understanding that people deal with shit outside of work that directly impacts how they function at work.

  31. Make sure your team knows what they are supposed to be working on and have a reasonable plan for doing it, then give them the time to do their job. If they come to you because something’s come up then help get them what they need to get back on track.

    Being a manager is very *interrupt* driven. It’s hard to know what you will be doing because you’re just constantly dealing with what comes up.

    Some people want constant feedback, others want to be left alone, you sort of have to figure out for each person the best way to keep them moving without practically pairing with them on one extreme or nearly ignoring them on the other.

    The piece of advice that sticks with me the most is that *’If you don’t tell someone what their job is, they will make up their own job responsibilities and they will think they are very good at them.’* I’ve found over the years that this is quite true, reminding people the parts of their job they don’t like or reigning them in when they self appoint themselves in charge of something and start to defy management because they think it’s their job.

  32. Ask your team what’s broken, what’s needless busy work and see if you can fix/get rid of it.

  34. Build your people up and be their bullshit deflector, don’t knock them down and saddle them with more bullshit. Listen and learn from them.

    Totally spot on feedback here about servant leadership.

    Read the book “managing up”

  35. Been an operations manager for almost 10 years and this is what I’ve found out so far:

    1. Take care of your people and everything follows suit. Listen. People are people and they have stuff come up.

    2. Make sure as you delegate you either work alongside or do your portion when you can. Keep yourself “fresh” knowing how to do all duties.

    3. If you’re going to have conversations regarding bad performance, have the conversation behind close doors. If its good, let the comment fly in front of everyone.

    4. Your employees WILL watch you at all times take it how you want. Be an example.

    5. Set up proper expectations for everyone. Everyone should know what they’re supposed to be doing. If they don’t have a role, assign it. “Ok John, everyday before you leave I need you to…” Reiterate and follow up.

    6. Trust but verify, have confidence in your team about tasks but spot check every once in a while randomly. Keeps the machine running.

    7. Create proper procedures or continue to maintain the ones that are already in place. Your employees will sometimes have suggestions, depending on the situation you can change it IF it makes sense. Otherwise keep it.

    8. Write stuff down, YOU WILL get bombarded with requests from customers, employees, emails, your boss, meetings, along with maintenance of the business. Have some sort of system.

    9. If employees are having issues with a customer, involve yourself to lower tensions. Unfortunately most of the time you’ll have to take care of the customer but have the conversation with the employee, “that extra 5% that Karen wants isn’t worth your sanity man, for those lower situations just give it to them. It’s not a big deal and I don’t you going crazy. Thank you for dealing with that customer.”

    10. Recognize employees that are going above and beyond. Sometimes yearly raises are out of your control but if you have input then distribute accordingly.

    11. Make sure you start practicing hard conversations. There will be a time and place where you need to have tough conversations, telling an employee to dress accordingly to policy, they’re late, you need to write them up after several instances that are recorded, on bad behavior, inhouse disagreements etc etc treat everyone fair in this regard and this follows suit with expectations.

    12. The only “don’t” I’m going to leave you with is:

    YOU HAVE NO POWER. THE ONLY REASON YOU HAVE A JOB OR A GOOD PERFORMING BRANCH IS BECAUSE OF YOUR PEOPLE. YOU’RE NOT ABOVE ANYTHING OR ANYONE. Live by that and you’ll work everyday for you, your purpose and your squad. Honor your squad.

  36. Empower people to make decisions. Build group trust. No micro management.

    Figure out people’s strengths and let them work on things that play into that strength. But this also means letting them work on stuff they like. And work on challenges for growth.

    You are the most important person to get them promotions in the bigger org.

    So only talk positively to the higher ups as much as possible.

    If your team members grow they probably eventually will leave the team. That’s good.

  37. 1. Set clear standards.

    2. Enforce those standards.

    3. Provide regular feedback on how each person is meeting/not meeting/exceeding those standards.

    4. Quietly meet or exceed those standards yourself.

  38. My biggest rules whenever I’ve been in management is to never ask anyone to do anything that I won’t do myself. And always have their backs.

  39. I’m a Senior Construction Superintendent and have an office team of 7, along with anywhere from 75 – 300 tradesmen on the job, at any given time. These are things I’ve learned over 30+ years:

    1. Be a leader, not a boss.

    A leader leads from the front. A boss pushes from the back. Leaders solve problems. That’s your #1 job. That includes finding ways to make their work easier, more efficient, safe, and as enjoyable as possible.

    2. Show appreciation for your team, and for individual performance. Tell them they knocked it out of the park. Thank them at the end of their shift.

    3. ASK people to fill in – never order. If they can’t, then you pick up the slack.

    4. Talk to your team. Every. Single. Member.
    Remember, there is never one single person more important than another. However, stay professional. Cultivating friendships outside of work can wreak havoc on the clock.

    5. Finish your work before you jump into theirs. Always be an extra hand. Do for them and they’ll perform for you and won’t want to let you down.

    6. Look ahead for issues that may arise. Mitigate the contributing factors.

    7. Appreciate and employ someone’s strengths, and train to strengthen their weakness. Cultivate their skills.

    If they don’t know how to do something, or they do it poorly; let them/show them how to do it until they get it right.

    8. Encouragement goes a long way. Showing faith in your team members goes even further.

    9. Sometimes you have to let people go. There are going to be those who can’t be motivated, no matter how hard you try. It’s not personal; it’s business.

    10. Reflect the attitude that you want to see in them. Positivity breeds Positivity.

  40. Recall that even though you are their boss, youre also the new guy, so tread lightly at first. establish your cred by being ‘real”, as in nice and reasonable. think of yourself as the new step parent, establish yourself as a good person before you try to parent them.

  41. Treat people like humans, don’t micromanage those who don’t need it, show a vested interest in what they do, hold them accountable, and go to bar for them.

  42. My philosophy that has been working so far is that you are not so much leading a team as taking care of a garden.

  44. 1. Not everyone is you
    2. Do what you say you’re going to do
    3. Be fair and consistent
    4. Be honest and genuine. Don’t BS people
    5. Sometimes being direct is ok and needed
    6. Remember people are human and they make mistakes. It’s not the end of the world.
    7. What’s important to you, will be important to your people as long as you make it known.
    8. If you want to improve something, find a way to measure it.
    9. Have a vision- make it known.
    10. Have empathy, but don’t get walked on

  45. Stepping into a management role (especially if you’ve been promoted up from the teams, for high performance) is about teaching and learning.

    If you’ve lucked out and been handed a team that’s successful, let them teach you why the team is performing, and continue to maintain the leadership practices of the person you replaced.

    If you’re been handed a team that’s struggling and you start wishing you were leading clones of yourself, let me tell you a secret: in the vast majority of cases(in my industry, anyway) your employees *want to do a good job.*

    So if they aren’t delivering, and you think you would, in the same position, do better work… they probably lack either the skillset to complete the tasks, or the organizational clarity to understand what tasks need completing.

    As a leader, it’s your job to make sure they have access to the resources that let them improve their skills, and the guidance that let them know what needs doing.

    If you’ve never seen it before, watch Dave Marquet’s “greatness” video, it’s 10 minutes and it gets at the heart of what I’m describing.

  46. Find strategies to do the following consistently:
    Know your people
    Talk about performance
    Help them develop new skills
    Push work down

    I use one on ones, a specific feedback model, coaching, and delegation to do these things.

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