To ask advice on moving into a new managerial role?

[SandraOhh]

Just after some advice/a good slap of sense. I'm moving roles and organisations soon and I'm very nervous. I'll be entering an existing team as their line manager and overseeing a service (haven't met them yet). In my current role, I moved upwards from a junior role into what is now my first managerial position, so it was nerve wracking, but I was around people I already knew, had existing supportive relationships with, and had the foundations in place in terms of knowledge about the organisation etc. Just seeking some positive words of advice from those of you who have been there and done this before. The imposter syndrome is kicking in and it's ruining my ability to be excited and optimistic.

Do not take the first few months personally. There will be a settling in period for the team where some will struggle with the change to a new manager. Some will push boundaries to see where they are. Some will say you should do b if you suggest a. Some will say you should do a if you suggest b. It is not you. It's not them. It's just the anxiety of change. Stay confident and politely firm until natural relationships grow.

I did this a few times but with fairly large teams doing different roles with a supervisor or manager of each reporting to me. I found it good practise to shadow an employee from each role or team to get the lowdown on what was happening - basically spend a day or half day or even an hour as required with them and get to know what they did, how they felt about things, what was good & worked for their role and and what if anything they felt could be improved. Sometimes I found it was the simplest of things that made a difference - one was create a couple of parking spaces for two of the teams that needed to drop stuff into the office on a regular basis - they had to park a street or so away otherwise - but the staff car park was a nightmare, so they were wasting a lot of time over this. Entirely this employee's suggestion but I shifted the bins further over, created an extra space and reallocated 1 visitor space, all within the first week I was there despite it having been suggested for the previous 2 managers....instantly I had that side of the business 'on side', which was helpful as I had a rather nasty supervisor problem to deal with elsewhere (long story)

This is quite a good resource

www.askamanager.org/

I'm a manager and often jet into fully formed teams as a manager (I specialise in difficult teams, with poor morale and high turnover). The most important thing I was told and always use is that when going in as a manger:
Respect your team from the start until they do something to lose it. Expect no respect from your team, you have to earn it.
Use their expertise, learn from them. Show them you understand you don't know everything and you're eager to learn it. Don't ask them to do anything you arent willing to. Thank them for their work. Set your boundaries early, and communicate them clearly. If you have any firm rules I like to vocalise those in an initial meeting, that way no one can claim ignorance. (So one of mine is that no matter how frustrated or upset people might get I don't tolerate swearing, to me or to each other).
It can also be really useful to have one to one meetings after about a month so you can have a general chat through everyone's feelings (work relevant!) and get to know their development desires etc.

Everyone always says "you're not there to be their friend" and I hate that sentiment. No, you're not there to be bff's and lose your objectivity, but if you get to know them as people you'll be a much more effective and efficient manager who knows how to motivate the best out of your team.

Thank you for the advice. Not taking things personally is a very good point which I'll bear in mind.

@Keladrythesaviour how do you set your boundaries e.g. 1-1 or in a team meeting setting?

Personally I think boundary setting is about standing firm when they’re tested, rather than laying them out at the start in a formal way. I tend towards being lovely to everyone and sometimes there will be someone who thinks that means I’m a pushover, but they soon find out that I’m not!

It’s worth thinking about where your boundaries and values are before you start, so you don’t get distracted. Don’t make massive changes from the off, take time in those first weeks to understand what’s being done, how and why and then change if needed. It pisses people off if things are changed just so a new manager can show they’re “making an impact”. Be decisive but consult your team members as the experts who can give you the info.

My preference is to have 1-1 intros with every single member of the team from top to bottom - find out who they are, what they’re doing. I’ve just taken on a team of 45 (I’m in charge of 3 teams, all have a team leader I manage) so getting round to them all is a bit of a mission but it’s well worth it. In a couple of weeks I’ve already been able to solve several little problems that seems like small things to the team leaders but meant an awful lot to the team members and were very simple resolve (like the car parking space things mentioned unthread).

I also think you can get a long way by being human rather than trying to “be in charge”. Definitely don’t take things personally. People will see you as being in charge simply because you are, and some people will just resent whomever happens to be in that chair!

Thanks @Doorhandleghost. I do try and remain as human as possible. I'll be observing the first few weeks rather than changing anything.

So one of mine is that no matter how frustrated or upset people might get I don't tolerate swearing, to me or to each other

Do you work with adults or in a school @Keladrythesaviour?

I’m a senior manager in a large company and I agree with everything @Doorhandleghost said. Regular one to ones and take on board how your team are feeling as opposed to marching in and laying down the law - that’s how you win a team’s respect.

I have done it both ways and going from being 'one of the gang' to being 'the boss' was much harder for me then just being 'the new boss'. When you are the new boss you can just fake it till you make it.

Many years ago a very experienced colleague taught me about the attitude ladder. And i use it all the time when i am worried. Step 1 is openly hostile and the middle is utterly indifferent and the top is oh my god they love me. Whereever you start with the new team just aim to move up one rung at a time. Dont expect to leap from 1-10. It helped me to be calm and patient and realistic. Some members will warm to you immediately and others will take longer. Be warm, genuine, fair, mean what you say and say what you mean-and it will all be fine.

@SandraOhh

Thank you for the advice. Not taking things personally is a very good point which I'll bear in mind.

@Keladrythesaviour how do you set your boundaries e.g. 1-1 or in a team meeting setting?

In a team meeting usually to start with. If I've got problems later with individuals I'll address that one to one.

@RosieGuacamosie

So one of mine is that no matter how frustrated or upset people might get I don't tolerate swearing, to me or to each other

Do you work with adults or in a school @Keladrythesaviour?

I’m a senior manager in a large company and I agree with everything @Doorhandleghost said. Regular one to ones and take on board how your team are feeling as opposed to marching in and laying down the law - that’s how you win a team’s respect.

Adults, mainly in logistics and retail.

I love that @spicychickenwing, such a helpful way of looking at things. I know that it will help me to remain realistic! Thanks

Don’t try and be friends with them. Some people will see this as a sign of weakness and will try to walk all over you. Also be aware that there may be some people who focus more on office politics than their actual job and will use a change in management as their opportunity to score points over other members of staff. I’ve been on both sides of this. It’s amazing how childish some people can be.

Thanks @Littlekittyscupcake

Try not to be 'the new broom'. Obviously be clear what you expect re work but in terms of peripheral things and team culture I would just watch and wait for a bit before deciding what you need to address or change. Good luck

Remember that change is really hard for people, maybe particularly at this time when there has been a lot of change and uncertainty.

Thanks all, yes good point about change being tricky for people and needing some time for things to settle.