Manager in a new department - Any tips to make a good start?

[ababo]

I have been in my curent department for 10 years, developing from being a specialist to a manager role. I will soon be starting as a new manager in another department in the company. Unlike for when I got my current role I don't know most of the people I will be managing, and the team is much bigger than I currently have.

I like to be prepared! So I was hoping others can help calm my 'first day' nerves by sharing tips and tricks of what worked for them when moving to a new manager role, or what did you wish you would have done. Any questions I should ask? Any good ideas!

So far I have had a first meeting with my new manager, and I have been invited to a leadership team meeting in the coming weeks to meet the leadership team before I officially start in role.

I know this isn't really what you want to hear, but I think keep it really simple rather than looking for elaborate tricksy things bullshit management ideas culled from Linked In to create an illusion that isn't the real you. That being said a bit of fake it til you make it is brilliant too, go into all meetings/conversations with a positive attitude and behaving as though you are confident and totally in control and fully entitled to the position you hold, even if underneath you're an anxious mess, raging imposter syndrome etc, everyone gets it no matter how experienced or senior or respected they are, trust me! The only people that never get nervous or worry they're not up to the job are, IMO arrogant dickheads bordering on sociopaths, everyone else is nervous on their first day!

You may not have managed a team this big before but you presumably have lots of experience of being managed and having new manager, think about how people you admire behave and copy that. So for e.g. be pleasant and polite, try and learn names/faces (easier these days over teams) and take time to get to know your team, do more listening than talking in your first few weeks, don't be afraid to ask lots of questions. I think the biggest mistake people make as new managers is (because underneath they are really anxious), feeling the need to prove themselves, either by some kind of performative show of authority or by making big sweeping changes in their first few weeks, even if changes are needed or people are under performing this is rarely a good move before you know the team and the area of work well. Remember, however nervous you are feeling your new team are probably even more so, after all a good or bad new manager can really make or break your work experience so there may be all sorts of weirdness going on, people bigging up stuff or trying to take credit for each other's work, posturing, defensiveness about things that are actually systemic problems but they're afraid they're going to get sacked for or landed with having to fix solo, pure fear of change is a big one for a lot of people. So cut everyone some slack if things are a bit awkward in the early days and trust that things will naturally settle in time, be positive where you can without being untruthful or falsely reassuring (e.g. if you have been brought in with a brief to make changes or implement new systems or whatever don't lie about this but equally don't set off panics too early).

Try and set simple good habits from the outset, e.g. setting up regular team meetings and 1-1s and prioritising these in your diary. Follow through on things you've committed to and if you can find some easy quick wins or quick fixes to make your team's life easier than do so (I've found myself in hot water over this before where I promised I'd sort out what seemed a simple enough IT problem that was causing the team grief only to discover it was a years-long tangle of technical bugs and badly managed external contracts that proved an endless nightmare, so be careful not to over-promise in things you actually don't know much about!). Be honest both with your own managers and your team (and clients/service users if applicable), if you are still learning or don't know the answer to questions or what to do in a certain situation don't just guess, as you'll undermine your credibility - people are usually fine and indeed respect you more for taking time to think and gather the right info rather than leaping into action. Good luck!

I recommend reading The First 90 Days

I have had terrible bosses over the years and currently work in a place with absolutely brilliant management (big international company). The trick is to actually be nice and human and have a good relationship with your staff. Then they will more likely want to perform better for you. Managers who behave like arseholes to their staff have unhappy people either looking for other jobs or being completely demotivated and unproductive.

This is exactly the kind of advice I was hoping for!
@Whataretheodds I have ordered the book.

@XelaM/@maxelly : good to hear that being nice and human is a good strategy and don't need to go in and 'show the big I am' on day 1. As that is not who I am. I am more of a ask questions and learn about the people who I will be managing sort of person.

You might want to think about having a quick 15 mins with each of your team before starting the role. Give you time to think about things before starting. Depends on the size of your team.

One of our senior managers asked if there was anyone they need to handle carefully - it was a good question - there's usually someone.

One of the best pieces of advise I received on starting somewhere new was keep your mouth shut and your eyes open. Take in the dynamics, observe. It will tell you a lot.

Listen!

One of the worst things a new manager can do is to steam roller in with loads of new improvement ideas and changes without the knowledge to support them. St a guaranteed way to get everyone's backs up.

So ask questions and listen to what is being said, the tone as well as the content.

• what is working well in the team
• what is not working well
• what challenges do they have with any processes, systems or relationships (in the team and between other teams)
• who wants to progress and could form part of your succession planning
• who is struggling
• who is feeling overlooked and would benefit from support
• who is high performing and need to be kept motivated
• who is under performing - do they need some support, are they interested in improving? Are they capable of improving?

Don't over promise, for example as a general rule you can expect that IT systems will be hated pretty universally, not something you're likely to be able to improve immediately but you can take their feedback to the right people for consideration.

Once you better understand the team and the challenges, work with them and get their feed in on what the:

Fix items - quick fixes for the next 3 months
Focus items - mid term action plans that will take 3-6 months to realise
Grow items - long term big budget changes that are going to be about a years worth of activity to deliver on.

Thank you! Especially with the questions. There were a few I hadn't thought about (or were not as well formulated.)