• Replies 18 replies
  • Subscribers 10 subscribers
  • Views 1510 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related

Are We Setting People Up to Succeed?

Michelle Battista

We've all seen it, or perhaps experienced it ourselves.

Someone is brilliant at their job. They're knowledgeable, highly capable, respected by their colleagues, and naturally become the obvious choice when a management opportunity comes along.

But managing people is a very different skill from doing the job itself.

Many managers find themselves leading teams not because they set out to become leaders, but because they excelled in their previous role. They're often referred to as "accidental managers."

This has been a big topic of conversation in my house recently. My 21-year-old daughter has applied for a Team Leader role after doing exceptionally well in her current position. One of the interview questions she was asked was how she would feel managing colleagues who have been with the organisation longer than her, people who applied for the role and weren't successful, and even friends she currently works alongside.

We often promote people because they're great at what they do, but we don't always equip them with the skills needed to manage people, navigate difficult conversations, build credibility, or lead former peers.

Management can be one of the most rewarding roles in an organisation, but it can also be one of the most challenging. The impact a manager has on employee experience, engagement, wellbeing and performance is huge.

There may be some new managers out there that could do with a bit of moral support or some practical advice and guidance to support them on their new journey so I’d love to hear your experiences and tips for those stepping into leadership for the first time.

Looking back, what's one piece of advice you wish you'd been given before managing people for the first time?

Or, if you're new to management, what's been your biggest learning so far?

P.S. I'll be sharing these tips with my daughter too Wink, so thank you in advance for any words of wisdom!

As a little return from me, the CIPD and FutureLearn offer a free People Management Skills course that's ideal for aspiring, new, or existing line managers looking for a refresher.

The course takes around 3 hours per week over 5 weeks and covers practical people management skills to help build confidence in leading others. There's also the option to purchase a certificate on completion if you'd like one.


Feel free to share it with anyone who is stepping into management for the first time, considering a leadership role, or simply looking to strengthen their people management skills. Blush

Parents Reply Children
  • in reply to Sadie

     maybe able to share some thinking here as someone that upskilled themselves to be a great leader.

  • in reply to Michelle Battista

    To be honest, there is no set way. Management training is fantastic, but it's only one piece of the puzzle. 

    One thing I've reflected on a lot is the transition itself. I mentioned task and people above. There's real difference in those things. You can promote someone to be a manager but if you don't empower them, what chance do they have of doing a good job? My point here is: actively take some of the tasks from them. Help them to understand the power of delegation. After all, them being able to trust their team through delegation then empowers their team members - all great stuff for culture. 

    Where management training is concerned, it depends on the person. I found it SUPER helpful learning about the theory behind management. EQ and the change curve rationale really helped me early on in my career. EQ - learning about yourself and regulating your emotions does absolute wonders. I mentioned above being a good person, EQ is half the battle always. Then change curve (and other models) - knowing how to respond or how you should respond really helps, especially when imposter kicks in. 

    I'm not a qualified L&D professional so everything I say is my perspective and opinion. And, on a personal level, role play has a time and a place for me. Testing approaches to difficult conversations has worked for some through role play, but for me, I often left feeling uncomfortable and forced because the environment wasn't familiar. It was two unknown situations I was being put in but expecting to thrive. The balance would have been role play in a more comfortable environment, with people you trust - feels a bit less judgey. As I said, I don't work in L&D, and maybe it's just the role play I was a part of. But it certainly left me feeling forced to have a fake conversation, and didn't feel like preparation. Talking approaches through to conversations with a mentor helped me far better. 

    I'm rambling... but the best thing you can do for an accidental manager is have a flexible offering to management training. Often a mixture of things working together achieve the best result. Theory + opportunity for application, always.