New Supervisor and New Manager Training Best Practices

How New Manager Training Prevents Failures

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 14 Mar 2017 12:42:00 +0000

Most new managers end up failing very badly in the beginning and are only able to correct the course after learning some important lessons. Many fail so badly that they are either fired or give up the responsibility because they think they aren’t good enough.

There is a very simple problem which leads to many hard working and dedicated professionals failing; management is a wholly different ballgame than just working at a place. Someone who is the smartest and most qualified person on the team may end up being a terrible team manager; meanwhile someone who isn’t even good at the job may be an amazing manager.

Think of it this way; if a construction site needed a new manager, who should be chosen? Should it be the hardest working bricklayer or the most accurate carpenter? It seems obvious that these jobs do not teach anything about management. The same is true for almost every other field.

However, the most hard working and successful people in a team do have the most potential to be good managers if they are guided properly. The person whose performance is the highest obviously understands something about the job which other people on the team do not.

It is essential for the manager to understand these things so that the manager can increase everyone’s job performance. With the right new manager training, companies can ensure that the new person becoming the manager will go on to succeed and instead of tanking will take the whole team to new levels.

The Objective of New Manager Training

The objective of new manager training is quite simple. The training aims to educate and train people to understand the requirements of management. Dealing with people is hard; making sure they stay motivated and keep performing at their highest level is not an easy task. It requires understanding how to bring people with different points of view and different motivations to the same page.

It requires understanding that a manager needs to be powerful and confident without being egoistic, and accepting the fact that good management means conflict resolution and a keen focus on the company’s objectives.

It is unfair to everyone if the organization makes someone a manager without providing them with proper new manager training. It is unfair to the person being made the manager because they are being given loads of responsibility without any official training about how to handle that much responsibility.

It is unfair to the people working under the new manager because now they will not be managed properly. It is unfair to the organization itself because it results in lower performance and lower performance equal fewer sales and a smaller profit.

There are some people who are good leaders because they already understand that management is a social job. However, not everyone has the same understanding. If you want the manager to hit the ground running and to begin performing immediately, give them the right training so they have a chance to become a valuable asset of the company.

http://lsaglobal.com/new-supervisor-new-manager-training/

The Best New Managers Play 4 Different Roles Well

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 31 Oct 2016 21:35:00 +0000

New manager training helps you understand the many different roles to play as you learn to officially lead others for the first time. The better you are at flexing from one role to another, the better able you are to connect with and positively influence your team.

The best new managers know how to act as:

A teacher rather than a commander
As a new manager, you are only as successful as your team because your success now depends upon the success of others. Acting as a dictator will alienate you from your followers. Instead, influence their performance through supporting and developing them. It is your responsibility to help your team members learn and grow…to facilitate their success and, in so doing, your own.

An investigator rather than a judge
When something goes wrong, you need to find out what happened and why. Talk to your employees and then listen well. What was the root cause…lack of resources, lack of training, unclear expectations, unclear picture of a successful outcome, lack of support? There could be any number of reasons…some of them may be owned by the employee, some by you. Take the mistake as an opportunity to learn and do better next time.

An explorer rather than a settler
Challenge your team members to push themselves beyond their current boundaries. Give them support to expand their skills, go beyond the tried and true, and break out of their comfort zones. This is the way new managers help their team reach new levels of success. The complacent employee is a drag on the potential of the team.

A coach rather than a ruler
When decisions are made as a team, your followers are more likely to support and abide by them. Truly collaborative teams share in defining their goals, planning a strategy to achieve those goals, and pull together in the same direction. As a coach, you can keep the team on track and working as an integral group.

Never forget that as a new manager you are only as successful as your team. Do what you can to support, develop, and encourage your team members. Play the roles that keep you all working together and in the same direction.

Download New Manager Toolkit Now to Up Your Game

Who Is Ready to Jump to be a New Manager?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 28 Oct 2016 18:05:00 +0000

If you need to hire a new manager, how can you determine if they are ready to take the leap from working as an individual contributor to the challenging role of managing others? Selecting an able manager before they have had new manager training can be risky.

But here are some tips on what you can look for in candidates that will give you strong clues as to how they will handle the new supervisor role.

Ask what they think is involved in managing well.Many individual contributors have no idea of what it takes to lead and manage others. You want someone who has given a great deal of thought to how one succeeds as a manager. You want someone who understands how to lead people, who can balance a budget, who can relate well with people at all levels.

Ask how they would manage this particular team.
You want new managers who understand the challenges of taking on an intact team. Do they plan on making changes? Will they be sensitive to the difficulties of leadership change for the team? How will they address current problems? How do they plan on building relationships with individual team members? How will they measure performance?

Ask for examples of when they have been in a leadership position.
If they are new to management, they may not have had experience in a corporate setting. But maybe they have led a volunteer group, captained an athletic team, supervised a scout project or been a counselor at camp. They may have gained useful experience that they can transfer to the company floor.

Look for high emotional intelligence.
People skills should rate higher than technical skills in selecting effective new managers. Above all, a new supervisor needs to be able to build strong relationships with team members. Only then can a manager inspire their trust, earn their respect and inspire their commitment to the team goals. Great managers are great communicators…they set clear expectations, are expert at giving and receiving feedback, establish a system of accountability and cheer the team on toward the common goal.

When all is said and done, you may just have to take a leap of faith. But stand by to support, train and coach as needed to keep your new manager on the path to success.

Download New Manager Toolkit Now to Learn More

How New Managers Lead Their Teams to Victory

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 22:12:00 +0000

There are two ways…the right way and the wrong way to apply your new manager training to lead your team to victory. The best bosses know the difference. As you take up the mantle as a new manager, make sure you learn how to do it right. Here are some new manager training tips:

Inspire
Remember why people go to work happily. It’s not just for the money…engaged workers check in because they believe in the company’s purpose and their ability to contribute. Share your vision with your team. Give them a goal to reach for. The best employees seek meaning in what they do from day to day. Articulate that meaning in a way that inspires commitment. You want employees engaged as they pull those oars.
Listen
You are not there to dictate or to command. The best new managers don’t just talk, they listen. Be open with what challenges you face and invite their ideas for solutions. Encourage their questions and welcome their thoughts. Listen with respect.
Focus on individuals
Yes, the team has common goal, but it is composed of individuals. As a new manager, when you want to engage employees with different backgrounds, motivations, abilities, working styles, and ambitions, you need to appeal to what they care about as individuals.
Be available.
Don’t close yourself off. The best new managers are available for their employees at any time for questions or concerns. Set up regular appointments for one-on-ones so you keep up-to-date on their work and performance. When you are a hands-on manager, few problems will slip past you. You want to earn the trust of your team so they willingly share their thoughts and ideas.
Be steady.
Calm, capable captains steer the boat best. Don’t lose your cool. Your team relies upon your steady hand to guide them forward. They also need your confidence that problems can be solved and your acceptance of minor mistakes.
Be fun.
Okay, so you don’t have to be a comedian. But welcome humor at your meetings. There is business to be accomplished but work should not be grim. The more your team members enjoy and respect one another, the happier they will be to check in every day.

Download New Manager Toolkit Now

New Managers – How to Not Block Your Employee’s Growth

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 22:00:00 +0000

The biggest mistake that many new managers make is that they continue to believe that their success rests on their own shoulders.

Instead their success now depends on the success of their team. If they as new managers prevent their team from growing and learning, they retard the progress toward both short- and long-term goals.

Leadership is not about dominating the activities of your team members but about encouraging their growth and empowering them to perform as a team on their own. Otherwise, if you insert yourself into every decision, every task, every meeting, you are concerned more with your own vanity as the center of all activity than you are concerned with team achievement. You are more concerned with getting it right than growing your team. You are more concerned with the short-term at the risk of the long-term. If this perspective of team achievement is not part of your new manager training programs, it should be.

Here is what top organizations do to help new managers understand the path to success:

Empower your employees.
Get to know their strengths and aspirations and then find ways to support them. Think about who might do the job better than you. Either delegate the job to them or help another team member gain the skills needed to accomplish the task. Play to their strengths.

Learn how to be a really good coach.
Your job as team leader is all about your stepping back and encouraging your team members to step up. To do so, you need to be fully involved in their development…giving frequent feedback, providing development opportunities as needed, recognizing extra effort, and accepting that occasional mistakes are part of the learning process.

If you are really good at developing and empowering your team, you should be able to stay out of the limelight and watch them grow. Unblock that door in the cartoon and give your team a chance to develop their skills and confidence and thrive.

Download New Manager Toolkit Now

5 Big Mistakes New Managers Make

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 19:00:00 +0000

There are so many ways new and inexperienced managers can mess up. And then it’s so hard to recoup the support of your team. Read through the 5 big mistakes we talk about in our new manager training programs…so you can be one of the smart new managers who are not rejected by their team.

Here are 5 common mistakes many new managers and new supervisors make:

They don’t invest the time to get to know their team.
Now that you will be evaluated by team results and not your individual contribution, you need to find out what drives your team members. Get to know them personally. What are their strengths, their motivators, their aspirations, and their ideas for improvement? How can you help them be successful personally and professionally? Your sincere interest in their wellbeing will form the basis of trust that is essential to a high performance relationship that encourages high levels of employee engagement.

They handle change poorly.
New managers are either overeager to make too many changes too soon or are overly afraid to change anything. Work with your team to focus on what has worked in the past and what might be improved upon. With clear goals in mind, figure out what improvements would have the greatest positive impact and gain the agreement and support of the team to make them.

They are afraid to be human.
Don’t let your new position of authority go to your head. Too many new managers start off by being “tough” and then regret it. You don’t know it all and in fact have much to learn from your team. Admit what you don’t know and show your eagerness to learn. A bit of humility and the willingness to show vulnerability will endear you to the team and model a respect for continuous growth.

They avoid difficult decisions.
Your job now is to think broader and solve more complex problems. Sometimes these problems are in the form of low performers. As a new manager, you need to deal with substandard performance effectively. Try to figure out what is holding the employee back and work on an individual development plan together. If, after understanding and support, there is not enough improvement, help the employee move on in a way that makes sense for both the employee and your team. Remember, high performing team members are watching. They will lose heart if there are little to no consequences for not meeting clearly set performance expectations.

They don’t back up the team.It is your job to support and protect your team. When things go wrong, you must take the blame. When things go right, give the team the credit. This is the way to be a “stand up” manager…one who earns the loyalty of his followers.

Avoid these mistakes and your welcome as a new manager will be warm and sincere.

Download New Manager Toolkit

4 Avoidable Obstacles to New Manager Success

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 31 Jul 2016 19:00:00 +0000

So much has been written about new manager training and how important it is for organizations to successfully transition individual contributors to new managers once they are promoted. And, we agree, new manager training done right is essential to navigating from the role of managing yourself to the role of managing others.

But while management training can teach you the leadership skills to do it right, beware of the ways to do it wrong. Here are four common mistakes of new managers…the obstacles to their success.

New managers are apt to incorrectly assume that:

Their new manager title automatically gives them authority.
Yes, new managers can have authority over their team, but true leadership derives not from the manager title but from the respect and trust they earn over time. New managers need to first set an example of their competence to get things done, their integrity in interactions, and their allegiance and commitment to the overall goals.

They can now make decisions autonomously.
With their new title, new managers often mistakenly believe that they will be able to wield significant power. But what they find is that they are hostage to multiple stakeholders that need attention and nurturing. Of course, they need to deal with and solve the problems within their team. What they are often surprised to learn is that they are now in a web of relationships…up, down and sideways. They need to negotiate their way through this web in order to successfully lead their team forward.

Their team will automatically comply.
New managers quickly learn that team members will not simply follow orders as they had expected. Instead, team members look to their new boss for reasons to commit to them and the team goals. Most employees are not at work to blindly follow a dictator but to join as a team and drive together toward a common and meaningful goal. New managers need to learn how to work with the team to create a shared goal and inspire their commitment to achieving it.

Good individual relationships matter most.
Positive one-on-one relationships matter but, ultimately, it is the success of the team that is the measure of a manager’s success. Yes, go ahead and work with your team members individually so you learn what they care about and where they excel. At the same time, you need to build a purposeful team culture. This is the way to harness group energy to solve problems and make decisions. Take advantage of team diversity. Encourage open communication and still remain available for individual coaching.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/new-supervisor-new-manager-training/

3 Main Hurdles New Managers Must Overcome to Succeed

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 Jul 2016 21:00:00 +0000

Transitioning from an individual contributor role to that of manager can be exciting but also somewhat daunting.

There will be multiple management challenges, but they can all be summed up in 3 main hurdles that you will need to overcome on the path through new manager training. Get these right and you’ll earn the respect of your team and fulfill your new responsibility to improve and sustain your team’s performance.

Change your mindset.
As a new manager, you are now responsible not just for accomplishing your own tasks but to see that your team members accomplish their tasks. This means that, first and foremost, you must make your expectations, standards and behaviors crystal clear. Your employees cannot fulfill their roles successfully until they understand what they are to do and how their contribution fits into the team and company goals. Metrics for success must be established so you can monitor performance and create individual plans for improvement.

And if you were promoted to manager internally, you also need to figure out a way to shift from being a co-worker to managing those who used to be your peers. It can be awkward. The best advice is to recognize that at the workplace you are the manager but off work you can still be friends. The key to shifting your role successfully is to be absolutely fair and transparent with the way you handle personnel issues on your team…no favorites nor targets.

Take time.
Be easy on yourself. Take the time to think about how your behavior as a new manager will and should change. Overall, your communications with your team need to be open and honest. Never pretend to be someone you are not. If you don’t know how to do something, ask. If you try to fake it, you will lose credibility, your most important asset as a manager.

Be thoughtful about how you spend your time. You want to be available to answer questions and concerns, but you also need to set aside chunks of time to plan team goals, strategize, manage your budget, and track progress.

Organize your time so that you can meet regularly one-on-one with your team members. This is the best way to deal with performance opportunities and breakdowns. Invest the time required to develop the personal relationships that will let you know about problems before they become too big to handle.

Pay attention to your own development.
Learn all you can about how to lead and manage well. Take advantage of any new manager training opportunities and find a mentor who can coach you along the way.

Now get started…you can do it!

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/new-supervisor-new-manager-training/

4 All-Too-Common New Manager Mistakes to Avoid

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 15:07:00 +0000

If you are a new manager (or even if you are an “old” manager), you should not manage by trial and error. Too much is at risk…your reputation, the trust and respect of your team, upset and turnover in the ranks, team performance and your sense of well-being.

What you really need is targeted and relevant new manager training that will teach you what you need to know to succeed in this new supervisory role—a role where others depend upon you for leadership, direction and motivation. You are no longer simply responsible for managing yourself; you are responsible for managing an entire team and for their individual and collective performance results.

Until you have the opportunity for new manager training to provide you with the foundation to succeed, make sure you don’t make the following all-too-common mistakes:

Pretending you have all the answers.
Your team is far more likely to respect an honest “I don’t know” than your pretense at knowing more than you do. A little humility can go a long way toward building trust as a new manager. Make sure that you seek your team’s feedback, suggestions and help to create the circumstances necessary for high performance.
Trying to do it all.
Being a new manager is the perfect time to learn how to better depend upon others. First understand your own strengths, weaknesses and aspirations. Then get to know the strengths and weaknesses of the individuals on your team. Understand what drives them and what they like to do. Then make and continually adjust assignments based upon what makes sense to you, to them, and to the team as you work toward common goals.
Favoring friends.
As a manager in charge of others, you cannot be seen to treat any on your team with favoritism. Nothing can undercut respect faster than treating team members unfairly. Expectations for success and failure for each job should be clearly stated and transparent to all. Rewards and consequences should be applied appropriately, consistently and evenly according to the standards set by you and the team. Sure you can (and should) reward people differently based upon their performance. Just do not do it based upon anything else.
Blaming others.
Being a new manager comes with higher expectations and greater levels of exposure than being an individual contributor. When things go awry, your team will carefully watch your reactions. Are you going to call out those who made a mistake or will you have their back? New managers work hard to see that they achieve results fast to prove they deserved the promotion. But if they lose the trust of the team, they have lost more than they know. Instead, by owning up to the mistake and working with the team to fix it, a new manager will earn the respect of their superiors as well as the loyalty of their team.

Trial and error is not a good leadership or learning strategy for new managers. Too much is at stake.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/new-supervisor-new-manager-training/

The Management Value of Quick, Informal Meetings

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 23:38:00 +0000

In any comprehensive new manager training there is a module on how to run effective meetings. Participants learn about how to create an agenda, how to facilitate so attendees stay on topic, how to handle conflict and how to establish meaningful next steps. But seldom is there focus on the value of the quick, informal meetings that can take place anywhere, any time.

From a management perspective, a lot can be accomplished in 10-15 minute sessions that occur over a coffee break or just before leaving at the end of the day. Besides helping team members get to know each other better, these informal meetings can provide opportunities to:

Share problems and solutionsTeam members can talk about what problems they are facing and ask for help in solving them. It is an effective way to support each other and also to share lessons learned. When more than one brain works the issue, the solutions are bound to be more creative and are more quickly put into place. The problem could be as simple as learning the most effective way to transport a piece of equipment from one place to another or as complex as gaining an audience with a key stakeholder in the sales process. But when company-specific best practices are shared, everyone benefits.

Recognize discretionary effort and successOur small team at LSA huddles now and then to share “Good News.” Everyone is called upon to participate. There are no rules about what is shared…it could be personal or professional news...a new contract signed or a home project completed. The purpose is to reinforce the important bonds that hold us together and keep us working with mutual respect toward a common goal.

Raise issues of common concernSometimes there is a need to talk about issues that affect the entire team. It can be difficult to list them on a formal agenda that could draw too much attention. Instead, these issues are often more effectively aired first in an informal discussion. This way you can check to see if your experience is a common one. If so, you can talk about how to raise the issue to a level where it can be dealt with effectively.

When new managers understand the value of informal gatherings for team bonding, for recognition and for problem solving, they put in place a simple and effective management process that can only strengthen their team.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/new-supervisor-new-manager-training/

New Managers – Beware the Temptation to Micro-Manage

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 28 May 2016 20:00:00 +0000

Is this the way your team members see you? Are you the new manager so afraid that they won’t do the job “right” that you peer over the cubicle walls to check on them? This is definitely not the way to build a loyal and dedicated and high performing team!

Micromanagement has a negative connotation…for good reason. It is a management style whereby the manager all too closely observes and tries to control the way subordinates do their jobs. Here is how micromanaging can hurt you and your team:

Loss of trustIf you don’t trust your team to do their job well, they will quickly lose their trust in you as their new supervisor. A team without trust as its foundation suffers from poor performance, low morale and high turnover.
Overly dependent employeesIf you control an employee’s output, they will quickly lose confidence in their own ability to handle the job. They begin to rely upon you as their manager to monitor and guide their every move. And they become unwilling to experiment or to try something new. Just think how this stifles innovation, limits growth and blocks continuous improvement.
Your own burnoutYour constant need to watch over your employees will wear you out. Remember that delegating effectively is one of the critical management skills that every new leader needs to embrace. If you can’t delegate well, you end up looking over too many shoulders. You will not be able to maintain that exhausting plan for long.

How can new managers overcome the temptation to oversee every move of their team?

Understand that you do it because you are afraid your team members can’t. Give them a chance! Back off and let them prove themselves. Likely many on the team have been doing their job successfully for a long time before you were appointed to manage them.
Work with your team to determine which jobs really need to be done perfectly to achieve team goals. You may want to take on those few jobs yourself. Let the others go for now.
Set up some guidelines. Explain your anxiety over handling your new role well. Work together to figure out a reasonable reporting schedule, assure your availability when there are questions, and ask what support they need from you in order to be successful.

New managers understandably have some anxiety about tackling their new role. But micromanaging is not the way to handle it. First give your team members a chance to prove themselves.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/new-supervisor-new-manager-training/

5 New Manager Guidelines for Effective Feedback

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 18 May 2016 18:38:00 +0000

It is just human nature to critique, at least in our own minds, our coworkers’ behavior and productivity on the job. And, of course, we consider ourselves astute observers. No doubt we could fill the thought bubbles above with comments on each and every individual teammate.

But it is really up to the new team manager to translate opinion and observation into constructive feedback that team members can act upon to improve their performance.

The skill of giving feedback well is one of the most difficult to apply effectively…especially for new managers who as individual contributors were focused on their own performance, not the performance of others. New manager training gives guidelines for giving effective feedback but there is seldom enough practice time for the new supervisor to feel proficient. A role play is one thing; confronting a team mate with negative feedback is another. And yet, effective performance management is probably one of the most critical of all the skills new managers must acquire.

As a new manager, plan ahead and follow these effective feedback guidelines:

Check your attitude.Your goal should be to truly help the employee perform at a higher level, not place blame or get angry. With this as your motivation, you will set the right tone and lessen the employee’s defensiveness.
Be straightforward and specific.Explain objectively just what the performance issue is and why it concerns you. Here is an example:

“I noticed you were texting on your phone yesterday at the team meeting. It seemed you were not interested in the discussion and it set a bad example for others.”
Give the employee a chance to respond.Ask if there were any reasons for the behavior and then listen carefully for facts and feelings. The employee may well have a good explanation. Perhaps they were waiting for an important message from their doctor or needed to respond to an urgent message from their child. Once you have the context for the behavior, you can decide how serious the problem is.
Solve the problem together.How can the negative behavior be eliminated or improved? Work as a team to find a solution. Your role as a new manager should be to help the employee understand how their behavior affects others and plan a path forward. Constructive feedback should focus on development and be encouraged by ongoing feedback and performance coaching.
Agree upon next steps and schedule a follow-up meeting.Here is where you need the employee’s commitment to improvement and their ownership of the plan. Get together soon and as often as needed to assess the success of the agreed-upon performance improvement plan. And, if there is little improvement and the behavior is serious, involve HR. They can help lend perspective and ensure the steps to correction are legal and well documented.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/new-supervisor-new-manager-training/

New Manager: You May Be Closer Than You Think

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 01 May 2016 05:50:00 +0000

Maybe you are not as far from management as you think!

If you are a visibly contributing member to a high performance team, you likely have already adopted some of the traits that good leaders personify. You may need help in developing some important management skills such as strategic thinking, delegating tasks, working with a budget, and effective performance management, but you should be able to pick those up in a proven new manager training program. Assuming your relationships on your team were positive, here are the management skills you may already have mastered through your experience in working with a multi-faceted, cross-functional high performing team.

People skills
Many people come by these people skills naturally and are unaware that they have them. Yet these are the skills that will be most critical to your success as you take on the role of a new manager. You need to know how to:

• Communicate effectively with all types of employees and be able to adapt your style to theirs
• Establish a performance environment where questions are welcome, new ideas openly discussed and issues are raised without worry of repercussion
• Build relationships that are founded upon mutual trust and respect
• Be accountable for what you say you will do
• Show appreciation to others in a meaningful way for extra effort in times of stress or for a job well done
• Give timely and constructive feedback with the intent of helping the recipient improve
• Receive feedback and put it to good use as you, yourself, seek to continuously improve
• Deal fairly in all your team interactions
• Have empathy for employees who are struggling and offer the support they need
• Rally the troops when times are tough

That’s a long list! But if you have been consistently successful in your team relationships, you probably can check off many of the above new supervisor traits. The best new leaders often exhibit the best people skills. If you have been a valued and respected team player because you know how to work well with others, you are closer than you think to becoming a successful new manager.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/new-supervisor-new-manager-training/

3 Tips for New Managers to Start Off Strong

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 30 Apr 2016 22:21:00 +0000

This article is heading off in a somewhat different direction from most leadership advice on how to excel at your role as a new manager. We, too, in our new manager training, talk about how you as a new manager should interact with your team. But here we want to shift the focus to how you should take care of and present yourself.

After all, at some point, you need to stay healthy and upbeat if you want your team to follow in your footsteps. Just like a traveling parent who needs to put the oxygen mask on themselves before they put it on the child in the airplane seat next to them, you need to keep yourself from overwork and poor habits in order to care for your team and model “the way” by setting a good example.

Here are three tips on maintaining your well-being and thus setting yourself up to be the best new manager you can be:

1. Set aside some time for yourself as a new manager.
Do something that restores your energy, feeds your soul or simply gives you pleasure. Perhaps a morning walk in the park before you begin your busy day, your favorite music on the radio as you drive to work, 15 minutes of meditation to orient your mind toward things that really matter, or time at the gym or on your mountain bike. You pick what works best for you and give yourself that “gift” every day.

2. Eat healthy and get adequate sleep as a new manager.
You cannot work efficiently throughout the week unless you maintain a healthy regimen of good food and good sleep. When you are overtired, you risk making mistakes for lack of attention or making “unfriends” due to your overdose of grumpiness . This is no joke. Aside from the health problems associated with a lack of sleep, sleep deprivation was sighted as a cause for the 1979 nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, the massive Exxon Valdez oil spill, and the 1986 nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl. The food side is also important. Poor eating habits can lead to problems with mental functioning and disturbances in mood and behavior such as fatigue, hyperactivity, irritability and apathy.

3. Ask for feedback on how you are doing as a new manager.
Don’t be afraid to ask for input on how you could handle things better. This will be the question you put to your team members over and over again as you manage performance. But when flipped, it provides insight into what your new team looks for in their leader, into what matters most to them and offers an opportunity to grow in a direction that will serve you and the team.

When you are struggling to “make it” as a new manager, don’t neglect your own physical and psychic needs. Take care of them as a daily habit and you will be in a far stronger frame of mind to tackle the ever-present challenge of managing people.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/new-supervisor-new-manager-training/

4 Essential New Manager Skills to Overcome Obstacles

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 Mar 2016 21:55:00 +0000

Of course you want to succeed as a new manager. You can just see your star rising in the organization. But be aware that there are some obstacles in your way as you ascend the corporate staircase.

Being forewarned is being forearmed. Know that the abilities that brought you this far are not the skills that will carry you forward as a manager. You will need to change your whole mindset. You were most likely recognized for your hard work and your technical acuity. Hard work is something that will translate well when you become a manager. But, while technical ability is important, it is no longer as important as making sure that your team succeeds. You need to develop leadership and managerial skills that will help you support your team in a way that they can perform at their peak and reach their targets.

Based upon new manager training best practices, here are the essential and fundamental management skills you need to “make it” as a new manager:

• Effective communication
You are the one to whom the team members look for direction and inspiration. Be very clear about what you expect of each one of them according to their job role and make sure you hold them accountable. Support them when they ask for guidance, answer their questions openly and honestly, provide the resources they need to get their job done, and match their strengths as much as possible to the job at hand. Focus more on inquiry than advocacy. Make sure that you truly understand where people are coming from before trying to influence them.

For example, we recently had a new Operations Director who found that a long-term client was unwilling to pay for a previously agreed-upon rate increase for their union workers. Frustrated by the change, the new Director launched into telling the client that they had already agreed to the rate increase and why it needed to happen. The meeting ended poorly and without resolution. After reflecting upon the conversation, the Director reached out to the client to understand why the previously agreed-upon rate increase was such a concern. He learned that the client had just lost a key account and was laying off 10% of their workforce. The client could not stomach a rate increase in the face of laying off their own people. A better understanding allowed the Director to reach a compromise with his client in a way that made sense to both parties. Listening and inquiring really paid off.

• A touch of humility
Your new team does not expect you to be an expert at first. Don’t try to be something you are not. Ask for and accept feedback and advice from those who may have more or different experience than you do. As you show that you are willing to learn from others, your team members will follow your example. The result is a learning environment where trust and respect reign and continuous improvement is valued.

• Empathy
Mistakes will happen…you will make them too. Try to adopt the attitude that mistakes are opportunities to learn how to do things better the next time. Find out what went wrong and, without placing blame, try to find the teachable moment. Your understanding and support will earn you the allegiance of your team members…and that is of inestimable value.

• Appreciation
Stay close to your team so you know when they have performed above expectations. This is a chance for you to show how much you appreciate their extra effort and performance. Meaningful appreciation from a manager helps to keep employees engaged and striving to do better.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/new-supervisor-new-manager-training/

3 Coaching Essentials New Managers Need to Know to Inspire

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Mar 2016 18:30:00 +0000

We believe that leaders and managers are a primary factor behind both employee and organizational performance.

One of the most critical skills for new managers is the ability to encourage their team to perform at their peak and to use their skills collaboratively toward reaching common goals. In other words, one of the most critical skills for new managers to improve team performance is the ability to be an effective coach.

John Wooden, famous basketball coach at UCLA, said that “a coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.” We think it means a bit more than that. We think it means lighting the way for a person to become the best version of themselves in a way that makes sense for them, the team and the organization as a whole.

Here is what good coaching is NOT. It is not an excuse to tell people what to do. Instead, good coaches work on helping their team members learn how to do things better. A batting coach can point out some of the specifics that make hits more likely…the correct stance, the right grip, how to anticipate a pitcher’s throw, etc. But the best coaches support the batter as he finds his own rhythm and timing. They typically focus on a player’s strengths, rather than their weaknesses. We believe that leaders who help people play to their strengths, rather than try to improve inherent weaknesses, are more likely to create a high performance environment.

Here are three essential tips from new manager training on how to coach your team more effectively:

1. Emphasize the how, not the what.
If you aim to grow your team members toward ever higher levels of performance and commitment, encourage an attitude that values learning and accepts reasonable risks. Mistakes will be made, but this is your chance to have teachable moments, guide reflection on what went wrong, and identify lessons learned. Ask your team members how they would proceed next time.

2. Focus on real-time on-the-job experience.
The majority of coaching should be done on the job, not in the classroom. The best learning opportunities occur in the moment in real life experiences. If you are coaching a new salesperson, for example, accompany them on sales calls. Then let them debrief the experience themselves. You may have some advice to add, but a skillfully guided self-assessment can teach more than you can while developing stronger levels of self-awareness.

3. Learn as a group.
Bring your team together on a regular basis, not just for administrative purposes but for learning. Are you a sales team? Talk about what works and what doesn’t in winning, engaging and serving clients. Role play the most critical scenarios and discuss them afterward. If you are a customer service team, talk about different ways to handle the most frequent service scenarios and the most difficult customers. Ask lots of questions that push the group to think about different approaches and the associated benefits to them, the customer and the organization as a whole. What best practices make sense for your unique business strategy and organizational culture? See how many they come up with on their own…without your having to tell them. This is learning at its most efficient and effective.

Remember, effective leaders and managers help to positively shape the ways in which their direct reports approach their work and interact with each other.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/new-supervisor-new-manager-training/

The Simple Secret to Creating High Performing Teams

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 21:08:00 +0000

Every new manager would love to know how to build a high performance team. Especially if you inherit a team that has been struggling, the best way to show you deserved the recent promotion is to show significant improvement in the productivity of your newly assigned team.

There may have been some clues as to how to accomplish this in your new manager training, but here is the simple secret to high performance: build on strengths. Determine what your individual team members are good at and then see that their job roles match their core strengths. Not only will they be happier doing what they do well, but they will also be more effective.

To figure out what your direct reports do best, meet with them individually and ask the following questions:

1. What are you doing when you feel strong and able? Are you designing, analyzing, presenting, coaching, implementing, selling, leading or following? All of these skills are needed on high functioning teams. Make it easy for people to play to their strengths.

2. What skills and competencies have you relied upon in your career that brought you this far?

3. What lack of skills in others do you find most exasperating?

4. Growing up, was there something you could do that others could not? What made you stand out from the rest?

The answers to these questions will help you and your worker identify basic core strengths. If you can, dig deeper for their one-of-a-kind talents. Matching those to strategic needs will really give your team a boost. What are the problems that need fixing? Do you have a candidate fixer? What strong arms are hiding under that casual jacket?

You may not uncover a true genius, but if you find your team member’s exceptional ability and leverage it as often as possible, performance and employee engagement should dramatically increase. Basically you are looking for a person who is very good at doing something, defining that “something” and then pairing them with a problem that their “something” can solve. Voila…an engaged team that performs at its peak!

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/new-supervisor-new-manager-training/

5 Ways New Managers Can Keep Their Employees Happy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 03:26:00 +0000

One of the greatest sources of angst for new managers is whether or not their team will “like” them. What they should tell you in new manager training is that the best managers are great not because they win popularity contests but because they know how to keep their teams happy to come to work and be productive.

What do the best managers do that poor managers do not? We know that much turnover is caused by people’s unhappiness with their direct boss. So it matters a lot that managers, especially new managers, know how to keep their employees highly engaged in their work.

Our two decades of work with our managers and their teams have led us to the following five recommendations for managing others so they thrive, not simply stay and survive:

1. Recognize extraordinary effort and results.
Make sure you show your appreciation for work that is over and above expectations. Your recognition should match the accomplishment and the individual who earned the kudos. For some, a simple pat on the back is sufficient; others may prefer more public acknowledgement or a more tangible reward like a bonus or day off.

2. Show you truly care.
Take time with individual employees so that you get to know them on both a personal and professional level. Understand what motivates them on the job and what interests they have off the job. Show that you care about your employees beyond how productive they are. And don’t overwork them. Only increase their workload if you find a way to compensate them meaningfully.

3. Maintain performance standards.
Set and make very clear your performance expectations for each job role. And then hold each employee accountable. If you hold on to sub-standard performers, you will quickly lose your top talent. By all means, try to support employees who need it but, if they do not measure up after a reasonable time and effort, find them another role…perhaps elsewhere.

4. Always honor your commitments.
Set the example you want your employees to follow of doing what you say you are going to do. Do not promise what you cannot deliver. It will be noticed and, if you lack integrity, your employees will soon follow suit.

5. Build and develop talent.
Start by hiring the right talent for the job and then find ways to develop and challenge them. High performers want to grow and they do best when they can follow their strengths and their passions. Find out what they are good at and what they like to do. Simply play to their strengths and then offer them opportunities to stretch creatively and intellectually. Give them specific and timely feedback on a regular basis so they can monitor their own growth. This is the way to nurture top talent and harness the energy of a high performing, successful team.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/new-supervisor-new-manager-training/

5 Simple Steps to Success as a New Manager

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 29 Dec 2015 17:28:00 +0000

Just so you know from the start, this is not about all the management skills you need to succeed as a new manager. Those you will get from a comprehensive new manager training program. Instead, this article deals with how you can set yourself up to succeed from the point of view of integrating well with the team…individually, collectively and culturally. Of course, becoming a true member of your new team will have a huge impact on how well you are accepted and trusted as a leader so, in many ways, it IS about succeeding as a new manager…not the hard skills but the personal interaction, soft skills side.

1. Be authentic.
Don’t try to be someone you are not or try to over-impress. To build strong relationships you need to engender trust. Trying to fake a personality will raise suspicion. Your new team members will likely see right through your act and find you ingenuous. Besides it takes a lot of energy to wear a mask that does not fit your true self.

2. Learn who is on your team.
Get to know the individuals you will be working with. What are their talents and interests, both at work and at home? You can’t be everyone’s “friend” but you can show an active, sincere interest in what motivates them and what they like to do. It will give you important insight and allow you to be a better coach in the future. By observing how the team works together, you will also soon learn who wields the most influence on the team. Who are the natural leaders and what is the glue that keeps the team together?

3. Contribute thoughtfully.
Chances are the team has worked together for a while. Observe the existing dynamics and experience the current processes before making suggestions for change. Ask plenty of questions about why things are done a certain way. Your interest in and respect for the status quo will make future course corrections more readily accepted.

4. Be respectful of the team’s accomplishments.
It may be tempting to point out all the things they are doing wrong. But, of course, that is not the way to win friends and influence people. Insert your ideas for change wisely. Earn the right to be followed before you exercise your new found authority.

5. Always do what you say you will do.
As much as you might want to change the world quickly, don’t take on more than you can realistically accomplish. Small bites at a time are more impressive than too big a bite that you can’t swallow. Under promise and over deliver is a great motto for new managers. Hold yourself as accountable as you hold your team.

Be patient as you join this new team. The better you all work together, the better the work results. And team results are the measure of your success as a new manager.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/new-supervisor-new-manager-training/

Two Guidelines to Succeed as a New Manager

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 18 Dec 2015 01:06:00 +0000

New manager training can give you all sorts of helpful advice on how to succeed as a new manager. Soak up all you can. But when you’re feeling overwhelmed and as if there is just too much to learn all at once, we have a couple of guidelines that will keep you on track to be the best manager you can be as you earn your stripes and gain real-time experience. The two tips?

1. Be available to your staff.
2. Be consistent.

If this sounds oversimplified, here is the “rest of the story.”

Thanks to Google’s efforts to beef up the skills of their managers, we have some data on what really matters. Google was convinced that the better the managers, the better the workflow and employee engagement. They determined that a study of how to improve the performance of their managers would be not only worthwhile but actually essential to the future of their business.

Google used multiple reports at their disposal, including the wording from employee nominations for best managers, performance reviews and surveys. Then they looked for repeated phrases which would begin to define the qualities of those managers who were most admired and, they hoped, most effective. The result was a list of 8 characteristics of top managers.

Surprisingly, the results were not leading edge or even unfamiliar. The habits of top managers were similar to what we in the management training field have always proposed: caring about and for your employees, providing development opportunities, setting clear expectations and team goals, etc. But what was interesting was what did NOT matter so much. Keep in mind that Google is one of the world leaders in high tech. What did not matter so much to employees as they rated the effectiveness of their managers was their manager’s technical expertise. What DID matter were the soft skills of their managers.

Google’s in-depth study of management helps us all put teeth into defining best practices for new and experienced managers alike. Employees want to be heard. They want a manager who listens and who cares. They want to be able to share their ideas, opinions and concerns. They want a manager who can give them constructive feedback and coach them to improved performance. Employees also want to be treated fairly and consistently. They want a manager who does not play favorites, whose ethics drive decisions, who establishes standards for performance and holds everyone accountable, and who appreciates the contributions of all team members.

So, to begin your life as a new manager, start right: lend an ear and follow through on what you say.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/new-supervisor-new-manager-training/

How to Give Feedback So That It Is Well Received

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 21:57:00 +0000

One of the most important skills taught in new manager training is how to give feedback effectively. There are tips on being specific and timely, straightforward and supportive. These are important to be sure. But they skip over a step that is critical. As in the cartoon above, no feedback will be really heard if the recipient is not open to hearing it.

Ready to Give Effective Feedback
Before you approach your employee with corrective or constructive feedback, make sure that your intention is to help not to criticize. As a manager, your role is to support your employees as they try to improve their performance. Even if you are disappointed in an employee’s behavior, check your upset and angry feelings at the door.

Once your emotions are under control, ask for permission to give feedback.

Ready to Receive Effective Feedback
If the employee is not ready, ask about a better time to talk about the behavior you observed. There is nothing to be gained by giving feedback when your employee is unwilling to receive it. For feedback to be effective, the recipient needs to hear and understand it and then absorb and reflect upon what they might have done differently.

For feedback to make a difference in behavior and performance, it cannot go “in one ear and out the other.” Make sure that your direct report is ready and willing to actively process, interpret and comprehend what you have to say.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/new-supervisor-new-manager-training/

A Winning Strategy for New Managers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 28 Nov 2015 00:54:00 +0000

New manager training is a must for newly promoted individual contributors. There is much to learn as you shift from individual contributor to leader. Now you are in charge of managing the performance of your team members and are responsible for achieving your team’s goals. Your success is now dependent upon the success of others.

But many of the skills you now need to adopt can be boiled down into the following strategy for successful management. Make sure each employee:

Is clear about how their success and failure will be measured. Make sure that performance expectations are clear, understood, transparent, accurate, relevant and believable.

Is clear about their role on the team. You cannot expect people to perform according to your expectations if you have not adequately explained the specific role you want them to play and how their work contributes to the team and overall objectives.

Is clear about their tasks. Make sure that your direct reports can articulate the various tasks for which they are responsible and how their performance contributes to the success of the team and, ultimately, the company.

When you clearly define the performance expectations, roles and responsibilities of individual team members, you are able to measure performance and make adjustments as needed. This is how effective managers keep teams productive and on track.

Download The Six Management Practices that Make the Difference Between Effective and Extraordinary

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/new-supervisor-new-manager-training/

How New Managers Should “Manage Their Manager” to Reach Their Goals

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 17:44:00 +0000

New management training focuses on teaching new managers how to handle their team members but often neglects teaching new managers how to manage up.

You may learn how to set goals for team performance but then you have to run the goals by your boss for approval. This level of strategic alignment and potential negotiation typically requires a different approach and more finesse than managing down.

Here are three guidelines that will help you “manage your manager” successfully:

1. Be crystal clear about what you want for your team. Before you can advocate for your team’s goals, you need to know in your own mind exactly what those goals are. Be able to articulate what you want and how it will be measured before you allow others to fill in any blanks.

2. Frame your proposal in a way that aligns with your boss’ goals, not just yours. If, for instance, you want to give your team the flexibility to work part-time from home, describe to your boss why you think they will be more efficient and productive as a result of this accommodation. Your boss probably cares more about aligned results than keeping your team members “happy.”

3. Reach an explicit agreement or social contract that outlines expectations, desired results, success metrics, consequences, delivery schedules and a review process. Again this speaks to the way your boss thinks and will keep you both on track.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/new-supervisor-new-manager-training/

Do Not Set Your New Managers Up to Fail – Give Them Time to Learn Before They Lead

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 17:06:00 +0000

When you promote a star individual contributor to management, recognize that many of the traits that fostered high performance in one role do not necessarily carry over to the next role. In fact in a recent survey by Career Builder, a full 26% of managers responded that they were unprepared for a leadership role when they were first charged with managing others. It is not uncommon for employees to under-estimate and under-appreciate what it takes to successfully lead others.

Don’t let your company be the punching bag when unskilled managers are unable to deal with issues between co-workers, don’t know how to motivate their team members, lack the communication skills to set expectations and have no clue how to effectively manage performance. The fallout from such missteps can be catastrophic in terms of low employee engagement, high turnover and decreased performance.

First and foremost, provide solid new manager training so your recently appointed managers understand their role and their responsibilities. Then give them follow-on performance coaching and a successful mentor who can model good behavior and help guide them through the challenges of their new job.

Beyond that, here are two steps you can take in a larger context.

Hold manager meetings on a monthly basis so new managers can share tips, brainstorm ways to handle tough problems, role play various scenarios and support one another as they learn the ropes.
Share the company’s strategic plan across the entire organization so new managers get a sense of how departments work together toward the same overall goals. They may even have some suggestions on how to do it better.

You will know you are on the right track when employees feel as though they can:

Openly share ideas and opinions without fear of reprisal.
Discuss career opportunities and how they fit into the organization’s future plans.
Get honest and productive feedback.
Clearly articulate how their success is measured, what is expected of them and how they are currently performing compared to those expectations.
Access the information, support and resources required to do their work.
Explain the reasons behind management decisions.
Trust their manager to have the expertise and ability to help them and their team succeed.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/new-supervisor-new-manager-training/

5 Keys to Success as a New Manager from Someone Who Failed in 90 Days

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 17:30:00 +0000

We recently interviewed a high potential individual contributor who was promoted to management. He was a superstar before he got promoted. Surprisingly and unfortunately for him and his company, he got demoted 90 days into his new role. Don’t let this be your story.

As a new manager you want to come on strong, but not too strong; likeable but still with authority; expecting excellence but not unrealistically demanding. Where is the happy medium?

Here are his 5 tips for finding the right balance from the start:

Know your team. Take time at first to get the lay of the land and to know your team members on an individual basis. Learn about your responsibilities and what is expected of your team. When you understand the strengths of your team and what motivates your workers, you will be better able to set goals and performance expectations. If you worked with them previously, do not assume that you know answers to these questions.
Know yourself. Figure out what management style suits you and fits best with the individuals on your team. Find a happy medium between over- or under-supervising. Be clear as you assign roles and responsibilities but then back off to give team members an opportunity to operate on their own. Remember, your success depends upon the success of your team, not your heroic individual efforts.
Insist upon excellence. Once the team is clear about goals and performance expectations, it is your job to hold them accountable. Be ready with support and coaching but, if you have a consistent under-performer, move them on and hire only the best. If you do not have consequences for under-performance, overall performance will be weak.
Be accessible and give frequent feedback. Be an active coach and deliver both positive and negative feedback in small doses on a regular basis. Stay available to your team to answer questions, address issues or welcome innovative ideas. And don’t forget to recognize a job well done. High performance should be acknowledged and rewarded if you want it to set the standard and continue.
Manage sideways and up as well as down. Good managers network effectively in all directions so they can learn from mentors, cooperate with peers and support their team at multiple levels. Do not underestimate the importance of having others “on your side.”

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/new-supervisor-new-manager-training/