First day as the new boss

[The Yen Man]

I found the hardest part for me of transitioning to a manager role is managing people. I quickly realized that stuff that I thought were trivial to me can be a big deal to other people. "Oh, so and so said this, what do you think they meant?". In my mind, I'm thinking "it sounded like an offhand comment. Who the hell cares?". But I can't say that to a staff member.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Before making any decisions, ask yourself - "Is this something the Oilers would do?"

If the answer is 'no' you will set yourself up for a lifetime of success.

[I_H8_Crawford]

Piece of advice I was given which is true:

If you see a problem - jump on it right away. Whether its process or employee related, don't let it fester.

[Torture]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

Assuming you haven’t already, start reading up on leadership, and if you can find a mentor (someone who’s already leading teams) and set up some regular coffee chats.

I informally stepped into management almost a year ago, and more formally in the last quarter, but prior to either of those I was reading leadership books, blogs, and as I said above meeting with a manager within our org (not that I report to) on a monthly basis to discuss the challenges and approaches to consider at each stage of my transition.

A few pieces that helped me:
The Effective Manager, by Mark Horstman
Mark really pushes for the value of regular 1:1s with your team, and giving effective feedback. While I don’t agree with everything he recommends (his hiring advise is bit too black/white for my taste) overall he provides a great framework for leading teams and having workplace conversations.

https://www.askamanager.org/
I follow this account on twitter, but it often links back to the blog, they regularly post questions from employees & managers about workplace conflict, and do a great job of providing an outside perspective.

Radical Candor: Be a Kickass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity, by Kim Scott
Firstly off, this is a bit of a dry read so don’t go in expecting a light summer breeze… read it on company time if you can. But Kim’s focus is very much on the qualitative side of communication with your people, good conversations, tough conversations, focusing on the intent & outcomes you need, much less so than beating around the bush. She’s in no way advocating that you rule like a jerk with an iron fist, but she does a good job of illuminating the real harm caused by not seeing the whole picture, or worst not making a decision.

I certainly don’t have it all figured out, but I found immersing myself in training materials from a number of different sources gave me a broad perspective on where my skills where lacking, and the adjustments I need to be making as I shift from individual contributor roles.

All great advice. I can't believe the number of managers that don't have regular one / ones with their employees.
My job would be a lot easier if the managers I support all read the same resources you do.


Set clear expectations. Reward people when they do a good job. Hold them accountable if they don't meet expectations. They didn't know what the expectations were? That's your job.
It's not rocket science, but it will require difficult conversations.

That said, your job as a manager is generally to support your people as well. Help them succeed and understand what they're supposed to be doing. Ask them what they need from you. Help them understand the bigger picture.
Remove obstacles for them. In some ways you're the blocker.

Keep in mind that different employees will need different things and will have different communication preferences or work styles. I like the Situational Leadership model, but there's lots of different coaching and leadership models you can look up. It's kind of common sense, but consider that new hires are going to need different kinds of support than the individual contributor that's been doing the job for 10 years and knows everything.

Oh yeah, and congrats!

[troutman]

Same as the old boss.

[Number 39]

Managing people is like running an adult day care some days. It has its moments.

[CaptainCrunch]

See, I like to use the compliment sandwich, when I work with employees. You start with a compliment around their past performance. the you lay down the meat of the issue, talking about the mistake or mistep or screw up. then you close the sandwich with a compliment. So a example of it.


"Hey Jenny, you know you're one of the go to people on this team, you are reliable and hardworking and you hit deadlines and your work is always good. That's why I was surprised when you submitted your last project in crayon, it was illegible and looks like you did it on the bus to work this morning. But I did notice that you bought a new car, so that's a thing."


Then yell, "Get out of my office"


Management 101 baby.

[sketchyt]

I stepped into a leadership role about five years ago after a career of actively trying to avoid it. I wound up liking it way more than I thought I would. Here's what I learned:

• The best staff are the ones who crave being left alone. For them, your role is to simply guide them and help when asked.
• If you're constantly micromanaging an employee, it isn't going to work out long-term.
• Treat them like human beings. The ones who like to take advantage of that will come out of the woodwork and you're going to want them gone.
• Be upfront, clear and direct about what you like and dislike, professionally. For example, I despise gossipy behaviour in meetings and I get ornery whenever that happens.
• Speaking of which, trying to eliminate gossip within your own department is difficult but well worth the effort.
• Some of your staff will be high performers. Some just want to do their job and clock out. That's ok.
• As mentioned, regular one on ones are very important. They don't need to be an hour... some employees can do with 15-20 minutes. Typically, I go over their current/next weeks' projects, whatever they want to share about their personal lives, and anything I can help them with. I do very little talking in these.
• You are not perfect, trying to act like you are will make you look like a tool. It's ok to say you don't know, but you'll find out.
• Where possible, publicly give them credit for wins and successes. If there's going to be a negative interaction, do it privately.
• If they're working on something with a high level of risk / reward, you're probably going to want to work on that directly.

[djsFlames]

Try to treat every one more or less the same within the workplace, even if some have more irritable qualities - really good thing to practice in life too. When there is a discernible difference in how you treat certain individuals, then people begin to take things personally and feel slighted, and it creates conflicts between employees.

The very best bosses I've ever worked with that got the most out of their employees have always had an even keel kind of attitude and demeanor with others. No matter who you are or what your personality is like, you get politeness, recognition, and thank yous for your efforts. Doing this as a boss always gets people to elevate their attitude and effort.

[Hanni]

Originally Posted by Number 39

Managing people is like running an adult day care some days. It has its moments.

I found early on the desire to fix everything for people that came with issues/problems, enabling/expecting people to solve their own problems is important. I have kids, I don't need more, if you haven't even tried to resolve your problem with Bob from accounting that's your first step. If you start mediating every little conflict, every little conflict will come your way.

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

See, I like to use the compliment sandwich, when I work with employees. You start with a compliment around their past performance. the you lay down the meat of the issue, talking about the mistake or mistep or screw up. then you close the sandwich with a compliment. So a example of it.


"Hey Jenny, you know you're one of the go to people on this team, you are reliable and hardworking and you hit deadlines and your work is always good. That's why I was surprised when you submitted your last project in crayon, it was illegible and looks like you did it on the bus to work this morning. But I did notice that you bought a new car, so that's a thing."


Then yell, "Get out of my office"


Management 101 baby.

I took a course a couple of years ago that stated it takes 15 compliments to negate the one bad so the #### sandwich doesn't work, just get to it and deal with the problem, the compliments don't leave an impact, it's the negative people focus on in the moment.

[looooob]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Nice move, come in with the coffee and muffins, talk to them, you know get to know them. Then on monday introduce them to your Johnny a$$kicker persona who's there to kick a$$ and chew bubble gum, but you're all out of bubble gum.



Yeah lull them into a false sense of security, that new boss, he's just swell. Then handcuff them to the grinding machine known as KPI measurements.

totally random but I was watching a documentary last night on the U of Minnesota 78-79 NCAA hockey championship team ...an interesting slice of nostalgia- they had 2 great freshmen (Mike Ramsey and Neal Broten) and in total I think 8 guys from that team were the core of the 80 Olympic team (along with Herb Brooks). interesting team - all Minnesota guys as opposed to their enemy UND which had a bunch of evil Canadians on it


anyways one of the guys (forget who) is describing being recruited by Brooks, there is a picture of this kid and his parents (who looked like they were 75 years old even though the kid is 18 - its the late 70s mind you- no one was looking their best). anyways the kid and parents are smiling ear to ear in the picture with Brooks signing his commitment


the guy (now in his 50s) is recalling that his parents just can't believe how nice this Herb Brooks guy is, then as he's leaving Brooks turns to the kid on the way out and basically says 'and that's the last time I'm ever going to be nice to you'

[troutman]

Get some regular coaching. I find it very helpful.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by troutman

Get some regular coaching. I find it very helpful.

Professional consultants? Or some type of online training?

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Unless you use it as a motivational tool to get the best work out of them.

So "You better meet your KPIs or you'll be forced to go on a date with me"?

[Wastedyouth]

Oh gosh, I have this happening in a couple weeks.

The first hurdle I fear is a coworker who has been here slightly longer than me who is, in our CEO's words, "a headache" has told multiple other coworkers he will quit if i am ever his manager.

That's gonna be a fun talk.

[Torture]

Originally Posted by Wastedyouth

Oh gosh, I have this happening in a couple weeks.

The first hurdle I fear is a coworker who has been here slightly longer than me who is, in our CEO's words, "a headache" has told multiple other coworkers he will quit if i am ever his manager.

That's gonna be a fun talk.

Buh byeeeeeee

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Wastedyouth

Oh gosh, I have this happening in a couple weeks.

The first hurdle I fear is a coworker who has been here slightly longer than me who is, in our CEO's words, "a headache" has told multiple other coworkers he will quit if i am ever his manager.

That's gonna be a fun talk.

"So I hear that you're threatening to quit if I'm ever your manager?"

"This is what I like to call a cross roads. On one hand there's your desk or workstation or whatever. On the other hand, in the corner of my office there are several boxes that I've written your name on in black felt pen"

"So which road are you prepared to take right now, I'm not all that interested in your whys, as in why would you say something stupid like that, I'm interested in the which? As in which way is this going to go"


If someone is a headache and is already undermining your authority by blabbing with co workers, there's about 30 seconds of conversation, the employee has already created and not only crossed, but smashed through any logical boundary. As a manager, new boss, there's a no compromise position here, if someone is talking about quitting . . . .call his or her bluff.

[Wastedyouth]

Totally agree. It's my manager (who is moving up and I am replacing) who is really sweating. He hates to lose anyone.

I am a tad more pragmatic in that I believe I could strap our equipment to a small child and still accomplish the same amount of work that he does daily (the quitter I mean).

[CaptainCrunch]

A manager has to train to let go of the things that they fear to lose. (Management Style of Yoda baby)

[2ArmBands]

Once normal office life resumes…

Grab a cup of coffee and walk around once a day and talk to your reports individually. It doesn’t necessarily need to be about work and it doesn’t need to be more than a couple of minutes.

Ask how their weekend was, ask how their kids are doing. Ask if they are challenged, ask if their plate is full, ask about their hurdles. Just talk to and engage them.