Executive Summary:
• An organisation with a succession plan should have the capacity to ease a new manager into the role. • The soft skills and the associated people skills are those that need early focus.
• A new manager has to learn how to be selfish by treating their time as a valuable currency; trading the currency at pre-arranged times as much as possible.
• A new manager needs a business plan and vision of where the team is heading. • Team members need to own their own plans and are accountable.
• Reward and recognize individuals and the team.
The oft. neglected step in an organisation’s succession planning is an adequate preparation program for a new manager. There is a lot written about the importance of leadership and the differences between a manager and a leader. However, a reasonable and challenging first step is for an individual contributor to step up and manage a team.
The typical characteristics of the individual contributor in their previous life are quite often one of a high performing individual and a rising star with relative independence. However, the transition to manager is contrasting in many ways. I have seen this cause much stress and consternation, and so I want to share some of the coaching points to help you ease their pain, minimize the “crash and burn” outcome as a possibility and help set them up for success in as short a period as possible.