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Are you new to managing a team, and wondering why it’s harder than you expected?
It is assumed that when people move from a ‘doing’ role to a ‘managing’ role, they will know what they need to do. That they will ‘pick up’ how to lead as they go along. However, leading a team requires a new set of skills that are difficult to just ‘pick up’.
The relationships with your team can change.
If you have been promoted within your team, what you may not have considered is that your relationships with the team can change - you are managing the team when you used to be part of the team. It can feel like your team members are holding back, and the camaraderie you used to enjoy has disappeared. Some bad behaviour may start to appear.
Hard versus soft skills - you have to do less transactional stuff and more people stuff.
You may still be doing the transactional stuff, the technical role you used to do. This is your comfort zone – you know what to do, and you are very good at it. However this keeps you busy and you will be neglecting your team and not focusing on the work required at your level of seniority. Who you were in your old job, is not what is required in this role.
Technical skills are the skills that have got you to where you are. Sometimes called ‘hard’ skills, they are the abilities and knowledge you have acquired in your area of expertise. Examples of technical skills are things like programming, project management, or managing a balance sheet.
In management roles these technical skills are not required to the same extent, because there is a team in place to do this work. Behavioural skills, also called ‘soft’ or ‘people’ skills, are needed as you start to lead people. Behavioural skills include things like communication and listening, being able to deal with challenging people, giving and receiving feedback, building rapport, delegating, and managing conflict.
Being a perfectionist.
If you are a perfectionist and believe that only you can do the work in the right way, then everything will be harder as you become busier. What’s more, you will become more stressed because you are trying to get everything done. The need to control everything creates even more work for you.
If you don’t know how to manage and lead a team of people, you are more likely to be a perfectionist and operate transactionally.
What you need to do.
Now your role requires high-value thinking, where you focus on future aspirations and goals for the team and how that fits with the organisation’s overall strategy and purpose. This is leading, which requires new skills.Be prepared to become a learner again. What have you done to step into your management role?
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