Three Lessons Learnt as a First Time Manager

Congratulations, you are a manager now – a ‘First Time Manager’. Wow!

Here are three lessons that I learnt many years ago, when I became a manager for the first time.

1. You will be told less; you will be asked more.

Life would have been simpler if you were told what to do, when to do it, how much time to invest in it. But you got to figure it out for yourself. So set your mind on it, ask around, ask your boss, ask your mentor and determine what you need to achieve.

2. Everyday, there will be just two or three things that will make all the difference.

If you begin your day with a ‘to-do’ list, and keep adding to the list as the day goes on, and work on the list from top to bottom…you will achieve nothing, but frustration and anger. Make a three-top-items list, do them one at a time, fighting all interruptions and noise. You would have achieved two or three significant things at the end of the day. Day after day.

3. The more you do the less you will achieve.

The frustration for every first time manager is that their subordinates are nowhere near as good as they were. The temptation is to do it yourself. That’s bad. That’s bad because it will keep you busy with the work that your subordinate is supposed to be doing. That’s your comfort zone. So resist the temptation, coach your subordinate and get on with the challenges of your new job.

Learn the above lessons well, and you will be a manager that your boss has been dreaming of.

All the best!