Do you remember your first management role?

 

I can remember mine. I was in my mid-twenties. I had been in a variety of admin roles and although I had never officially had the title of ‘manager’ previously, I did have some experience managing others which must have resonated with the interview panel who, to my surprise offered me the position.

 

The role involved managing a team of six people working in customer service in a large corporate insurance company.  All of them had been in their roles for a long time and were a little unsettled about the “new girl”.  By lunchtime on the first day, one of the team let me know she had applied for my role and was “fine” with not being successful. Her body language and tone of voice suggested otherwise.

 

After the conversation, I remember walking to WHSmith in Liverpool city centre during my lunch break and buying a “Management for Dummies” book. It was the only training resource I could find at the time – this was back in the 90’s. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any advice for dealing with disgruntled direct reports.

 

Research by Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and YouGov found that 82% of managers entering management positions have not had any formal management and leadership training.

 

We also know from the research that managers who have received training are significantly more likely to feel confident in their management abilities (83%).

 

I often wonder how much more confident I would have felt if I had done some training before stepping into that first role.  A “behind the scenes” look at what being a manager involves.

 

We learn on the job but having some realistic expectations would have helped in my confidence department. Maybe the learning curve wouldn’t have felt quite as steep.

 

As I approach the autumn of my career, I have been able to capture my learning and the learning of other managers in my Stepping into Management course which I have been delivering now for over seven years.

 

At the heart of the programme on which the content was designed are answers to this question “What would have been most useful to know about being a manager before you stepped into the role?”

 

Everyone has their own unique experience however the responses fall into three particular areas. The first is understanding the roles and responsibilities – what am I accountable for? The second is the skills required by a manager (what you need to do). The third is the behaviour required of a manager (who you need to be).

 

Here are 3 of my responses to that question.

 

Be kind to yourself: Set realistic expectations for yourself. Stepping into any new role often brings with it a steep learning curve. Don’t expect to know everything by the end of the first week.

 

Get to know your people: Invest time in getting to know your people as individuals both personally and professionally. What is important to them? What are their aspirations? What can they be counted on for in the team? What is their “Why?”: Encourage your people to share their ideas, concerns, and feedback. Listen like you have never listened before it will leave them feeling heard and valued.

 

Get comfortable asking for help: Showing our willingness to be vulnerable shows great courage and helps build trust. Once I got comfortable saying “I have no idea the answer to that question, and I will find someone who does.” Became a game changer.

 

Being a manager can be hugely rewarding so if you are interested in building the confidence of the people in your organisation who are considering or already are a first-time manager role then please get in touch. I would love to help.

 

Here is what others have said about their experience of the programme:

 

“I found this to be absolutely brilliant – I came away enthusiastic about the possibility of taking the next step and applying for management roles. I gained many useful insights and practical tools over the 2 days that I know I will be using immediately in my current role and going forwards.”

 

“I would highly recommend this course to anyone that wants to step into management or even people that just want a better understanding of management. I feel that I gained a substantial amount from this course and it has given me plenty to reflect on.”

 

“The passion and enthusiasm shown on this course was just fantastic. This was the most engaging course that I have ever been on as the pacing was almost perfect, making people step out of the comfort zone and really think about how and why people act as they do and gave people the tools to deal with them.”

 

For more information: https://www.denisechilton.co.uk/stepping-into-management-workshop/

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