Management Challenges - It’s not quick and it’s not easy

Managing people effectively takes time and effort

Managing others takes time and effort, it’s not something you can do for a couple of hours on a Friday afternoon when you’ve finished all the other work you needed to do that week.

It’s an integral part of your job, and people depend on you to treat it as such.  If you’ve been promoted from within a team to managing it, it can be difficult to leave some of your old job behind. Trying to do everything you did before - whilst tacking management responsibilities on top is the start of the slippery slope to long hours and exhaustion.

Not good for you and not good for the team.

Check your terms and conditions to be clear about what your new job entails.  If something you used to do isn’t mentioned then it’s not yours to do anymore (ok, there might be an overlap for a short while if the organisation needs to recruit to fill your old role, but you can’t be expected to carry on for ever).  Clarity can be difficult if your job description is generic in nature, or if there’s one of those wonderful ‘and anything else your manager sees fit’ clauses!  If you’re unsure check with your new manager – or your peers.  Don’t assume you need to be doing something because it’s not clear who would do it if you didn’t!

Hopefully your employer won’t think your job involves doing everything you used to, plus managing a team. If they do then a chat with your manager is definitely on the cards – if you used to need all your work time to do your previous job, how are you expected to do that and effectively manage a team in the same number of hours? Of course you can always look at your work to see what can be delegated, but to start with your employer needs to have a realistic view of what you can achieve.

Even once you’ve clarified what your job now involves, management included, you’re going to need to get organised. If you aren’t already maximising time management techniques you should, take a course if you haven’t done one before. If you have previously had time management training, but have let things slip, this is a great opportunity to brush up and refresh to take maximum advantage of the various tools available.

Many people find that if nothing else (and there are lots more things you can do) using the Eisenhower Matrix can at least help determine what you do with something as it crosses your path. See which of the four Ds it is and act accordingly.

“What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important.”

President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Urgent and important - Do first

Urgent but not important - Delegate

Not urgent and not important - Don’t do it

Not urgent but important - Do later - take time to plan to do it properly

Now you’re a manager you shouldn’t be working at a detailed level all the time.  Make sure that when you are it’s because no one else can do it (and perhaps start thinking about how you can delegate it in future).

Part of being organised will be to schedule regular meetings with staff, group and 1-2-1 meetings.  These are opportunities for you to communicate what’s going on in the organisation, department, and team.  They are also to discuss specific issues, development, and performance.  If you fail to schedule these and leave them until ‘there’s a convenient time’ they might not happen.  Your staff need to know they are important and if you leave supporting them until it’s convenient, they are unlikely to feel valued.  These meetings are also an opportunity for the team to feed back to you - successful communication is a two way thing.

Make time for your team.  Let them know times you are free so they can reach you.

Try not to start on the dangerous slope of working a few more hours to get everything done.  Initially whilst you find your feet it may be ok, or if it’s a particularly busy time e.g. quarter end, but generally avoid this, it won’t help you solve capacity problems in the longer term.

As for being easy, well, the Promotion Paradox is full of the challenges you’ll possibly come across, from having to re-evaluate your relationships to developing your skills.  I think most people have the skills to successfully manage a team, whether it’s one, ten or more, but what skills training will do is show you a) that you have those skills and b) how to apply them in the workplace.  But all of that takes effort.  Great if you’ve a supportive employer who will both fund and give you time to attend, but quite often if you want to develop your skills it’s up to you – which means time outside of office hours.

I haven’t come across a magic split of your time, I’ve seen reference to ‘10% work and 90% people’, but this seems a bit radical to me – unless your job is solely to manage.  Keep in mind that managing is also about communicating organisational news to team members, so you need sufficient time to make sure you’re up to date with all things corporate.

Don’t be afraid to get help – either from your new peers, or from external resources.  Now could be the best time to get a coach who will give you some clarity and certainty in what you’re doing.  Then of course there’s YouTube, and even good old-fashioned books. 

Having said it’s not quick and it’s not easy, it will get easier, and you will become more efficient as you get to grips with the role.