Starting a Management Position? 5 Things to Know

6 years ago | Posted in: Business | 674 Views

If you are just starting out in your management position, it can seem overwhelming. After all, you aren’t just responsible for you but everyone around you. So you need the right tools to make sure you’re getting the team to perform at the highest levels and hitting your company’s goals. Here is what you need to know in order to do that:

Take the Lead

A big part of being a manager is being a leader. You need to do things first before your employees are going to do them. This can come in many forms. The first is being willing to walk the walk.

Many managers make the mistake of asking employees to do things that they wouldn’t do themselves. The second mistake is assuming that what they do is easy. If you have this attitude, employees might smile and nod to your face but they will talk bad about you behind your back and have resentment toward you because they don’t think you truly understand them or care about them.

To remedy this, take the lead by always proving your point by example. If you want your sales team to make more calls, make some sales calls yourself. Spend some time in the trenches. Your team will then be motivated because they see that success is possible and that their leader is willing to do what he or she wants them to do. It’s a win-win scenario all the way around, no matter what industry you are in.

Incentivize the Team

Without the right incentives, it is hard to get any team to perform well. And if they aren’t up to snuff, the pressure from upper management is going to come down on you, not them. So make sure you have a strong employee incentive program in place.

This can come in many forms. You can offer more vacation days, casual Fridays, company parties, and extra benefits like insurance or daycare. Anything that adds to the bottom line compensation package is a plus. But also have special incentives for hitting sales goals and other targets. This will motivate them to put the extra work in, as well as making you look like a great manager to your superiors.

Don’t Come Down Too Hard

It can be tempting to criticize a worker when they are not meeting your standards. However, this might have the opposite effect of making them correct their mistake and working harder. They may take it personally and lose their motivation or purposely do poor work as revenge.

Instead, you should identify the issue and correct them very calmly and objectively. This is easier to do if you are constantly focusing on the positives by praising them for the accomplishments they have made. It makes the small dose of criticism easier to stomach.

Seek Outside Resources

Don’t feel like you have to do everything your self. If you are struggling to achieve results in one are of the business, look to outside resources. One example of this is a consultant. They can come in and show you a third party perspective which can be helpful when you have been too close to the issue to see it clearly. This principle applies in sales, marketing, accounting, and every area.

Don’t be Afraid to Hire

Hire fast and adjust from there. That is the mantra of the modern business world. The small investment you make in extra employees will be outweighed by the extra revenue and innovation they can bring to the table.

When it comes to modern day business, being a manager is one of the most difficult positions there is. You have so many issues under the sun to worry about. However, it doesn’t have to be so hard. If you leverage the resources above you can make your job easier while making sure to achieve key targets. That way you can relax knowing that your job is secure and the company is in great shape because of your actions.

 

Author Bio:  Jeremy is a tech and business writer from Simi Valley, CA. He’s worked for Adobe, Google, and himself. He lives for success stories, and hopes to be one someday.

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