Many organizations rightly believe that promotion from within improves retention and employee satisfaction. Quite often however, new managers feel overwhelmed by their new people responsibilities and do not succeed.
Why not throw them a few “life preservers” and provide “swimming” lessons?
A few “life preservers”
— Orientation: New employees receive an orientation with the organization’s mission and values and the employee handbook, why not the new manager? The orientation will be viewed differently now that the new manager must be a role model for the organizational mission and administer policies.
— Mentoring: New managers will benefit from pairing them with another person who has successfully made the transition from individual contributor to manager. Sharing stories of lessons learned will help the new manager avoid similar mistakes.
— Team Assimilation: How does the new manager quickly assimilate with his/her team? An effective program we used at GE was the New Manager Assimilation program where a trained facilitator worked with the new manager and their work team in brainstorming “getting to know” questions.
Swimming Lessons AKA Training Plans
— Basic Training: Keep the new manager “afloat” with the basics such as effective communication, delegation, motivation, how to adapt to different work styles and how to give instructions. (They may be leading the same group that had once been their peers!)
— More Advanced Training: Depending on the new manager’s new responsibilities, consider other topics as: Coaching, Meeting Skills, Writing Skills, Time Management, Interviewing, Performance Appraisals, Discipline, Presentation Skills, Budgeting, Managing Conflict, Setting Goals and Objectives, Employment Law for Supervisors etc.
The amount of support the organization provides will result in a more confident and competent new manager. Sink or Swim? Definitely swimming to success!