Becoming a manager for the first time can be somewhat intimidating. Many folks tend to feel as if you have been “dumped over the wall” to where your team eagerly (or not) awaits your leadership “magic”.  I’ve coached quite a few clients regarding these fears so permit me to share some fear-busters that may be useful for those of you in this situation, or soon to be there.  It’s part of a coaching process now called “on-boarding”.

Be real – be yourself.  Cloning yourself after the previous leader or pretending to be the opposite won’t cut it.  Choose your own style which will give you and your team confidence.  There’s no doubt it will be even more difficult if you are promoted to supervise a group of which you were a member.  Learn how to set boundaries.  Let your staff know what is expected of them.

Create focus.  If you try to change too many things right out of the starting gate, you will likely lose the support and ‘buy-in’ from your employees.  It’s not a race, but there may be some different business objectives you’d like to address.  Just take some time to assure stability of the group.

Be a great communicator.  One of my elementary school teachers (and probably some of yours) said, “God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason.”  She also stated, “You can’t learn unless you listen and your ears don’t work if your mouth is open.  That’s why God gave you one that you can shut.”

Say thank you.  If you let people know that you will consider their ideas, even if you can’t implement them and praise them for the input, you foster a much more creative environment.

Be available and visible.  Never mind the open door policy, try MBWA, which is “management by walking around”.  Ask questions like, “What prevented you from being your most productive today”, or “What can I do to make you more productive tomorrow and in the future”.  If necessary, create reasons for contact so that you can establish good two-way communication and build solid, trusting and long-lasting relationships.  

Ask your supervisor for “feed-forward”.  Identify challenges, issues and priorities that he/she wants you to tackle and by when; determine what are the most important action steps needed to achieving those goals and objectives. Get crystal clear clarification on the extent of your authority and your responsibility.

Emphasize teamwork.  The famous quote, “No man is an island” fits here, and your staff members are not stooges. Trust me, they will likely know more about the job than you until you’ve been there for some time.  Permit them to share their knowledge with you and again – say “thank you”.

Be fair and consistent.  An employee who tries to shorten your learning curve by telling you about everything when you first come on board can provide an inaccurate composite of what is really going on behind the scenes. The information he or she gives may be screened, cleaned and in their self interest.  Learn what you need to know from multiple sources.

Communicate effectively -- in both directions.  Let your staff know that you will keep them informed whenever possible, and build trust that you will avoid surprises whenever it is in your power. Let your staff know that you care about them and, above all, when they speak make sure you are listening – REALLY listening.

Make your own decisions – when appropriate.  You need to know which decisions you can or cannot make.  Understand that you must have the authority from above to move on it.  Just keep gathering information so you can make a decision or to present your reasoning to your manager.

Hire a coach.  Better yet, get your boss to hire one for you.  Having the unconditional support and feedback from someone who has likely been there far outweighs the cost of that investment.