9 Leadership Mistakes You Can Make as A New Manager (Don’t Do This!)
Are you the new project manager? Is it your first day at job?
Congratulations, you made it!
No doubt, you are excited about the new journey. You can’t wait to take on your responsibilities as a new leader and impress everyone by doing things right from the first day.
But is it going to be that easy?
Of course not.
No matter how many years you may have spent working in the industry, being a first-time manager isn’t easy. In fact, during the initial days, a new leader or boss is most likely to screw up and make silly mistakes without even knowing. The good news is that there are many project managers and leaders who have been through the same situation and have made terrible mistakes in their own time. So what you can do is learn from the mistakes of others and use them to get successful in your new leadership role.
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However, gathering this kind of input will take a lot of your time and efforts. And you certainly can’t afford that, especially when you have a new team and a pile of new projects to manage. To help, we’ve done some research on our end and gathered insights into some of the most common mistakes that new managers tend to make, along with some tips for avoiding them.
Now, we don’t mean to scare you — we just want you to be well-informed and well-prepared for the dynamics of being a new leader or boss. Just keep it in mind that the sooner you recognize and avoid these common leadership mistakes, the sooner you will crack the code for your success.
Are you ready? Let’s get started.
Leadership Mistakes You Are Likely To Make As A New Manager
- You plan, but don’t prioritize
This is probably the first and the most dangerous mistake you can make as a new manager. Picture this: you have tons of tasks and projects to work on. You have made plans to work on each of them but you are not sure about which one to work on first. Would you care to guess why? Well, it’s because you planned well but you failed at prioritizing. Your to-do list is all messed up and no one in your team knows what tasks or projects they need to work on. If you’re not certain about how to prioritize things at work, you can go with workflow boards and Gantt chart tools that make planning easier, faster.
2. You micromanage
Micromanagement has destroyed many teams. It’s the ultimate controlling management style that most new managers follow without realizing the later consequences. At first, it seems good to be in complete control of everything in a team, situation or place, but eventually, things become super annoying. How would you feel if your every move or decision is being personally monitored by someone? Not so good, right? Well, that’s exactly what your team members feel when you micromanage them at work. They feel demotivated by your continuous interference and the whole process slows down.
3. You often lose sight of the big picture
Once you become a leader or a manager, your everyday responsibilities are completely different from those you had before. It’s quite overwhelming and in most cases, new managers become so hung up with their daily grind that they lose sight of the big picture i.e why you (and your team) do the things you do. Just remember that good leader skills strive to ensure the work they do is worth the effort and time, not just because it affects the present, but also because it will shape the future of their teams and business.
4. You command, not communicate
It’s tempting to make yourself heard as a new manager, but you need to remember that your job is not just about speaking but also to listen to others. Smart leaders know this very well and they communicate instead of commanding. If you need ideas, consider asking your team questions about the business, its current position in the market, and the key challenges it faces every day. Making communication a key habit in the workplace will not only make you better informed but will also ensure that you don’t embarrass yourself or act ignorant towards your team.
5. You say “YES” to everything
Saying yes to unnecessary work is another common mistake that many new managers make today. They tend to forget the fact that when they take on the responsibility to get a job done, they have to get it done no matter what. And if they don’t, they look foolish and lose credibility. Don’t forget that you have got limited hours in your hand and you already have tons of tasks and activities in your to-do list. So if you’re saying “yes” to something new or adding a new task in your to-do list app, make sure that you check off one task from your to-do list at the same time. Avoid making commitments that you can’t keep.
6. You don’t give critical feedback
Everybody wants to be liked and it’s certainly tough to tell people that they’re doing something wrong, but it needs to be done. Underestimating the importance of sharing critical, constructive feedback in a workplace is one of the biggest mistakes you can make as a new leader or manager. You need to create and maintain a workplace environment where people can give and take constructive feedback on each other’s work. It’s important because it helps everyone to do their respective jobs in the most efficient manner — and that involves you too. Need help? Consider using online proofing tools for seamless review and feedback sharing within the workplace.
7. You remember tasks, but forget careers
Many new leaders become so focused on getting projects and task completed on time that they overlook the importance of encouraging knowledge development and personal growth within their team. They forget that each member of their team has his/her own personal goals to meet as well. Now, if you have recently been promoted to the position of a manager in your company, make it a habit to take an interest in your team member’s interest. Learn more about their strengths and aspirations. Most importantly, provide them the development and learning opportunities they have been looking for. In simple words, be the kind of manager that you always wanted.
8. You don’t ask for help (not soon enough)
Being a manager doesn’t mean that you know everything. As a manager or a leader, you will face many difficult situations. Now, how you deal with these situations is completely up to you. Do you want to wait and see or do you want to get out of the trouble as soon as possible? If you’re in favor of the later, you will have to learn to ask for help when needed. Being in the industry is a continuous learning process. No matter whether you are a team member or a project manager, you can always learn something new from the people around you.
9. You fail to adapt
The industry we all work in is continuously evolving. Every day there are some new trends and technologies being introduced in the industry that are changing the business world as we know it. Failing to adapt to these new trends and technologies is a common mistake that many new managers make. They fail to keep up with what’s new in their field and continue working with conventional methods and tools where everyone else is experimenting with the latest technology and techniques. As a result, you and your team are not satisfied with the outcomes you’re achieving.
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In the end…
Every new manager/leader steps into one or more of these mistakes. If you want to create an exception, be sure that you keep in mind what you learned from each of them. Don’t let yourself, your team, your projects, or your business fall victim to silly leadership mistakes.
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