What are the most common challenges faced by People Managers in their first year?

First-year People Managers often encounter challenges that require a blend of compassion and strategic thinking. One primary hurdle is fostering trust within the team. Building authentic connections and demonstrating genuine care for individuals can be time-consuming but lays the foundation for a strong, united workforce. Additionally, navigating through conflicts and addressing diverse personalities demands emotional intelligence and a nuanced approach to conflict resolution. Striking the right balance between being approachable and maintaining authority is another challenge, as managers must establish their leadership style while remaining open to feedback. Remember, it's a journey of growth for both you and your team.

It's indeed a big shift to go from a high-performing individual contributor to a people manager. Providing clarity to the team becomes one of your most important priorities. - Invest extra time in understanding the priorities you are responsible for yourself. (Get yourself to a point where you can pitch it like a start-up founder) - Set principles to follow, such as "Understand Business Economics" - Set the priorities for your team with a well-established system such as OKRs and/or Smart Goals. - Re-iterate goals, motivate the team, and share the importance of what we do at every opportunity. - Establish a system of working for your teams that makes it easy for them to prioritize the right activities and help clear roadblocks.

The toughest thing I dealt with was “letting go”. There was always this “itch” to get the job done myself. I had to train myself to coach/mentor team to get it done, and focus my energies on big picture/strategic items to help the team.

First-time people managers face a unique set of hurdles in their first year as they transition from individual contributors to leaders. Balancing former peer relationships with new managerial responsibilities can be tricky but, Managers need to establish authority without alienating former colleagues. Clear and consistent communication is essential. New managers may struggle with delegating tasks effectively either by micromanaging or by not providing enough guidance. Addressing performance issues and conducting evaluations can be daunting. Understanding and navigating the organizational dynamics and politics can be challenging. Balancing the demands of a new managerial role with personal life can be stressful.

In their first years people managers often are faced with self doubt and probably imposter syndrome. As an Individual contributor earlier they would have had clear paths to defined outcomes. With management comes a lot of uncertainty to deal with. The key is to learn as you progress through different challenges and be vulnerable to learn and discuss these difficulties with their bosses.

Managers tend to become extremely aggressive in their very first year as a Manager. This often results in conflict, and as a result friction leading to discontentment and attrition amongst team members. Team members tend to see that the Manager as someone who wants to accomplish everything by himself. By delegating tasks, the manager also starts feeling insecure either because he feels that the tasks may not accomplished "as expected" or the the team mate may over-run him in the race to recognition and rewards.

Remember your job now is to ensure your team gets the work done, NOT YOU. You are now accountable for the work your team does, NOT responsible directly. Ensure to provide your team clarity, autonomy, and ownership. This can be done by properly implementing systems such as agile and becoming the keeper of the system and accountable for the outcomes.

Delegation of tasks should not be biased. It is not a good management practice to delegate tasks and position based on loyalty instead of merit. The better people's managers understand this, the better we become as an organization/brand. The round peg should go in a round hole, do not comprise excellence for management. Do not compromise quality for quantity. It is important.

Delegating effectively - New managers often struggle with the transition from doing to overseeing work. They may either delegate too little, feeling the need to be involved in every detail, or delegate too much without proper guidance, overwhelming their team. Effective delegation is a balance – it requires understanding each team member's strengths and capabilities, providing clear instructions, and trusting them to handle tasks. It's essential for managers to learn this skill to manage their workload, develop their team's abilities, and focus on strategic aspects of their role. Poor delegation can lead to burnout and reduced team efficiency, making it a crucial area for new managers to master.

This is where most of the new managers struggle they are used to doing things by themselves and they see that they can do it faster than delegating it because of that they get into trouble a lot. If you master the delegating you can do wonders. First understand the scope of the work, strengths and interests of each team member and deadline. Delegate the tasks based on that and check whether they have any roadblocks and how you can unlock them.

In my experience, the challenges faced by people managers in their first year are: 1) Difficulty to let go and delegate 2) Being too hands-off or too hands-on 3) Assuming everyone in the team is on the same level of perfection as them 4) Trying to do everything themselves as they believe they can do it much faster than training someone - linked to the 1st point 5) Be too harsh on themselves as they think they need to prove their managerial abilities 6) Not asking for help/support when needed

Establishing trust with team members can be challenging in the first year. Understanding and adapting to the dynamics of a new team along with adjusting to the expectations of a leadership position is crucial during early days. I have even observed people managers juggling immediate priorities with the need to set and achieve long-term objectives.

As a people's manager, it is crucial to admit that at your best of service, you can not satisfy everyone under your management structure. Some would think in a different direction from the majority and that is to tell you there is a high chance for feedbacks from some people and criticism as well. It is important for a manager to know how to manage such feedbacks and criticism, constructive or destructive. On the other hand, people's manager should as well give feedback on the people's performance and suggest a better way to make work and life much more easier.

Getting over our own egos is huge! In the first year we're so keen on being right in order to vindicate our position early on, that pride gets in the way when feedback arises. We can't forget that we want to impress too! But that lesson of being able to have 360-degree accountability & see feedback as a positive trait that we instil into the group via a feeling of safety is a much bigger way of impressing both above and below on the organisation tree.

Ao assumir uma equipe, pela primeira vez, você encontrar alguns desafios pelo caminho, sendo o feedback um dos mais significativos. Estabeleça relação de confiança, pratique uma comunicação assertiva, transparente, priorizando o cuidado, respeito e empatia. Invista no autoconhecimento, desenvolva sua IE. Ouça atentamente seu time, auxiliando no enfrentamento de desafios. Proporcione planos de desenvolvimento personalizados, abordando as necessidades individuais de cada membro. Ao fornecer feedback, assegure-se de embasá-lo em fatos e dados concretos. Por fim, não subestime a importância do feedback positivo e de reconhecimento, pois estes desempenham um papel tão crucial quanto, ou até mais, do que os feedbacks de aprimoramento.

Como gerente de personas deberás involucrarte muchas veces en conflictos de otros, deberás mediar y ayudar a las partes a encontrarse en algún punto en el medio. Busca los conflictos, sobretodo los que yacen ocultos, abórdalos y ayuda a tu organización a destrabar su funcionamiento.

from my experience i have always vouced for the below step by step approach for any kind of confict management. Address the concern/prob>>Active listen >> Understand and facilitate diverse prespectives>>> stay neutral >> gather facts & Document >>Mediate Constructively>>Provide Constructive Feedback/Implement Changes>>>Learn and Adapt>>involve higher management if necessary>>> document entire resolution.

Conflict management and resolution is a skillset that a people's manager must have. The ability to spot potential rift among people and how to intervene responsibly and maturely to prevent it from happening. People with different cultures and social background can easily get into an argument and if care is not taken it can aggravate to physical assault and beyond that is gossiping and malice keeping. To avoid all that, manager should be able to handle conflict.

Address conflicts swiftly and fairly by understanding all sides of the issue and facilitating a resolution that aligns with organizational values. It's akin to a mediator who seeks to understand the positions of each party before guiding them towards a mutually beneficial resolution. Picture this - It’s like being a referee in a game where emotions can run high. If two team members have a disagreement over a project’s direction, you’d need to understand each person’s viewpoint and guide them towards a compromise that aligns with the project's goals.

Absolutely, effectively managing conflict is a critical skill for people managers. By addressing the root causes, fostering open dialogue, and seeking collaborative solutions, managers can transform conflicts into opportunities for growth, innovation, and strengthened team dynamics. This proactive approach not only resolves immediate issues but also builds trust, resilience, and a culture of mutual respect and understanding within the team.

Establish an "always learning culture". Left to chance, your team's time will be filled 100% with work. As manager, it is up to you to carve out time for learning and development and to actively ensure your team is encouraged to use time in this way. You also must ensure you are actively removing workload to ensure this time is truly available and not just "extra work". This can be really hard, and you should also work with your leadership to set clear parameters and expectations around what a culture of learning means. Role modeling is critical - you need to practice what you preach. Let your team see you allocating time to your own learning. Use team meetings and other touch points to encourage people to talk about their learning.

The growth of the team members is the growth of the company/brand. If the company is well represented to the general public, then that is traceable to the team members of the company making it work. This is where the goal is and why the people's manager should prioritize team development in his curriculum. Effective and deliberate commitment to growing and developing within a team is a thing of concern for all the team members as well therefore.

One thing I always advise is to take the help of others - especially subject matter experts - to build a development plan for your team. In Year 1 you cannot expect yourself to have all the answers. You likely won't have them all in Year 25 either! Reserve some of your effort and energy by bringing in the SMEs to help.

Fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment requires intentional efforts. People Managers need to navigate issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion while promoting a culture of belonging.

Invest in the professional growth of your team. Identify skills gaps and provide training opportunities. For example, in the workplace, you might implement a development plan that includes mentorship, cross-training, and online courses to bridge skill gaps and prepare employees for future roles. Additionally, stay attuned to the well-being of your team. A manager should be approachable and supportive, creating an environment where team members feel comfortable discussing challenges. Beyond the daily tasks, consider the cultural aspects of your team. For instance, recognizing cultural holidays shows inclusivity and respect, which can improve team cohesion and morale.

If team members are working on multiple activities, be clear about what is more urgent and when you expect an update. Check in with people to understand their workload, check on progress and see if they need help.

Absolutely, balancing priorities is a crucial skill for people managers to navigate the complexities of their roles effectively. By prioritizing tasks, setting clear boundaries, and practicing self-care, managers can optimize their productivity and well-being while ensuring alignment with team and organizational goals. This balanced approach fosters resilience, clarity, and effectiveness, ultimately contributing to both personal and organizational success.

Balancing priorities especially between "technical" tasks and "people" tasks is a big challenge when it is a split role like as a team lead for example. Sometimes all the best tips are useless when the to-do list is just too long. A tool that helps with prioritizing is the Eisenhower matrix. This matrix helps classify tasks into four quadrants based on their urgency and importance: - urgent and important: do it now - important but not urgent: schedule for another time - urgent but not important: delegate to someone else - and neither urgent nor important: don't do at all.

Juggling multiple tasks and responsibilities is challenging. I had to develop strong time management skills and learn to prioritize effectively. It's also about striking the right balance between work and personal life.

Ensuring compliance with HR policies and procedures is essential. Staying informed about HR regulations, handling employee relations issues, and addressing concerns in accordance with policies are ongoing challenges.

To change yourself from Individual Contributor to manager is a biggest challenge by itself as from now onwards you have to make that decorum with them as well, with whom earlier you have worked closely. - To make sure that your team completes the task before the given deadline. -Challenge of understanding each team member's strength and capability of doing work. -To implement new policies on existing employees.

In their first year, people managers often face challenges such as gaining the trust and respect of their team, learning how to navigate organizational politics, understanding company culture, and effectively managing their time and priorities. It can also be difficult to balance the needs of individual team members with the overall goals of the organization, as well as addressing any conflicts or performance issues that may arise. Building strong communication skills and seeking mentorship and support from more experienced leaders can help new people managers navigate these challenges successfully.

While there are many areas people struggle with as a first time people manager, here are few that are common: - Lack of personal connect with team. - Demanding respect for the title vs earning respect. - Micromanaging people vs trusting them to do their job. - Lack of empathy and compassion. - Lack of feedback skills. - Conflict with directs. - Unfair performance measurement due to conflict of interest. Personal grudge against directs. - Team success is not a priority. Only manager wins and team looses.

People often underestimate the shift from Individual Contributor to Manager. Becoming a leader can be portrayed as a glamorous appointment, filled with prestige and influence. And it is incredibly rewarding to create an environment where everyone in your team is happy, motivated, and doing their best work. Yet it’s also paved with challenges, learning curves, and unexpected revelations that no one really talks about. Embrace these challenges and lessons as opportunities to grow, and don't hesitate to seek guidance from mentors, peers and resources to help you navigate the complexities of leadership successfully.

Managing teams with diverse age groups and generational preferences can be challenging. Understanding how to motivate and engage employees from different generations is crucial for fostering a positive work environment.