How does one go about training individual contributors to become managers? Do you send them to management training, suggest books for them to read, hope they figure it out as they go along, or assume it will come with OJT?
Being a first-time manager isn’t easy for most people. Having been one of the gang and now leading that same gang is even more difficult. Few enjoy the path from being someone’s friend to now having to handle their performance reviews. And the employee who is now being managed by their friend ain’t too happy about it either, especially if there are performance problems.
Individual Contributor to Manager
What we often do in corporations is take the highest performer in the department, the individual contributor making the biggest difference, and promote them to manager, often assuming their skills will convert to management skills. Maybe they will, but statistically the odds are against them unless you are involved in their development as a manager.
Maybe they were a project manager and you assume that translates to people manager. This just isn’t true. The skills one needs to effectively manage a project may overlap with skills they need as a people manager, but here are a whole set of other skills they need as well.
What skills do they need to develop to lead and manage? I’m going to list some and, while the list isn’t exhaustive, it’s a beginning. Let me know what you think needs to be added.
- Learning to deal with performance problems.
- Team management / dynamic skills.
- Prioritizing and organizational skills.
- Developing and growing people.
- Interviewing and hiring successfully.
- Identifying talent and how to use it most effectively.
Once you identify what skills this new manager needs to develop, you can put together a plan on how they can build these.
What’s the plan?
First, you have to determine the top one or two skills to focus on. You know your organization and the challenges as well as this new manager’s skills.
While outside training may be an option, do not assume this means your job is done. You have to work with them on a weekly basis to build these skills. Have weekly meetings that include more than progress reports on projects. Ask this new manager to bring examples of situations that occurred and how they were handled. This gives you a prime opportunity to coach them.
Share with them the challenges you expect they will face as a new manager, how to handle situations, whom to turn to when they have a thorny problem, what role HR plays and how to use them effectively, which employees are on the “watch list” and who is a manager’s dream…everything to help them acclimate and have confidence as a manager.
Coach them in the moment also. When you observe something they did or didn’t handle well, let them know right then. And be specific about what you observed. If they handled something exceptionally well, tell them what it was exactly so they can repeat it again and again. When they misjudged a situation or you would have wanted them to handle it differently, be kind and specific. What did you observe? Why do you want it handled differently? What would you want them to do next time when faced with a similar situation?
Moving an individual contributor to become a manager doesn’t happen simply because they have a new title or you sent them to leadership training. You have to work with them to develop the skills and the confidence they need. There are many reasons managers aren’t successful, and one key I have observed is they lack confidence. This translates to them not making important decisions, second guessing themselves, or mishandling situations as they let their emotions get the better of them.
If you want new managers to succeed, take the time to help them get there. The investment now will provide dividends in the future.
