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Sunday, April 8, 2012

Top Ten Pitfalls for New Managers

Top Ten Pitfalls and Survival Strategies for New Managers

According to this article I found on HRVoice.org, “Top Ten Pitfalls and Survival Strategies for New Managers”, there are ten common issues that may arise for a new manager, that can hurt their ability to become a successful manager. 

This article covers these ten common pitfalls and survival strategies to overcome these pitfalls. Personally, I thought this article was appropriate for our class because many of us in this class have the ambition to become some type of manager in the future. Most of us are looking to being able to manage at least a couple people in the future; therefore I thought this article could be helpful for our class, to overcome these “pitfalls.”

The pitfall’s and the survival strategies are as follows:

1.      One of the biggest pitfalls for a manager is to assume that they can do exactly what their managers have done, and it will work for them. According to this article, all managers have different styles and different issues in the workplace, rather than copying an exact style of a past manager, getting a mentor who can guide you is better.

2.      Sometimes managers believe they can get rid of conflict in the workplace. This article states that many new managers believe they can abolish conflict, but in reality, abolishing conflict and stress from the workplace is almost impossible. In this case, managers should take conflict as it comes, not try to get rid of it all together.

3.      Another pitfall this article describes is that many managers believe that people should just know how to do their jobs. In reality, expectations are always changing, therefore managers should have the ability to coach their subordinates and communicate their expectations in an effective manner.

4.      “I can do it better”. A major pitfall for some managers believes they can do tasks better than others, therefore not delegating tasks to others. Managers must remember to delegate tasks to others and not try to do everything themselves, otherwise responsibilities may become overbearing and leadership skills may lack.

5.      “Forget goals, let’s just do the job.” Many managers believe goals are not important and look towards just finishing the task but they do not understand if clear goals are not set, the task will be not be completed.

6.      An assumption many managers have that may take away from their ability to be a successful manager is that they believe all meetings are boring. Managers must plan meetings that are effective and engaging, if they assume they are all boring, they may have trouble engaging their employees.

7.      People cannot be motivated, is another assumption that many managers have that may lead to their pitfall. They must understand that people can be motivated through such tactics as interesting work and recognition.

8.      “Some people just can’t or won’t do the job.” Many managers assume that employees who are having trouble doing their work to an efficient standard either are not motivated or lack skills, but in reality there are many different issues that can be the reason for this.

9.      The ninth pitfall, this article illustrates is the fact that many new managers believe that “communication will take care of itself.” Managers must learn how to deal with upset employees and any conflicts that may arise in an adequate manner.

10.  The final pitfall this article talks about is the fact that many managers believe to be fair they must treat everybody the same. Every situation is different; therefore having a single approach to every situation may not be adequate.

Personally, from my work experience as an HR assistant at Orbital Marketing, I agree 100 % with this article. I have seen both experienced and new managers assume at least one of the above ten assumptions listed and noticed how they have struggled to create a good working relationship with their subordinates. From this article, I believe I can take this to my current workplace and work with my manager to help educate managers that are struggling. Also, in the future I want to have my own business, therefore managing employees may be a part of my job, so this article will be really helpful.

If you guys want more information about this topic, you can find this article here: http://www.hrvoice.org/top-10-pitfalls-and-survival-strategies-for-new-managers/

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