The Importance of Developing New Mangers

Well-trained managers play a key role in the success and future of their organizations. They have a large impact on employee performance and morale. They work with unmotivated employees to boost engagement and create development plans for any employee that may be struggling. They facilitate conversations between employees and leadership by sharing ideas or point out problems or inefficiencies within an organization.

Managers are the cornerstone of employee morale, motivation, and engagement. They are the ones recognizing employees for jobs well done, guiding employees in their career paths, and building strong relationships of trust.

By offering training to new managers, they will be able to:

• Properly communicate tasks and expectations
• Boost employee motivation by recognizing accomplishments
• Prioritize tasks based on time and employee abilities
• Evaluate an employee's performance

One of the top reason employees leave a company is their direct manager. Having good managers can have a significant impact on turnover and retention because they know how to motivate and encourage employees.

Common Issues in New Manager Development

Organizations must consider certain issues in creating and implementing a management development plan.

Personal Challenges
First-time managers often experience self-doubt or have imposter syndrome. They may have doubts about their competencies and abilities at handling the new role.

If the promotion came from within, some subordinates may question a new manager's decisions and competence. This could be exacerbated if the employee also applied but was not chosen for the new manager role.

Out of a desire to relate to their new employees, managers may be scared or reserved when enforcing policy or meeting objectives. It could also go the opposite way where the new manager has a large ego and is there to prove a point or make a statement by going over the top with negative feedback.

Organizational Challenges
Some managers may resist development support. They may not want to admit any weaknesses they have and look like they were the wrong choice for the job.

Managers may believe that they lack what they need to get the job done: enough staff, enough budget, or enough of a vision from leadership. Yet, they often make do with what they have.

Creating a Management Development Strategy

It’s vital to the success of an organization to train new managers. They are shifting their priorities and are now in a position of authority with responsibility for employees. Having a training plan in place can help the transition from employee to manager be smoother and teach needed skills to new managers.

Some key parts of a management development strategy include:

• Assessing manager’s current skill levels
• Analyzing the number of managers and the competencies needed in the future
• Aligning the training plans to the organization's overall goals and objectives
• Creating training plans that fit the needs of the individuals as well as the organization
• Providing guidance on continuous learning opportunities for managers and supervisors

Skills Needed to Succeed in New Manager Role

Regardless of whether promoted from within or hired from outside, new managers need ongoing training on a broad variety of skills to be successful.

Conflict Resolution
While conflicts are certainly challenging to mediate, they can be handled well with the right training. Managers need to know conflict styles along with different ways to mediate between parties.

Talent Retention and Coaching
It’s vital as a manager to seek out the best in employees and help them grow both personally and professionally. Helping them see what they are good at and offering constructive tips on how to get better can encourage them to stay with an organization.

Communication
There’s a lot that new managers are in charge of that they weren’t before: tracking deadlines, keeping to a budget, and just keeping their new team afloat. Productivity and morale will go down if new managers can’t communicate effectively.

Resilience
Being a manager is hard – from employees leaving to project deadlines missed to having to let employees go. Without developing their resilience, managers could struggle in their new roles. Managers need a solid understanding of their industry, how their organization fits into that industry, how the organization works, and the organization’s culture, policies, and procedures.