By

Mike Toten

Mike Toten is a freelance writer, editor and media commentator.

Some employees find themselves out of their depth for usually the first time at work, and at the same time may no longer be able to rely on support from co-workers.

What can managers and HR do to prevent this situation from occurring, or at least mitigate the problems?

Why it happens

An employee who was previously responsible for their own actions and outcomes now also becomes responsible for the actions and outcomes of other employees. Work relationships that were previously harmonious and productive can now become difficult and stressful for both parties.

The new manager may have been very effective in their previous role as a team member, but in the new role no longer has the expertise and confidence which made that possible. The lack of expertise/confidence particularly applies to the ability to manage other employees – something the new manager may never have needed to do previously. Very often employees are thrown quickly into management roles and left to work it out for themselves – for example because the previous manager left the job suddenly and the vacancy had to be filled quickly.

Another reason for failure is that the employee was promoted because they were the best or most experienced employee in their type of work – sales, administrative, tradesperson, law, etc – and the employer felt pressured to reward them with a promotion. Or perhaps the employer believed that if it did not find a way to promote the employee, they would become frustrated and resign. The latter might happen anyway, if the new manager becomes unhappy or stressed with the demands of the unfamiliar new job.

Another common reason is when a competent employee is dissatisfied with the performance of management, discovers that co-workers feel the same way, and genuinely believes they could do the job better – only to discover that the managerial role is harder than and very different from what they expected.

A new manager who performed technical work very well may find it very difficult to delegate the same work to others, particularly if the manager believes other employees can’t do the work as well as they did. The manager may also feel that having to delegate work is an admission that they are failing to cope with the demands of the job. It may be very tempting to hang onto the work or jump in to help co-workers when help is not required. Another motive for “jumping in” may be that it provides a welcome opportunity to revert to some work the manager is comfortable doing, and some relief from the tough new tasks that may make the manager feel they are not being “productive”.

When a new manager is struggling, there is a tendency to revert to behaviours that worked well in the past. Trying to maintain the same friendships in the same way as before, and acting as a team member (eg “jumping in” as noted above) instead of as a leader are common failings. They end up having an undermining effect.

What managers and HR can do to help

The key to a successful transition to a management role is prior preparation and assessment of suitability, plus ongoing support.

The following steps are recommended:

  • Evaluate the employee’s suitability for promotion before making a decision. This process may include psychometric assessment of abilities, interests and preferences; identifying training and development needs for the new role; and evaluation of preferred work styles and communication methods.
  • Ensure the employee is actually interested in a promotion. Some will be very definite about wishing to continue as non-managerial “experts” in their field, in which case look for and discuss suitable alternatives to the managerial career pathway.
  • Provide mentoring and coaching that focuses on the changes that need to occur to transition successfully into a management role. The mentors/coaches need to provide knowledge and assistance in positive and supportive ways, and that assistance will need to continue after the employee commences in the role. The initial aim will be to have the employee ready and able to step into the new role.
  • Help the employee to learn how to treat former co-workers from a manager’s perspective. That means understanding how they prefer to be managed and what motivates them. However, the management style also needs to suit the new manager’s personality.

To summarise, many newly-promoted managers need to learn how to become good people managers – their technical knowledge and expertise won’t be enough to get by. Choosing suitable people in the first place and then providing them with ongoing support is essential.

Mike Toten

Freelance Writer

Mike Toten is a freelance writer, editor and media commentator who specialises in research and writing about HR best practices, industrial relations, equal employment opportunity and related areas. Mike has over 30 years' writing experience, including writing and editing Human Resources Management