You’re a Manager Now: You Have to Dress the Part

You have to dress the part, you have to look like a manager, if you want people to perceive you as a manager. Not sure you believe this? Then watch my new video and leave your comment below.

You’re new to this, so cut yourself some slack!

Here’s a video I recently posted on YouTube, advising new managers (like you!) to be patient with themselves instead of expecting to learn everything at once. It’s great advice for new managers!

Characteristics of Winning Teams

If you look closely at winning teams, you’ll see they have certain characterics in common. And great team leaders work to establish and maintain these team characteristics because they lead to high performance, high productivity and – just as important – to satisfaction among team members.

Here’s a video I made for you describing those characteristics of winning teams.

Guidance for the Newly Promoted

I recently did an interview with Tom Cox on his Internet radio program, Tom on Leadership. It was all about how to use the first 30 days of your new position to get you off to a good start. If you’d like to hear some great insights from both Tom and me, here’s the link to the recording:

Guidance for the Newly Promoted

I’d love to have your comments on the ideas Tom and I discussed, and especially if you put them into practice.

New Manager: Invest in Yourself!

Someone recently told me she would like to become a Traveler in my program for new managers, The Manager’s Journey, but her employer would not pay for it. She asked how she could persuade the company to pay so that she could take part in The Manager’s Journey.

My answer probably wasn’t what she expected, but here it is: pay for it yourself! After all, it’s your career, isn’t it?

One of the biggest mistakes new managers make is not investing in their own professional development. Of course it’s great when your company puts you through courses for your development, but you shouldn’t restrict yourself to those. If you want to develop your management career, there are many things you’ll need to learn and they won’t all be available in-house. Those who ask why they should have to pay when it’s the company that gains are taking a very short-sighted view.

In the long term, you will actually benefit more than the company, because you will learn skills that are transferrable. If you move to another position in another company, you will already be more prepared if you’ve learned some basic management skills. If you can truthfully say in your resume that you have taken management courses, that gives you an advantage in the job market, so why not put yourself in this position even if it means paying your own way?

That is, in fact, the reason I have kept the ticket price for The Manager’s Journey low, because I know many new managers will have to pay their own way and I want them to be able to afford it. (By the way, if you haven’t already, you really should read all about The Manager’s Journey to see if it’s for you.)

Don’t be short-sighted, new manager, and don’t be left behind: invest in your own professional growth, invest in your career, invest in yourself!