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Making rookie managers into leaders
October 03, 2005

One of the most important lessons I have learned as an executive is that rookie managers need help to become leaders. It's important to recognize that just because someone is talented at their job...just because they are a great writer, strong at media relations or valued as a client counselor...it doesn't necessarily make them a good manager. Instead of teaching new managers how to lead and giving them the tools to succeed, we put them in a new job and expect them to know what to do. Not surprisingly, many employees who were formally confident with their talent and "stars" in their former role soon begin to fail in their elevated jobs. So, what should one do to make sure this doesn't happen?....we need to save rookie managers from themselves.

In 2002, Harvard Business Review published an article by Carol A. Walker entitled "Saving Rookie Managers from Themselves." It has become a must read at MWW for experienced and new managers alike. An excerpt is below, and the full article can be retrieved from the HBR’s archives here.

Most organizations promote employees into managerial positions based on their technical competence. Very often, however, those people fail to grasp how their roles have changed–that their jobs are no longer about personal achievement but instead about enabling others to achieve, that sometimes driving the bus means taking a backseat, and that building a team is often more important than cutting a deal. Even the best employees can have trouble adjusting to these new realities. That trouble may be exacerbated by normal insecurities that make rookie managers hesitant to ask for help, even when they find themselves in thoroughly unfamiliar territory. As these new managers internalize their stress, their focus becomes internal as well. They become insecure and self-focused and cannot properly support their teams. Inevitably, trust breaks down, staff members are alienated, and productivity suffers.

Every industry is guilty of promoting people and expecting them to immediately know how to motivate people, manage more responsibility and grow a bottom line. Promoting our best talent is not just about retention of high quality employees, it's about helping our organizations improve - ensuring that our people not only know their business ... but know how to become leaders.

Posted by Michael Kempner at October 3, 2005 02:33 PM