subject: 5 Critical Mistakes People Make When Trying to Become a Manager, Team Leader or Supervisor by:Madisen Harper [print this page] No doubt you're reading this article because you think it's time to take action towards getting your first manager, team leader or supervisor promotion. You may have even tried becoming a manager by applying for promotions and have yet to succeed.
For a decade I watched clients and colleagues look for ways to fast-track their management career.
They told me there were no comprehensive books, courses or easily accessible or affordable resources that taught people how to get their first role as a manager, team leader or supervisor.
After talking to 1000s of people about their management aspirations I started to see a trend of five career killing mistakes people made when attempting to jump into management.
I'd like to share these with you so you don't make the same critical errors when pursuing your promotion to team leader, supervisor or manager. OK, let's start with mistake #1:
** Critical Mistake #1 - Focusing on and Modeling the Wrong Behavior
A lot of people look at their Boss and say, "I can do what they're doing."
My question is, "Do you *really* want to?"
Recent statistics state that 4 out of 5 people hate their boss and 90% suffer from a management culture wracked by "blame, mindless conformity and indecision".
I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to be modeling behavior that creates that type of outcome.
In order to become a manager you have to discover the attributes of an *effective manager* and work at developing them, but first you've got to get the basics right and know exactly what a manager does. And that leads us to Mistake #2.
** Critical Mistake # 2 - Assuming they Know the Role and Responsibilities of a Manager
When I ask people what a manager does I get some pretty vague answers.
They range from "bossing people" around to "pretending to do work" and my favorite, "delegate".
Some of these responses may be true but when you're in front of an interview panel you have to be crystal clear on the role you're interviewing for and I'm afraid none of the previous answers cut it.
You can't assume what a manager does, you have to know. And we all know what *assume* stands for ... makes an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'. It's no wonder they weren't getting promoted, because they weren't prepared.
** Critical Mistake #3 - Getting Caught up in the 'Chicken and Egg' Conundrum of Management Experience
I constantly hear people say, "I keep getting feedback that I need management experience to get an executive role. But how can I get experience if I don't get the job?"
You probably feel like a kid just out of school all over again. The fact is, you probably have the experience, you just don't know how to mine for it.
You have to know what management attributes employers are looking for and then uncover opportunities to showcase your skills and get yourself noticed.
The reasons why people weren't getting promoted were because they weren't prepared and they just left their career advancement up to: continuing to do a good job and chance.
Which brings me to the fourth critical mistake people make when trying to get their first job as a manager, team leader or supervisor.
** Critical Mistake # 4 - Not Having a Plan to Get the Promotion
Most people think that excelling in their job, having enthusiasm and being a go getter is good enough to get them noticed and into a management position.
And that may be true to some extent. But relying on those factors alone can significantly slow down your progress. You need to be clear on the roles and responsibilities of a manager in a general sense and then be vocation specific on top of that. You also need to identify skill gaps, create a plan to develop your knowledge, build your resume and profile, showcase your skills and get yourself prepared for when you finally do land that big promotion. ** Critical Mistake #5 - Not Being Prepared for the New Job Once they get a new job, most people are on a three month probationary period. So although they've got the role, their skills and abilities are still being scrutinized. Now you have to be effective at your job and be a good manager.
And it's the management component most people get stuck on.
It's a big shift from taking care of yourself to now being responsible for the success, performance and well-being of the people who now report to you.
And that's where the challenge lies, so many new managers, team leaders or supervisors make the mistake of *just* doing what they did in their previous role.
In order to survive the probationary period and beyond, it's essential to have an action plan that allows you to hit the ground running, make a professional impression straight away and grab hold of that low hanging fruit to create early success.
An employer won't expect you to be a management expert, and you have your entire career to develop your authority in that area, but learning management basics from leadership to dealing with difficult people will start you off on the right foot.
OK, you're aware of the pitfalls so how do you overcome them? It's a simple case of implementing a simple strategy for success.
Following are seven strategies to help you create action and fast-track yourself into an executive position:
** Strategy 1 - Understand the Roles and Responsibilities of a Manager
After all, you have to know 'what' the job is, in order to 'do' the job.
** Strategy 2 - The Effective Manager Become familiar with the must have attributes to become a successful manager.
** Strategy 3 - Showcasing You!
Build your profile and resume to propel your way up the career ladder job-after-job, time-after-time.
** Strategy 4 - Develop Killer Answers to Slay them at the Interview
Learn winning interview scripts, questions to ask them and a compelling reason why you may not get the job and why that's in your best interest.
** Strategy 5 - Create a Winning First Week
Be prepared to hit the ground running, make a super professional impression and build early success.
** Strategy 6 - Getting Down to Business
Move beyond the first month by familiarizing yourself with management basics; from coaching to dealing with harassment.
** Strategy 7 - Discover the Answers to Tough Situations
From dealing with difficult people to your most pressing FAQs.
Your can easily fast track your management career by avoiding the mistakes 1000s of your competitors will make because they don't have a strategy for success. Here's to your brilliant new career!
About the author
Madisen Harper is a career expert who provides a proven system to help people take their first jump into a management, team leader or supervisor role.
She was also inspired to create a revolution of people who enjoy their work, are high performers, and be more than decent human beings to one another.
Get Madisen's free report on why "Dealing with Difficult People is Your #1 Priority as a Manager" => http://www.BecomeAManagerNow.com
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