8 Ways First-Time Managers Can Guarantee A Great First Impression
When you’re entering a new role as a manager, it can be a challenge to make the perfect first impression.
You want to come across as intelligent yet eager to learn, supportive but not overly friendly, and most of all, authoritative but not draconian.
Making a great first impression is vitally important, but it can also be a challenge when you’re already nervous and entering into an unknown environment.
To help, we’ve put together 8 practical tips that will give you the chance to make a great first impression and get your new role as manager off to a great start.
Understand What’s Expected Of You
Your first management role is exciting, but it’s crucial that you know what your new employer is expecting from you. Discuss the skills and knowledge you can bring to the job, and what your new boss expects these to help you achieve. This will make it much easier for you to hit the ground running in your new role as manager. After all, the best way to make a good impression is to be prepared, which is why a lot of the hard work will be done before you even officially start.
Take A FirstLine Manager Course
As it’s the beginning of your life as the manager of a team, you should make sure you get off to a flying start by taking a First Line Management Course. The BCF Group offers management training courses to suit all levels and abilities, so you’ll be able to find the option that suits your needs and helps you prepare for your exciting new role.
Learn About Your Team
Before you even meet your new team, you should take the time to learn about them from their current manager. Find out about what they do for the company and how well they interact with others. Ask to review their targets and how well they achieved these when you’re learning about your new team. This will ensure that you’re prepared and understand basics such as roles, habits and team dynamics.
Review Past Performance
Understanding how your team has performed previously will give you a strong understanding of what needs improving. You should review the performance figures for your team from the previous quarter or more, to give yourself an idea of how well your team is doing currently and what more can be done.
Find Out More About Company Policy
An embarrassing blunder, like forgetting to copy an important member of staff to an email, or not following a HR protocol, could get your role as manager off to a bad start. To avoid this, it’s important that you review all of the company policies that apply to you and your team, so that you can get to work learning them before you start your role. Being prepared will significantly reduce your chances of making a costly, and potentially awkward, mistake.
Send An Email Before You Start
Sending an email to greet your new team is a great way to show them that you’re already dedicated to your job before you’ve even met them. Make a personal, engaging yet professional communication that emphasizes that you are excited to be coming on board as their new manager and that you will be working closely with them to ensure that this transition goes smoothly to benefit everyone involved.
Host One-To-One Meetings
As soon as you meet your new team, you should get to know them by hosting one-to-one sessions with every member. Review your current understanding of their role and get their input on what they do and how this might be improved. One-to-one meetings are important not just when you start as a manager, but also moving forward. Make sure that you schedule regular one-to-one meetings with your team to ensure that they feel supported and that you can continually monitor their progress.
Set Goals Early
It’s best to get started straight away and set goals, even if they’re just personal ones. This will ensure that you’re constantly working to your best ability and doing everything you can to achieve success, for yourself, your company and, most important of all, your team. Team goals can come once you’ve explored the work your team does and learned about exactly how much everyone is capable of doing, but having your own personal goals will help you to map out your journey as a manager.
To Summarise – You’ll Do Great!
Starting a new role as a manager can be daunting, but it’s important to remember that you were chosen for the job based on your skills and that you are the right person for the position. It’s OK to be nervous when you start a new job, but by following these tips you can start as you mean to go on and enjoy many happy years as a successful, respected manager.
