Managing people for the first time? Here's how to start well

Your first 90 days

Stepping up to manager is a change of job, not a bigger version of the old one. Use your first 90 days as a manager to learn the team before you try to improve it.

Meet everyone one to one before you change anything. Ask what is working, what is not, and what they need from you. Listen more than you talk.
Find out what your manager actually expects from you. Ask what success looks like at six months, and get it in writing if you can, even if that is your own email summing up the conversation.
Decide what you will stop doing yourself. Write the list. Hand over anything someone in the team could do, with care, and then leave it alone.
Set a weekly rhythm. A regular one-to-one with each person, a short team check-in, and an hour a week to think about the team rather than the work.
Pick one thing to be known for. Clear priorities, quick decisions, honest feedback: choose one, and be consistent about it before you add a second.

The things nobody tells you

Your old peers are now your team, and it is awkward for them too. Name it early, in private, and agree how you will work together now.
You will be slower at the work and faster at the job. It feels like going backwards. It isn't. You are measured on what the team delivers now, not on what you deliver yourself.
Feedback is the whole job. Small, specific and often beats one big conversation twice a year, for praise as much as for problems.
You will be managed harder, not softer. Your own manager expects more from you now, and will notice what your team does when you are not in the room.

Where new managers come unstuck

Doing the work instead of running it. It is the comfortable option, and it leaves the team waiting for you.
Avoiding the difficult conversation. It does not get easier with time. It gets more expensive.
Copying the last manager they had. Keep what worked for you, and remember your team are not you.
Waiting to feel ready. Most managers feel ready some time after they needed to be. Act anyway, and adjust as you go.

What not to do

Change everything in the first month.
Keep doing your old job as well as the new one.
Stay everyone's friend at the cost of being clear.
Save your feedback for the annual review.
Pretend you have it all worked out.

When a conversation helps

The Discovery Session is free: 30 minutes, online, and not a sales call. Tell me about the team, the role and what is on your mind, and we will work out what would help most. If what you need is a good management course or a few more months, I'll say so.

Book a free Discovery Session

New manager coaching works best early. The Stepping up track is built around your team and your first year, online or in person in Dublin.

The Next Move: Stepping up

Six 60 minute sessions over twelve weeks.

A transition map of your situation, a written 90 day plan, and messaging between sessions.

€1,200 for the programme: €200 a session, or two payments of €600.

If your company funds coaching for new managers, this is the programme I offer them.

Questions people ask

How long does it take to feel like a manager?

Longer than you would like, often the best part of a year. You can do the job well long before it feels natural, so don't wait for the feeling before you act like a manager.

Should I still do some of the hands-on work?

Some, if the team is small and it keeps you close to the work. Keep it to the parts nobody else can do, and never let it crowd out your one-to-ones. If you are doing the work because it feels more comfortable, that is the sign to stop.

How do I manage people who used to be my peers?

Name the change early, one to one, rather than pretending nothing has happened. Be the same person in a different job: fair, consistent and clear about what you expect. Some relationships will change, and that is part of the role, not a failure.

What should I do in my first week as a manager?

Listen. Book a one-to-one with everyone on the team, ask your manager what good looks like, and change nothing yet. The first week is for learning how the team works, not for proving you can run it.

Is coaching worth it for a first-time manager?

It can be, because the first year sets habits that last and many new managers get very little support. Coaching gives you somewhere to think through the hard conversations before you have them. If your company runs a good management programme, start with that and decide afterwards.

Can my employer pay for this?

Often, yes. Many organisations have a learning and development budget for new managers, and the price is the same whoever pays. There is more on the For organisations page.

What if I'm not sure I want to manage people at all?

That is worth knowing, and it is a common feeling in the first months. Give it long enough to tell a hard start from the wrong job. If it is the wrong job, a senior specialist route is a good career, not a step back.

The Values Finder is a 20 minute exercise if you want to be clear about what matters to you before you set the tone for a team.

My newsletter, Stuff that MattRs, sends one useful thing a week through your first year.

Managing people for the first time? Here's how to start well.