If you’re like most supervisors, you were promoted to your position because you performed a set of tasks better than those around you.

Reality check: Managing your employees requires a different skill set than you brought to the position. Yet, many supervisors fall into the trap of leading in the same ways that they followed.

Good news: You can buck this trend. Avoid the new-manager pitfalls by keeping your eyes open for these common mistakes.

• Mistake #1: You continue to perform your old job rather than focusing on your new one. You have to make a clean break from your old position or you’ll never be able to focus on developing your team and solving new problems. Try this: Make a list of your new duties. Next to each item, outline how and why this component of your job differs from what you used to do. When you find yourself slipping back into the old position, consult your list for a wake-up call.
• Mistake #2: You view smart employees as your competition rather than as an asset to your team. If smart people worry that they’ll suffer for offering good ideas, they’ll keep their opinions to themselves — and eventually find a more welcoming manager to work for. Action plan: Let employees know that you’ll reward them for their creative and innovative ideas. When a particularly sharp employee steps forward, work with her to turn her ideas into executable strategies that work well for your entire team. Even better: Reward your employees for thinking outside of the box. You might recognize a successful idea in an email to the team, during a company lunch or through a small cash bonus. These rewards will motivate your team to work harder at making your company successful.
• Mistake #3: You are so afraid of making a mistake that you make no decision at all. Your indecisiveness will lead your employees to doubt your judgement and lose respect for you as a leader. And, your peers and supervisors may doubt that they selected the best person to lead and motivate your team. Try this: When you aren’t sure which way to go, try listing out the pros and cons of your choices. Then forecast how your possible decisions will pan out at each step down the road. Ask yourself: Is there a middle ground? What solution will maximize the pros and minimize the cons? Keep in mind that you can’t possibly make the best choice 100 percent of the time. However, you can make solid, informed decisions that take into account all foreseeable outcomes. You’ll get further by taking setbacks in stride than by not pursuing a path at all.
• Mistake #4: You attempt to maintain friendships you developed with your employees when you were just another member of the team. You can definitely be friendly with your staff members, but if you’re everyone’s best friend, you’ll have a hard time making unpopular decisions or forcing people to change their routines. Do this: Set the tone early in your management career. As soon as you are promoted to supervisor, let your friends know what your goals are and how you plan to achieve them. Ask them to work with you and to understand that your relationship may change. You’ll win your old friends’ buy-in if you implement your decisions fairly and consistently. As soon as you make exceptions for friends, you’ll lose your team’s respect and risk losing everyone’s support.

Filed under: Management Minute