Recently promoted or hired as a manager or supervisor? Congratulations are in order, followed by some good advice on how to make your mark in your new position.

As a new manager, know that your employees follow your behaviors closely; they may scrutinize your every action. But there are ways to show your employees that you are someone they can trust and respect to lead them in the company.

Here are some simple rules to live by when entering into your new niche, according to Tom Schmitt and Arnold Perl, authors of Simple Solutions:

• ” Listen to your employees. Just like you want people to listen and pay attention to you, your employees crave the same kind of attention from you. Good communication with employees involves you being a good listener.
• ” Be approachable. Your employees need to know that they can talk to you about any issues or problems without being afraid of you. Keep their concerns private and respect their thoughts and ideas. Their dignity is important to them, and you don’t want to make them feel alienated in any way.
• ” Show sincere interest in your employees. Let them know you have real concern for their welfare, show them how to succeed at their jobs, and let them know when they’ve done well. These actions tell your employees that you respect them. In turn, your show of respect and interest will help you retain good employees.
• ” Give and take feedback. Not only will you need to reward good performance, you will also need to address any performance problems or failures. Be candid about their performance, and allow them to be part of the solution. Encourage them to give feedback to you about a process or goal that they might not totally agree with.
• ” Surround yourself with strong players. Take cues from a fellow supervisor who is well liked and effective. Pay attention to how she handles similar situations, and learn from her actions. Above all, a good manager needs to have self-awareness about her abilities as well as her misgivings. Use your strong abilities to adapt to each situation, and work on areas that aren’t your strong points.

Filed under: Management Minute