✎ Lead.
Moving into a management position, you need to go through a series of role changes and mindset adjustments
Have you ever felt lost after being promoted to a management position?
Ever lost and overwhelmed in a new role?
When you move from an ordinary employee to a manager, your role changes dramatically.
When you go to the management post, you are no longer a lone warrior, but a navigator who leads the team forward.
This article will reveal the five major role misalignments, the three role rules, and the six role changes in management positions to help you better adapt to your new role and lead your team to success.
01
Avoid the misalignment of the five major roles
In the process of moving into management positions, many people can fall into the mistake of misplacing roles. Here are the top five common role misalignments:
1. One of the princes
This kind of manager thinks of himself as a feudal prince, dictating to his subordinates, but forgetting the importance of teamwork. They are often isolated, which only leads to the disintegration of the team in the end.
You must know that "it is difficult for a lonely goose to fly, and it is difficult for a lonely palm to sing." ”
Being a manager doesn't mean you can do whatever you want and be dictatorial – treating your team as your own private domain will only alienate your team members.
Because managers are appointed by the organization, they must obey the organization's arrangement and follow the overall situation.
2. Fire Captain
Such managers are always dealing with urgent issues and neglecting prevention and planning. They are exhausted, but they often get half the effort.
Rushing to deal with unexpected situations and neglecting the root cause of the problem and preventive measures will only leave you with endless exhaustion and chaos.
You know, prevention is better than cure. It is better to prepare for a rainy day than to make amends.
Therefore, managers should focus more time and energy on important and non-urgent matters, such as work planning, training subordinates, relationship building, etc.
3. Representation of the people
They focus too much on the individual needs of their employees and ignore the overall interests of the company. They try to be the "good old guys" of the team, which will weaken their leadership and the team's execution.
In fact, while employees may be satisfied temporarily, the practice is detrimental to both the team and the company in the long run.
As Peter Drucker said, "The role of a leader is to lead, not to pander." ”
4. Natural persons
This type of manager is still stuck in the mentality of ordinary employees and does not realize their responsibilities and mission as managers. They lack the vision and leadership to lead their teams forward.
Peter Shengji said, "Management is a profession, not a display of personality. ”
Managers need to be professional and objective, and not let personal emotions and preferences influence management decisions.
Therefore, managers need to hide their personal emotions and face the team in a more professional manner.
5. Microphone
Merely conveying the instructions of the superior to the subordinates as they are, without explaining and guiding them, is an evasion of management responsibility.
This type of manager simply communicates the instructions of his superiors and does not have his own thinking and judgment. They lack innovation and autonomy to adapt to the complex and ever-changing management environment.
Because managers not only convey information, but also interpret, analyze and make decisions about it.
As Warren Bennis said, "Leaders are not microphones, but interpreters of information and strategists." ”
02
Follow the four role guidelines
To avoid misalignment of roles, you need to follow these three guidelines:
1. Connect the dots
As the executor of the company's strategy, you need to deeply understand and communicate the company's vision and goals, translate the strategic intent of the senior management into concrete action plans, and lead the team to implement them.
As a team leader and coach, you need to bring out the best in your team members and guide them to achieve their goals together.
At the same time, inspire, motivate, and coach team members to help them grow and progress.
2. Connecting the past and the future
Succession: Inherit and carry forward the best practices of previous managers to ensure the stability and sustainable development of the team.
Enlightenment: On the basis of inheriting the excellent practices of the predecessor, we should be brave in innovation, leaving valuable experience and wisdom for our successors, so that the team culture can be inherited.
As Peter Drucker said, innovation is the only criterion that distinguishes leaders. ”
3. The inside should be the outside
Internal: As a collaborator of internal value, you should treat your colleagues as customers, build good relationships, and promote teamwork.
External: As a contributor to external value, you should actively seek cooperation with external partners, and pay attention to external market demand to create value for the company.
4. Bring noodles with dots
To the manager, the thinking of the problem should be comprehensive, to lead the area from point to point, to draw inferences from one case, to see the tree and see the forest, rather than point-to-point, stick to the specific details.
Therefore, as a manager, you must have a global thinking, stand on a high place, and see in the distance; It is necessary to put yourself in the right position and look at the company as a whole.
03
Adapt to the six role changes
As you move into a management role, you'll need to adapt to the following six role changes:
1. From business to management
Moving to a management position, you need to take a break from specific business operations and focus more on the strategic planning and resource allocation of the team.
Herbert Simon said, "Management is decision-making." ”
Therefore, the competence of managers must shift from specific business skills to managerial and strategic planning competencies.
Many new managers tend to be busy with specific tasks and neglect management work.
The reason for this is not only the lack of deep role cognition, but also the lack of management ability, resulting in a lack of sense of accomplishment in carrying out management work, and on the contrary, it is easier to produce a sense of accomplishment by doing specific business by yourself.
This requires strengthening role recognition and management ability.
2. From an individual to a team
When you move to a management position, your success is no longer just based on individual performance, but also on the performance and results of the team as a whole.
The reality is often that achieving team goals is relatively difficult for new managers, while many managers are still accustomed to focusing on their own personal goals.
Peter Drucker said, "The strength of a team lies in the common goal of each member." ”
Therefore, it is important for managers to focus on individual goals to focus on the overall goals of the team, otherwise, the value of management will be lost.
3. From personality to organization
To move to a management position, it is necessary to integrate personal style and preferences into the organizational culture, and focus on the interests of the organization, that is, obey the whole and follow the overall situation.
Chester Barnard, an authority on organizational management, said, "The power of an organization is in synergy. ”
You need to learn to use the power of the organization to achieve the team's goals through collaboration and cooperation.
However, there are still many managers who mistakenly believe that in order to show their individuality, they often do what they love and are good at, and ignore the needs of the organization.
4. From tiers to partners
To move to a management position, it is necessary to establish an equal and trusting relationship with team members, face challenges and solve problems together.
The best teams are those where members respect and support each other. They are not made up of a perfect group of people, but a group of people who complement each other.
Therefore, managers should establish an equal and mutually supportive partnership with their team members.
The common problem here is that many managers tend to be high and focus on the hierarchy, rather than providing convenience and value to the team from the perspective of service or empowerment.
5. From conservatism to change
Before becoming a manager, our main job was to follow the rules and procedures; After becoming a manager, you should try to change and innovate to create greater effectiveness.
As the saying goes, the only constant is change itself. As a manager, you need to embrace and lead change to adapt to changing market conditions.
6. From command to authority
When moving to a management position, you should learn to delegate power and stimulate the autonomy and creativity of team members. The best leaders are those who can inspire others to be leaders.
Empowerment is the key to team effectiveness. Through empowerment and trust, the autonomy and creativity of team members are stimulated, and the common growth of the team is realized.
✎ Write at the end
Moving into a management position, you need to go through a series of role changes and mindset adjustments.
Only by truly understanding and practicing these role principles and changes can you become a good manager and lead your team to success.
Remember, as a manager, your role is more than just giving orders; You are the soul of the team, the guide of direction and the agent of change.
Keep learning and growing, and become the manager who can lead the team to greater heights!
As Jack Welch said: Before becoming a leader, success is to grow yourself; When you become a leader, success is about allowing others to grow. ”