Team Building Tips

You've almost certainly been promoted because you're good at what you do. As a manager, your performance will be measured by what your staff do. Your technical competence will no longer be enough.

New Skills
Until now, your performance has been measured by your technical skill. As a manager, you'll need to be skilled in managing people, liaising effectively with fellow managers, managing upwards, planning, effective resource allocation, time management and a whole lot of other skills you may never have considered.

Changed Expectations
Suddenly, meeting expectations is most important. Your boss, your colleagues and your staff will all have expectations of you. The expectations of colleagues and the boss will be quite different than those they had of you as a technician or operator. You'll be expected to "fix" and solve problems yourself rather than pass them upwards to your manager.

They Get The Credit
As a technician, you received or shared credit for what you did well. As a manager, most of the credit will go to your staff. And your job is to make sure they get it. If that means under emphasising your contribution, so be it.

Managing Upwards
As a technician, your boss depended on you. As a manager you're at least partially dependent on him. What's important to your boss, especially in non-technical matters, becomes most important to you. Conflicts with your boss will have a major effect on how well you're able to do your job.

Perception Becomes Reality
How other people see you and see what you do becomes an issue for you as manager. Perceptions are reality to the people who hold them. They may be unfair, inaccurate or just plain biased. As a manager, you must deal with them, regardless of their accuracy or your competence.

Leadership Obligations
You are the boss now. Your staff see you that way. They have expectations of you and what you can do for them. Their assessment of you, the boss, will be seen through their very personal prisms. Your staff can make life extraordinarily uncomfortable for you. You'll be judged by how well you lead.

Conclusion
As a newly promoted technician or operator, management's a whole new ball game. There's a lot to learn. And your technical skill is no longer enough. Take responsibility for your own development. Attend courses. Read books. If possible, find an experienced, supportive mentor. And be prepared to be surprised.

Leon Noone invites you to contact him on http://www.leonnoone.com where you can collect your free copy of his 42 page Special Report: "5 Proven Methods For Improving Employee Performance On The Job". He's published books on staff selection and team development as well as various video, text/audio and self instruction programs on selection, training, motivation and performance systems.