How to Avoid the Most Common Mistakes that Managers Make

The most difficult tasks for managers to master fall under two categories: transitioning into the role from a position which required a different skill set and learning to manage people effectively. If you’re a newly-minted manager, chances are you demonstrated success in your previous role and were dutifully promoted. Congratulations are in order but, ironically, the behavior for which you were rewarded may hinder you as a manager.

Insisting on doing your old job from your new position may earn you the title of micromanager and it will take crucial time away from your new responsibilities: managing people and creating a long-term strategy for your division. Rather than doing detailed work yourself, you must find ways of inspiring others to achieve results that meet your standards.

And the old bugaboo for anyone who has been managed poorly: people skills. As a manager, it’s important to get to know your team on a human level, avoiding the temptation to mediate all your contact through safe and sterile technology. When you do talk to your employees, don’t highlight insecurities by joking about them. If you’re younger than the people you manager, for example, the best behavior is the most professional behavior.

Scoring some early wins can also help your cause, such as canceling a meeting that has long outlived its usefulness, or bringing breakfast on your first day and saving serious discussions for your first one-on-one meetings. Here is some managerial advice from Indian business tycoon Azim Premji: