08 Dec Excelling as a 1st Time Supervisor or Manager

Note: If you prefer, watch the video below. The blog here is the transcript of this video…

According to the Corporate Executive Board (CEB), “Within the first 24 months of taking a new position, 60% of new managers fail.”

You shouldn’t be surprised by this statistic. Many first-time supervisors and managers are thrown into deep water to see if they can swim or sink. Unfortunately, the majority are sinking.

They are unable to make a smooth transition and excel at their new role. In the process, they also hurt their well-being, performance, and relationships.

However, I have worked with some proactive organizations that didn’t wait 24 months to see whether their new supervisors and managers can survive or not. They don’t let their new leaders swim alone and solo without giving them the proper training and equipping them with the right gear. I traveled around the country to facilitate workshops specifically designed for new supervisors and managers.

At the end of each session, you could see the excitement, confidence, and sense of relief from participants. Many of them mentioned they had wished they had this workshop months ago prior or as soon as they were promoted. Some regretted the stress, anxiety, and uncertainty that tortured them for weeks and months. These could have been avoided. They also admitted that they could have become a little bit more assertive, and productive, and improved their relationships with key stakeholders sooner if they passed through this program earlier.

If you’re a senior leader responsible for managing, coaching, and mentoring first-time supervisors and managers, you were among those 40% who survived and ultimately succeeded in climbing the corporate ladder. When you were a new supervisor or manager, you might have gotten some support from your superiors, or you took matters into your own hands and made the transition successfully. But many of your peers didn’t make it.

I have noticed that many senior leaders don’t see the need to arrange transition programs for their coachees and mentees. They made the transition by themselves successfully back then when they were just starting, consciously or unconsciously, they presume that the current new leaders in their organization too could make it, if not right away, at the end of the day.

Here are a couple of reasons why you should empower your aspiring and recently promoted new supervisors and managers:

1. Most of these first-time leaders were star employees. They were self-initiators, and their motivation came from within. They make themselves accountable and accomplish their goals with minimal or no supervision from their superiors. Unfortunately, many of these star employees may not recognize that unlike when they were just team members, their success as a new leader is not based on their individual success alone. They may not quickly realize that their success is measured according to the collective success of the people who report to them. Even those who understand this new reality struggle to constantly inspire, equip, and make others accountable from the get-go. What I’m saying is that many new leaders may not even know that they should make a mindset shift from employee mentality to leadership mentality. Even those who do get it may not know what kind of mentality they should have, and how to develop it quickly.
2. Even if they have the right mentality to lead, they may not have the necessary skills to succeed from the get-go. The skillset they had that empowered them to succeed as employees may not help them at all. Some of these competencies may even sabotage and derail their leadership. The challenge for many new supervisors and managers is that they may not know some of the critical skills they need to develop right away. However, even if they identify these skills, they may need some help to develop these competencies quickly.
3. Even if they may have the right mindset and the necessary skillsets and are well prepared to lead mentally, many new leaders may not have the latest models, tools, strategies, and tactics that could have equipped them to perform their new leadership duties smartly and effectively. This doesn’t just affect the confidence, effectiveness, and well-being of the new leaders, it also affects their people, and the larger organization’s bottom line.

That is why we have created some resources that aim at empowering new supervisors and managers.

1. Workshop. If you’re a decision maker, we offer a 1-day workshop in person or virtually for your aspiring and new supervisors and managers. This is a jam-packed very interactive workshop that accelerates the growth of first-time leaders. Participants will increase confidence, develop the skill set they need, and get models, tools, strategies, and tactics they need to immediately see results by meeting their team’s goals and contributing toward the goals of the larger organization.
2. Cohort Program. If you have a group of aspiring and new team leaders, project managers, supervisors, and managers, we design and deliver a follow-up cohort program. It can be held between 3 – 12 months. This program will have orientation and graduation sessions, online assessments, and in-between assignments.

If you’re an aspiring or new supervisor or manager and your organization doesn’t have a program that empowers you to make a smooth transition and succeed in your new role, you should read my book entitled “Overcoming 1st Timer Syndrome”.

The book became Amazon’s #1 bestseller within a week of its release. The book also garnered the support of many thought leaders, educators, and consultants in the field of management and leadership, such as:

1. Marshall Gold Smith, New York Times #1 bestselling author of Triggers, Mojo, and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
2. Eddie Turner, Preeminent Authority on Emerging Leaders by Forbes and #6 Ranked Motivational Speaker in the World on the 2021 Global Gurus Top 30 Rankings
3. David Burkus, Thinker50 ranked thought leader and author of Leading From Anywhere
4. Sylvia Baffour, Author of I Dare You to Care and ranked among HubSpot’s Top Fifteen Female Motivational Speakers alongside Oprah Winfrey and Mel Robbins.

The book is 24.99 USD on Amazon plus shipment. The eBook is 14.99 on our website. Nevertheless, in the description of the above video, you will find the link to get the eBook for just 1 USD.

When you purchase the eBook for 1 USD, you’ll get FREE bonuses over 1, 400 USD Values.

In conclusion, many first-time supervisors and managers don’t get the necessary support when they need it the most so they fail to make a smooth transition and excel at their new role. They struggle for weeks and months hurting their well-being, performance, and relationships. We’re here to support your new supervisors and managers.

By the way, if you have new middle managers and new executives, we have similar resources to empower them. You will find the links to these resources below in the description.

Reach out via [email protected] to learn more about how we can help you empower your first-time leaders. We would love to schedule a one-on-one discovery Zoom chat with me or one of our senior team members.

Thank you very much for watching!