Being a new manager

This post is a bit of a ramble

I've been managing a team, officially, coming up to a year now. Overall it's been a positive and energising experience, but as with every journey there are an array of challenges and hurdles along the way.

Transitioning from being a member of the team for 7 years to managing that same team has been an emotional and confidence testing challenge. Over those 7 years friendships have formed, trust has been built, and now those relationships are being tested. Being a friend and manager at the same time is a difficult balance, trying to avoid playing favourites and treating the team fairly. It's difficult to accept but those friendships will and have changed.

Keeping everyone happy is an impossible task, and you will upset people along the way, particularly when difficult and unappealing decisions need to be made. You are not here to be liked, or win a popularity contest. You are here to lead the team, challenge their skills, and grow together. This has been a difficult pill to swallow knowing your decisions can put pressure and stress on your team.

Feeling productive is a challenge when disruptions to your day are frequent, fires need to be put out, and your team, as well as other departments, need your input. What feels like an unproductive day full of interruptions can actually be hugely beneficial to the team, where you've helped unblock several team members and now multiple projects can move forward. It's easy to get lost in the day, but stepping back and viewing the bigger picture is important.

Learning your team's individual strengths and understanding how to utilize them is vitality important to delivering projects on time and to a high standard.

Hiring based on skill is rarely the right choice. Enthusiasm, passion, and personality that fits in with the team is far more important. Skills can be learned, mentored, and developed.

Being open with your team a difficult balancing act. Sharing information and being transparent can help your team to understand the reasoning behind decisions as well as push their motivation to delivery, but it can also lead to frustration and anger when the information is not what they want to hear. Information may not always be received in the same way you intend, so you need to evaluate from multiple view points before sharing.

Ultimately the experience has been challenging and rewarding. I have learned a lot about myself, overcome many hurdles, and pushed myself into many areas I never thought I would.