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Writer's pictureMary Gormandy White

Preparing New Managers for Success: 4 Important Keys

Updated: Jan 2, 2023

Are you involved with selecting and preparing employees to move into management positions within your company? If so, it’s critical that you understand what’s involved in providing individuals with the preparation they need to transition effectively into a managerial role. Unfortunately, this often doesn’t happen and people with the potential to succeed in a supervisory role go into their new position at an unnecessary disadvantage.



New managers must have the skills necessary to navigate the “people” aspects of managerial roles, and also be properly prepared for the changes they’ll experience as they transition from being an employee to being a supervisor.






  • Management Styles – There isn’t one right way to supervise other people, but new supervisors need to have a clear understanding of their own management style and how their natural tendencies impact their interactions with employees and others. They also need to learn how to get a sense of the personality styles of their team members in order to learn how to communicate effectively and manager toward peak productivity and results. The Everything DiSC Management assessment is an easy-to-use and powerful, validated tool designed to empower new supervisors to master this critical aspect of success.

  • Listening Skills– Successful managers spend more time listening than anything else. Supervisors must maintain open lines of communication with their employees, and this means that listening is an essential - and time consuming - function of any supervisory position. It is critical to set the expectations of new supervisors, so they realize how important listening is and to make sure that they have the strong listening skills necessary to succeed in their new position.

  • Change in Focus - The focus changes for employees who move into supervisory roles, but you shouldn’t assume that new managers will automatically know this. Provide sufficient training so they realize how their focus needs to change when they become responsible for directing and coaching other people. Delegation, performance management and big picture thinking are essential for supervisory success; providing new supervisors with training related to these areas is key for success.

  • Co-worker Relationship Changes - When transitioning to a supervisory role, new managers will find that their co-workers treat them differently. It's hard going from employee to supervisor - for the new manager as well as the former peers who are now subordinates. Make sure they understand the importance of respect and how critical it is to maintain an appropriate professional distance between themselves and their direct reports.

Setting the Stage for Supervisory Success

You can help your company and your employees by taking steps to be certain that the people selected for promotion into supervisory positions have a clear vision of what’s involved in succeeding in this type of job. By stressing these key points to new supervisors and providing them with effective management training early in the transition process, you will be help set the stage for them to succeed as supervisors.

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