Tips for Developing Leadership Skills as a First-Time Manager

There’s a beautiful leadership lesson in this video of a father watching his son struggle. Not jumping in. Not fixing it for him. Not saying, “Here, let me do it.” Just being there. Present. Supportive. Silent. Letting the boy figure it out—because growth only happens when we own the effort. And that, right there, is what great leadership looks like. Leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about creating space where others can find theirs. 📌 The best leaders don’t rush to solve. 📌 They resist the urge to step in. 📌 They coach, not control. Because real leaders don’t build dependency. They build confidence. 5 Tips to Lead (as a First time leader): 1️⃣ Ask before you advise → “What do you think is the next step?” Let your people flex their problem-solving muscle before you step in. 2️⃣ Give stretch, not stress → Assign projects just beyond comfort zones, not beyond capacity. 3️⃣ Celebrate the process, not just results → Growth isn’t always visible on paper. Reinforce effort, resilience, and ownership. 4️⃣ Be present without taking over → Show up for your team without overshadowing them. They need your belief, not your intervention. 5️⃣ Debrief, don’t download → After the fact, ask: What did you learn? What would you do differently next time? That’s how lessons stick. Research shows that employees who feel trusted and empowered are 76% more engaged, and 50% more likely to stay at a company long-term. (Source: Harvard Business Review, 2023) This isn’t a “nice” leadership style. It’s a high-performance one. Leadership isn’t about how much you know. It’s about how many people rise because of you. If you’re developing first-time managers—or building a culture of accountability without hand-holding—this is the shift that changes everything. 📩 Want to empower your team without burning them (or yourself) out? Let’s talk. #LeadershipDevelopment #FirstTimeManagers #HighPerformanceTeams #Leadership #Mindset #EmotionalIntelligence

If you want to earn deep respect as a leader: Don’t micromanage people. Elevate them. It’s not what most new managers expect, But commitment doesn’t grow from pressure. It grows when people feel seen, Not supervised. When that shift happens, you’ll naturally: ↳ Elevate performance ↳ Retain top talent ↳ Deepen real engagement Here’s what that looks like in action: 1. Make Trust the Default   ↳ Trust accelerates everything   ↳ Action: Delegate meaningful decisions early  2. Share the “Why” First   ↳ Context creates ownership   ↳ Action: Explain purpose before tasks  3. Model Calm Under Pressure   ↳ Your nervous system sets the tone   ↳ Action: Pause before reacting in meetings  4. Protect Focus Time   ↳ Attention is performance fuel   ↳ Action: Create meeting-free blocks  5. Hire for Values, Not Just Skill   ↳ Culture compounds results   ↳ Action: Test for mindset in interviews  6. Normalize Honest Feedback   ↳ Candor builds trust   ↳ Action: Invite pushback publicly  7. Coach, Don’t Rescue   ↳ Growth needs challenge   ↳ Action: Ask, “What do you think?” first  8. Build Systems, Not Dependency   ↳ Great teams don’t rely on heroes   ↳ Action: Document repeatable processes  9. Admit When You’re Wrong   ↳ Humility scales credibility   ↳ Action: Say, “I missed that.”  10. Ask About Their Ambitions   ↳ People stay where they grow   ↳ Action: Discuss 2-year visions  11. Create Psychological Safety   ↳ Innovation needs safety   ↳ Action: Respond with curiosity, not blame  12. Celebrate Effort and Learning   ↳ Progress drives motivation   ↳ Action: Highlight improvement trends  People-first leadership isn’t weak. It demands awareness, restraint and real confidence. But the return compounds. Have you experienced leadership like this? ♻️ Please repost to promote human-centered leadership.   🙂 Follow Marco Franzoni for more.

New managers are not born ready. Most struggle in the first year. But you can lead with confidence. Here’s your essential playbook for effective leadership as a new manager: The shift from team member to manager is huge. You now set the tone, drive results, and shape the culture. But the best leaders do not just give orders. They build trust, set clear goals, and help their teams grow. Master these 10 strategies to lead with impact: 1. Lead by Example ↪ Show up on time, keep your word, and model the behavior you expect. Your actions set the standard for your team. 2. Communicate Clearly ↪ Share your vision, goals, and feedback in simple, direct language. Make sure everyone knows what success looks like. 3. Listen First, Act Second ↪ Give your team space to share ideas and concerns. Listening builds trust and uncovers hidden problems. 4. Set Clear Expectations ↪ Define roles, responsibilities, and deadlines. Clarity prevents confusion and keeps everyone on track. 5. Give Regular Feedback ↪ Praise good work and address issues early. Feedback helps your team learn and improve. 6. Support Growth ↪ Offer training, coaching, and stretch assignments. Invest in your team’s development. 7. Build Relationships ↪ Get to know your team as people. Strong relationships boost morale and loyalty. 8. Stay Calm Under Pressure ↪ Keep your cool when things go wrong. Your calmness helps your team stay focused. 9. Make Decisions with Confidence ↪ Gather facts, weigh options, and act. Avoid indecision, but be open to changing course if needed. 10. Celebrate Wins, Learn from Losses ↪ Recognize achievements, big or small. When mistakes happen, focus on lessons, not blame. These strategies are not just tips. They are the foundation of great leadership. New managers who master them build strong, high-performing teams. Start today. Lead with purpose. And watch your team thrive.

A former colleague recently asked me what books or articles I recommend for onboarding as a new leader. Honestly? There isn’t much out there that’s recent and practical, focused on what you do as the leader, not what the company does to onboard you. What I did share were the tools I’ve created for myself and reuse every time I step into a new role. And since I’ve just onboarded as a new leader at F5, it felt like the right moment to share these more broadly. So here are my go-to tips for onboarding as a new leader 👇 (And if you want the PDFs I use, I'm happy to share. Comment “onboard” and I’ll send them your way.) Becky’s Tips for Onboarding as a New Leader 1. Spend time—real time—getting to know people This sounds obvious and is surprisingly hard to do well. It’s easy to feel like you “know” someone and then realize you don’t know why they’re here, what motivates them, or what matters most to them. The most important work of your first few months is understanding people and what makes them tick. For your team, use a structured “get to know you” format you both complete and discuss in 1:1s and a values exercise you can do as a larger group. For peers and senior leaders, prioritize curiosity over jumping straight into the work. Remembering something personal later builds trust—and in today’s workplace, trust is how work gets done. 2. Set expectations up front Leading with integrity means doing what you say you’ll do. I like to make this explicit by “contracting” with my team. I share a short leadership philosophy that outlines what they can expect from me and what I expect from them. This clarity removes ambiguity, builds trust, and creates a shared reference point for feedback—both giving it and receiving it. 3. Listen. Listen. Listen. (Then listen some more.) Many leaders come in looking for the quick win. That can work—but it can also backfire if you don’t have full context. Schedule lots of 1:1s across the business. Ask about history, decision-making patterns, and who else you should meet. This is how you build your internal network and avoid costly missteps. 4. Find your people Every role needs a few trusted “buddies”—often peers—who you can go to for gut checks, context, venting, and sense-making. Having people you trust at work isn’t just good for retention; it makes you a better leader. Spend time getting to know people. Set expectations. Listen deeply. Find your people. Do that well, and you’ve built a strong foundation of trust, which you can build upon. So…when do you move into execution mode? Happy to share more in another post if this is helpful—this one’s already a bit long 🙂 👇 If you’d like any of these, comment “onboard”: Get-to-Know-You Doc Values Exercise Peer & Leadership 1:1 Questions Leadership Philosophy Framework Photo: My first day at Uber in March 2016, which was the last job that I onboarded in person 😳

Transitioning from Peer to Manager: Advice for Success A conversation with a new manager reminded me of the challenges when transitioning from peer to leader. It’s not uncommon for subtle changes in tone or behavior to cause tension or mistrust. The key is navigating this thoughtfully to maintain relationships and ensure team success. Here’s my advice for new managers stepping into this role: 1. Acknowledge the Shift Be transparent about the new dynamic. Recognize the adjustment for both you and your team, and invite open dialogue to build trust. 2. Prioritize One-on-One Conversations Meet individually with team members to understand their perspectives. Ask questions like: "What’s one thing I can do to support you better?" 3. Stay True to Yourself You were promoted for a reason. Don’t feel pressured to adopt a different tone or style. Authenticity builds trust. 4. Avoid Overcorrecting Resist the urge to make sweeping changes or assert authority too quickly. Focus on collaboration and gradual improvements. 5. Share Your Vision Communicate your goals for the team and how you’ll support their success. Show them you’re focused on shared outcomes. 6. Model the Behavior You Expect Set the tone through your own actions, whether it’s professionalism, teamwork, or problem-solving. 7. Set Boundaries Respectfully Redefine relationships while maintaining a professional and respectful tone. Boundaries help reinforce your leadership role. 8. Embrace Emotional Intelligence Pay attention to how your team feels. Practice active listening, observe body language, and create a safe space for honest feedback. 9. Celebrate Team Successes Acknowledge and share wins to show your investment in their growth. 10. Commit to Continuous Learning Seek feedback and refine your approach. Leadership is an ongoing journey, and growth is part of the process. The transition to leadership is about building trust, staying collaborative, and focusing on the team’s needs. With authenticity and empathy, you can make this shift a win for everyone. What advice would you share with someone stepping into a leadership role? 👇

New managers often expect authority to come with the title. But it rarely works that way. When you move from being an individual contributor to managing others, you quickly realize that formal authority is a limited source of power. In fact, the people who most shape your success, your boss, your peers, even external stakeholders, are usually the very ones you can’t “tell” what to do. This means that being an effective manager is about learning to build trust, credibility, and influence without authority. It is not about leaning on your title. When I advise new managers, I often refer to Linda Hill's research on new managers. To me, it highlights some important lessons: (1) Organizations are inherently political. Politics isn’t necessarily bad. It reflects real differences in priorities, pressures, and perspectives. Your job is to manage those tensions productively, not wish them away. (2) Power comes from more than your role. Yes, authority matters. But credibility, expertise, effort, relationships, and visibility often matter more. (3) Credibility is the glue. People ask: Do you want to do the right thing? Do you know what the right thing is? Can you get it done? Until the answer is “yes,” influence will be elusive. (4) Map your interdependencies. Ask yourself: Whose cooperation do I need? Whose opposition could derail me? Who depends on me? Then invest in those relationships. (5) Step into others’ shoes. Understanding their goals, pressures, and incentives is the foundation of trust and influence. In practice: If you’re a new manager, focus less on asserting authority and more on cultivating credibility and networks of mutual expectation. Your real power lies in navigating interdependencies with empathy, clarity, and consistency. That’s how you move from “manager by title” to leader by influence. You can take this a step further. What I’ve seen in my own work is that the most effective managers go beyond managing politics and relationships: they use them as opportunities to create value. Instead of seeing influence as a way to “get what you need,” they frame it as a way to generate shared wins. This shift from a self-protective stance to a generative one builds stronger trust and accelerates innovation and collaboration across the organization. #collaboration #influence #manager #managing #leading #value #learning #leadership #coaching #advising #innovation

Being a first-time marketing leader managing a team is chaos. No one tells you how hard this shift actually is. You go from doing the work to managing people who do the work. Completely different skill. Here’s what I’ve learned the messy way 1. I tried to protect everyone. I thought being supportive meant shielding my team from pressure. What I’d do differently: give them context and trust them to handle it. It builds confidence way faster than constant rescue mode. 2. I gave direction, not vision. I was clear on tasks but not outcomes. What I’d do differently: explain the “why” before the “how.” People think better when they understand the goal, not just the steps. 3. I assumed silence meant alignment. I’d leave meetings thinking everyone was bought in. They weren’t. What I’d do differently: ask for real opinions in smaller settings where people feel safe to disagree. 4. I held feedback too long. I’d wait until it was “the right time.” It never is. What I’d do differently: share feedback in the moment while it’s still fresh and useful. 5. I blurred the line between trust and friendship. I wanted everyone to like me. What I’d do differently: be kind, but stay clear that my job is to help people grow, not to be their favorite coworker. 6. I avoided asking for help. I thought leaders were supposed to know what to do. What I’d do differently: ask for advice early. It saves time, builds trust and shows you’re still learning too. So yah. It wasn’t great. I failed a shit ton and continue to “fail” or find ways to get better. Being a marketing leader managing a team isn’t about doing more. It’s all about learning how to help others do their best work without losing yourself in the process. What mistakes have you made?

This took me 5+ years to figure out... The power of compounding in leadership. Successful leaders build: • trust • collaboration • psychological safety • momentum Here's my story: When I first became a manager, I had no idea what I was doing. I had only a few skills to effectively lead the team. And I soon realized that I needed more. So I read books and articles. I asked questions. I took courses to expand my skills and knowledge. And I learned that it's not any one action or idea. Instead, successful leaders understand how to compound their results. → 1% better every day = 37x better in a year Each action builds on other actions. Here are 10 areas on which to focus: 1️⃣ Hold 1:1s 1:1s provide opportunities to set goals, motivate, and give feedback together. ↳ Don't cancel or reschedule. ↳ Do ask questions and listen. 2️⃣ Communicate Teams thrive when there is clear, frequent communication. ↳ Don't hide information. ↳ Do repeat info through several mediums. 3️⃣ Delegate Responsibility Employees are more engaged when given the trust and responsibility to complete tasks. ↳ Don't abdicate responsibility. ↳ Do consider task-relevant maturity. 4️⃣ Set Goals The team should clearly understand what they are working towards, and how they contribute. ↳ Don't dictate goals unilaterally. ↳ Do allow for personal and stretch goals. 5️⃣ Share Knowledge Teams work more efficiently and effectively when accessing collective knowledge. ↳ Don't try to do everything yourself. ↳ Do have the team share best practices. 6️⃣ Ask Questions Questions signal that the team's opinions and insights are valued, promoting collaboration. ↳ Don't ask questions but ignore answers. ↳ Do pose open questions for more insights. 7️⃣ Give Feedback Feedback motivates employees and reinforces the right actions aligned with goals. ↳ Don't use the feedback sandwich. ↳ Do give sincere praise and celebrate wins. 8️⃣ Create Vision and Values Clear vision and values align your team around shared goals and guide actions. ↳ Don't set and forget your MVVs. ↳ Do involve the team when developing. 9️⃣ Promote Continuous Learning Investing in continuous learning leads to high engagement and retention. ↳ Don't be afraid to coach and mentor. ↳ Do view failures as learning opportunities. 🔟 Foster Resilience Resilience helps teams effectively manage challenges, as well as recover from setbacks. ↳ Don't ignore the impact of stress. ↳ Do set an example by taking time off. Although we expect instant results these days, you need patience to build a high-performing team. When you do these actions consistently over time, you let compounding work its magic! PS. Which of these do you find most challenging? ***** 👋 I'm Chris Cotter. 🔔 Follow for more on leadership. ✳️ I help managers level up for success / happiness. DM me!

I'm 25, and I landed my first management role... 4 years ago! Breaking into management early in your career can feel like a daunting task, but with the right strategy, it’s entirely possible. At just 20 years old, during my first corporate job, I set an ambitious goal: to become a Performance Delivery Manager within a year. Here’s exactly how I achieved it, and how you can too: ⚪ Identify Your Skills Gap To position yourself for a promotion, you need to understand where you fall short. I assessed my leadership and management skills and realized there were key competencies I lacked. ⚪Prioritize In-Demand Skills I studied the contract I was working on and identified high-priority areas for the business. Then, I positioned myself as an asset by refining my expertise in these areas. Pro tip: Always keep your resume updated to reflect your evolving skills. When internal opportunities arise, you’ll be interview-ready. ⚪Upskill Strategically When I say upskilling, I am not just talking about adding certifications to your resume; but also filling specific gaps in your knowledge. I pursued targeted certifications, read leadership books, and sought resources that directly addressed my weaknesses. This focused learning accelerated my journey to management. ⚪Leverage Workplace Resources Don’t overlook the power of internal resources. I made every company training session—mandatory or optional—a non-negotiable part of my schedule. These sessions not only boosted my skills but also increased my visibility within the organization. Additionally, I openly shared my career goal with my line manager and their manager, who already held the position I was targeting. Their support was invaluable—they provided hands-on opportunities to develop leadership competencies and offered mentorship throughout my journey. ⚪Highlight Your Skills Effectively When it came time for the internal job interview, I didn’t just talk about my aspirations—I presented concrete examples of where I had demonstrated leadership skills in my role. These real-world examples proved my readiness for the promotion. The Results: Promotion in just four months! Thanks to this strategy, I achieved my goal in record time. Within four months, I landed my first pay rise and promotion to Management at the age of 21. Over the next three years, I continued to climb the corporate ladder, earning five internal and external promotions. All glory to God. If you’re looking to fast-track your career, follow these steps: ⚪Identify your skills gap. ⚪Focus on high-demand skills. ⚪Upskill strategically. ⚪Leverage workplace resources. ⚪Demonstrate your value. With determination, strategic planning, and a proactive mindset, you can achieve career milestones earlier than you ever thought possible. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/eUzqqQzt #growth #strategy #innovation #careers #management Forbes

Just promoted someone to a people manager role? Here’s 5 tips to help them hit the ground running. (It’s not just a promotion, it’s a career shift. They’re going from doing the work to leading the people who do the work.) 1️⃣ Shift the mindset first. Being great at a job doesn’t automatically make someone great at managing. Managing people is a skill, not a reward for hard work. Help them see that early and set them up with some skills to 'onboard' into this new role. 2️⃣ Stop the hero complex. Most new managers think they're expected to have all the answers. (they think that expectation is coming from those that promoted them and the team). That’s exactly how overwhelm kicks in. Their job isn’t to save the day. It’s to set others up to succeed. Trust beats micromanaging every time. 3️⃣ Teach them the art of hard conversations. Conflict is part of the gig. It’s healthy when done well. Help them get comfortable with the uncomfortable - problems don’t fix themselves and their role is to work through them productively with the team. 4️⃣ Help them unlearn old habits. They were promoted because they were great at the job. But now their job isn’t to do the work, it’s to help others do it well. That shift takes practice. 5️⃣ Give them a support system. Managing people can feel pretty isolating at the start. Connect them with mentors, peer groups or learning that helps in the moment they need it. No one figures this stuff out alone. (I figured a lot of it out through making mistakes) Becoming a manager isn’t about climbing the ladder and ticking that promotion box - it’s about helping a team grow, not just get by. 🧠 What’s the best advice you’ve seen for new managers? 👉 P.s. If your new managers need to build these skills quickly, these lessons in Learna are a solid place to start: 'Switch from Doer to Leader' by Alana Bennett (know which mode you need to be in and when): https://lnkd.in/guFZWjZ4 'Fix the tension before it blows up' by Wade Kingsley (for steps and scripts on handling friction early): https://lnkd.in/gYKev9ep 'From mate to manager' by Leeat Bosco (the reset convo to navigate the relationship shift): https://lnkd.in/gdac6Ahe 'Connect when you don't click' by Lucy Allen (because you can't just manage people like you): https://lnkd.in/giGhZi2f 'Manage your team without doing it all' by Lauren Humphrey (steps to get you to this place': https://lnkd.in/ga3t_4xa 'Knowing how to delegate' by Richard Wentworth-Ping (tips on the comms that come with delegating and setting expectations clearly): https://lnkd.in/gMTCRZS3 #peopleskills #managertips #newmanager #teammanagement #learnatwork #microlearning