What are the most common challenges faced by People Managers in their first year? (2024)

It's indeed a big shift to go from a high-performing individual contributor to a people manager. Providing clarity to the team becomes one of your most important priorities. - Invest extra time in understanding the priorities you are responsible for yourself. (Get yourself to a point where you can pitch it like a start-up founder)- Set principles to follow, such as "Understand Business Economics"- Set the priorities for your team with a well-established system such as OKRs and/or Smart Goals.- Re-iterate goals, motivate the team, and share the importance of what we do at every opportunity.- Establish a system of working for your teams that makes it easy for them to prioritize the right activities and help clear roadblocks.

First-year People Managers often encounter challenges that require a blend of compassion and strategic thinking. One primary hurdle is fostering trust within the team. Building authentic connections and demonstrating genuine care for individuals can be time-consuming but lays the foundation for a strong, united workforce. Additionally, navigating through conflicts and addressing diverse personalities demands emotional intelligence and a nuanced approach to conflict resolution. Striking the right balance between being approachable and maintaining authority is another challenge, as managers must establish their leadership style while remaining open to feedback. Remember, it's a journey of growth for both you and your team.

The toughest thing I dealt with was “letting go”. There was always this “itch” to get the job done myself. I had to train myself to coach/mentor team to get it done, and focus my energies on big picture/strategic items to help the team.

Delegation of tasks should not be biased.It is not a good management practice to delegate tasks and position based on loyalty instead of merit.The better people's managers understand this, the better we become as an organization/brand.The round peg should go in a round hole, do not comprise excellence for management. Do not compromise quality for quantity. It is important.

Remember your job now is to ensure your team gets the work done, NOT YOU. You are now accountable for the work your team does, NOT responsible directly.Ensure to provide your team clarity, autonomy, and ownership. This can be done by properly implementing systems such as agile and becoming the keeper of the system and accountable for the outcomes.

In my experience, the challenges faced by people managers in their first year are:1) Difficulty to let go and delegate2) Being too hands-off or too hands-on3) Assuming everyone in the team is on the same level of perfection as them4) Trying to do everything themselves as they believe they can do it much faster than training someone - linked to the 1st point5) Be too harsh on themselves as they think they need to prove their managerial abilities6) Not asking for help/support when needed

Establishing trust with team members can be challenging in the first year. Understanding and adapting to the dynamics of a new team along with adjusting to the expectations of a leadership position is crucial during early days.I have even observed people managers juggling immediate priorities with the need to set and achieve long-term objectives.

As a people's manager, it is crucial to admit that at your best of service, you can not satisfy everyone under your management structure.Some would think in a different direction from the majority and that is to tell you there is a high chance for feedbacks from some people and criticism as well.It is important for a manager to know how to manage such feedbacks and criticism, constructive or destructive.On the other hand, people's manager should as well give feedback on the people's performance and suggest a better way to make work and life much more easier.

Como gerente de personas deberás involucrarte muchas veces en conflictos de otros, deberás mediar y ayudar a las partes a encontrarse en algún punto en el medio.Busca los conflictos, sobretodo los que yacen ocultos, abórdalos y ayuda a tu organización a destrabar su funcionamiento.

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from my experience i have always vouced for the below step by step approach for any kind of confict management.Address the concern/prob>>Active listen >> Understand and facilitate diverse prespectives>>> stay neutral >> gather facts & Document >>Mediate Constructively>>Provide Constructive Feedback/Implement Changes>>>Learn and Adapt>>involve higher management if necessary>>> document entire resolution.

Establish an "always learning culture". Left to chance, your team's time will be filled 100% with work. As manager, it is up to you to carve out time for learning and development and to actively ensure your team is encouraged to use time in this way. You also must ensure you are actively removing workload to ensure this time is truly available and not just "extra work". This can be really hard, and you should also work with your leadership to set clear parameters and expectations around what a culture of learning means. Role modeling is critical - you need to practice what you preach. Let your team see you allocating time to your own learning. Use team meetings and other touch points to encourage people to talk about their learning.

The growth of the team members is the growth of the company/brand.If the company is well represented to the general public, then that is traceable to the team members of the company making it work. This is where the goal is and why the people's manager should prioritize team development in his curriculum.Effective and deliberate commitment to growing and developing within a team is a thing of concern for all the team members as well therefore.

One thing I always advise is to take the help of others - especially subject matter experts - to build a development plan for your team. In Year 1 you cannot expect yourself to have all the answers. You likely won't have them all in Year 25 either! Reserve some of your effort and energy by bringing in the SMEs to help.

If team members are working on multiple activities, be clear about what is more urgent and when you expect an update.Check in with people to understand their workload, check on progress and see if they need help.

Absolutely, balancing priorities is a crucial skill for people managers to navigate the complexities of their roles effectively. By prioritizing tasks, setting clear boundaries, and practicing self-care, managers can optimize their productivity and well-being while ensuring alignment with team and organizational goals. This balanced approach fosters resilience, clarity, and effectiveness, ultimately contributing to both personal and organizational success.

To change yourself from Individual Contributor to manager is a biggest challenge by itself as from now onwards you have to make that decorum with them as well, with whom earlier you have worked closely. - To make sure that your team completes the task before the given deadline.-Challenge of understanding each team member's strength and capability of doing work. -To implement new policies on existing employees.

In their first year, people managers often face challenges such as gaining the trust and respect of their team, learning how to navigate organizational politics, understanding company culture, and effectively managing their time and priorities. It can also be difficult to balance the needs of individual team members with the overall goals of the organization, as well as addressing any conflicts or performance issues that may arise. Building strong communication skills and seeking mentorship and support from more experienced leaders can help new people managers navigate these challenges successfully.