{"id":393,"date":"2014-08-26T00:29:34","date_gmt":"2014-08-26T04:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/?post_type=article&p=393"},"modified":"2025-08-28T21:25:44","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T21:25:44","slug":"important-things-new-manager-know","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/","title":{"rendered":"The Most Important Things a New Manager Should Know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A reader asked us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m a brand-new manager, and I want to be great at it. I\u2019m reading your book<\/a>, but I wonder what the absolute most important things are for me to know as I get started?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most significant change you need to embrace as a manager is that your success in your role is no longer about what you can get done on your own; now, it\u2019s about what you achieve with and through other people. That takes a whole different set of skills and mindsets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While we can\u2019t sum up everything managers should know in a single article, we can tell you that effective managers<\/a> create the conditions for their teams to get great results equitably and sustainably. They support teams to succeed by building strong relationships, setting ambitious goals, developing high-performing teams, seeking input, and giving clear feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn how to activate your team\u2019s full potential<\/em><\/strong> by enrolling in our <\/em>Ace Performance Management<\/a> and<\/em> Build an Empowered Team<\/a> training packages! Gain the confidence and strategies you need to develop your team\u2019s skills, define clear goals, give better feedback, and create great team culture. Grab your spot today!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are five things new managers should keep in mind:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Make it your priority to build and cultivate relationships.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As a new manager, you are responsible for creating and shaping an environment where people\u2014and the work\u2014can thrive. This starts with building supportive relationships where you 1) inspire authenticity, 2) build trust, 3) navigate power, and 4) generate a sense of shared purpose. When you combine these four relationship-building competencies<\/a>, you show people they can count on you, turn differences or conflicts into learning opportunities, and lay the groundwork for greater equity, sustainability, and results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Get aligned with your team on what success looks like.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Setting goals with your team is one of the most important things you can do as a manager. When you paint a clear picture of success you can hand off real weight and ownership to your team members, which instills a shared sense of purpose and a drive to accomplish great results. Just think of what you can accomplish when you\u2019re not doing everything yourself. Use strong, clear goals<\/a> to measure progress and guide staff performance and development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Invest in developing your team.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The makeup of your team has an enormous impact on your ability to advance equity, sustain the work, and get results, so be proactive about shaping it. Put significant energy into hiring, retaining, and developing people all the time\u2014not just when you have a vacancy or onboard a new staff member. This includes hiring well<\/a> from the start, s<\/a>etting people up for success<\/a> with clear role expectations and coaching, and handling performance problems<\/a> proactively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Guide more, and do less.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re like most managers we work with, you probably need to spend more time guiding and less time doing. Invest your time in aligning on expectations<\/a> for the outcomes and process. Then, be proactive about checking in<\/a> on progress and creating accountability and opportunities for reflection through debriefs. Remember that seeking feedback<\/a> and giving feedback<\/a> are both critical parts of an effective manager-staff relationship. Ask questions. Tell people what\u2019s going well, and be forthright when things should be going differently. Be kind and direct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you do this well, you can be less in the mix when it comes to actually doing the work, which is the whole point of managing a team: to get more done than you would on your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Own your authority.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Even the most experienced managers feel imposter syndrome<\/a> sometimes, especially when we have faced significant bias at work and in the world. As you seek input and offer guidance, show curiosity and humility, but don\u2019t hide the ball when you\u2019re exercising authority. It\u2019s not<\/em> always your job to know the answers, but it is your job to find solutions, bring your expertise, and be decisive. Be transparent about your decisions (especially the tough ones) and share your rationale. Mitigate your own defensiveness and own your mistakes. Be clear about when you\u2019re delegating an assignment and, above all, treat your staff with dignity and respect, even during the toughest moments, like letting someone go.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are five of the most important things a new manager should keep in mind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":10397,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"resource_types":[48],"topic":[43,46],"collection":[67],"class_list":["post-393","resources","type-resources","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource_types-article-publication","topic-managing-managers","topic-other-topics","collection-new-managers"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Most Important Things a New Manager Should Know - The Management Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cI\u2019m a brand-new manager, and I want to be great at it. What are the absolute most important things for me to know as I get started?\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Most Important Things a New Manager Should Know - The Management Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cI\u2019m a brand-new manager, and I want to be great at it. What are the absolute most important things for me to know as I get started?\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Management Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/the-management-center\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-28T21:25:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/not-indexed\/2022\/TMC-Resource-Types-05_article.svg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@managementctr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"The Management Center\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/#\/schema\/person\/b39997ba6729b4aa67d429c2e2351395\"},\"headline\":\"The Most Important Things a New Manager Should Know\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-08-26T04:29:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-28T21:25:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/\"},\"wordCount\":720,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/not-indexed\/2022\/TMC-Resource-Types-05_article.svg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/\",\"name\":\"The Most Important Things a New Manager Should Know - The Management Center\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/not-indexed\/2022\/TMC-Resource-Types-05_article.svg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-08-26T04:29:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-28T21:25:44+00:00\",\"description\":\"\u201cI\u2019m a brand-new manager, and I want to be great at it. What are the absolute most important things for me to know as I get started?\u201d\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/not-indexed\/2022\/TMC-Resource-Types-05_article.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/not-indexed\/2022\/TMC-Resource-Types-05_article.svg\",\"caption\":\"Article icon of an open publication.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Resources\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"The Most Important Things a New Manager Should Know\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/\",\"name\":\"The Management Center\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Management Center\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/TMC_logo_primary.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/TMC_logo_primary.svg\",\"width\":325,\"height\":40,\"caption\":\"The Management Center\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/the-management-center\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/managementctr\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/themanagementcenter\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/#\/schema\/person\/b39997ba6729b4aa67d429c2e2351395\",\"name\":\"The Management Center\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/606b7b79ce9cf02e9833bc50facfde30e91717cff8d97c1c41693354f10f4507?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/606b7b79ce9cf02e9833bc50facfde30e91717cff8d97c1c41693354f10f4507?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"The Management Center\"},\"description\":\"The Management Center is a 501c3 organization that helps leaders working for social change build equitable, sustainable, and results-driven organizations via trainings coaching, and online resources and tools.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/themanagementcenter\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/the-management-center\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/author\/tmc_staff\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Most Important Things a New Manager Should Know - The Management Center","description":"\u201cI\u2019m a brand-new manager, and I want to be great at it. What are the absolute most important things for me to know as I get started?\u201d","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Most Important Things a New Manager Should Know - The Management Center","og_description":"\u201cI\u2019m a brand-new manager, and I want to be great at it. What are the absolute most important things for me to know as I get started?\u201d","og_url":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/","og_site_name":"The Management Center","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/the-management-center\/","article_modified_time":"2025-08-28T21:25:44+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/not-indexed\/2022\/TMC-Resource-Types-05_article.svg","width":1,"height":1,"type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@managementctr","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/"},"author":{"name":"The Management Center","@id":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/#\/schema\/person\/b39997ba6729b4aa67d429c2e2351395"},"headline":"The Most Important Things a New Manager Should Know","datePublished":"2014-08-26T04:29:34+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-28T21:25:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/"},"wordCount":720,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/not-indexed\/2022\/TMC-Resource-Types-05_article.svg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/","url":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/","name":"The Most Important Things a New Manager Should Know - The Management Center","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/not-indexed\/2022\/TMC-Resource-Types-05_article.svg","datePublished":"2014-08-26T04:29:34+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-28T21:25:44+00:00","description":"\u201cI\u2019m a brand-new manager, and I want to be great at it. What are the absolute most important things for me to know as I get started?\u201d","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/not-indexed\/2022\/TMC-Resource-Types-05_article.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/not-indexed\/2022\/TMC-Resource-Types-05_article.svg","caption":"Article icon of an open publication."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/important-things-new-manager-know\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Resources","item":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/resources\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The Most Important Things a New Manager Should Know"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/","name":"The Management Center","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/#organization","name":"The Management Center","url":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/TMC_logo_primary.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/TMC_logo_primary.svg","width":325,"height":40,"caption":"The Management Center"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/the-management-center\/","https:\/\/x.com\/managementctr","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/themanagementcenter\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/#\/schema\/person\/b39997ba6729b4aa67d429c2e2351395","name":"The Management Center","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/606b7b79ce9cf02e9833bc50facfde30e91717cff8d97c1c41693354f10f4507?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/606b7b79ce9cf02e9833bc50facfde30e91717cff8d97c1c41693354f10f4507?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"The Management Center"},"description":"The Management Center is a 501c3 organization that helps leaders working for social change build equitable, sustainable, and results-driven organizations via trainings coaching, and online resources and tools.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/themanagementcenter\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/the-management-center\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/author\/tmc_staff\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources\/393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/resources"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources\/393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14991,"href":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources\/393\/revisions\/14991"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=393"},{"taxonomy":"resource_types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_types?post=393"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=393"},{"taxonomy":"collection","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.managementcenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/collection?post=393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}