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As a new manager, you want to succeed. If promoted from within, you can't wait to sink your teeth into long-standing issues that have driven you and coworkers crazy for years. If hired from the outside, you're wary of political sabotage until you figure out who to trust. To paraphrase Bette Davis, fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy first year.

To give yourself the best chance of success, you can take steps to know what you need to know about your new job. It's easier than you might think.

Step 1: Know Common Mistakes
Failure to recognize what your new job is--fostering good relationships to manage people--can lead to common mistakes.

According to Harvard Business School Professor Linda Hill, this can be a shock for new managers, among misperceptions leading to mistakes. Writes Ms. Hill, you are "enmeshed in a web of relationships. Not only with subordinates, but also with bosses, peers and others inside and outside the organization, all of whom make relentless and often conflicting demands..."¹ Not spending time building trusting relationships can sabotage you from the get-go.

Here are a few common mistakes to avoid:²

• You have to know everything about the job. The most important thing about your new job is managing people; they get the work out. Ask for help when you need it.
• Show everyone who is in charge. Everyone already knows you're in charge as the manager, and they probably don't expect you to restate the obvious.
• Don't take the time to know your people. Even if these are people you have worked with for years, you may not know what motivates them. You'll need to know them as individuals to manage well; their performance defines your success.
• Don't spend time with your boss. One of your most important jobs as a new manager is making your boss succeed. Make sure to budget time to meet to discuss what you're doing and ask how you can help.

Building trust doesn't happen overnight, but it buys time to learn from your mistakes. One business site recommends setting aside time your first week to meet with all direct reports individually and ask their advice on current projects to get the ball rolling.³

Step 2: Know Yourself
Knowing the job and pitfalls is only part of the picture. To succeed, you also need to know yourself. A rigorous self-assessment is crucial to developing a management strategy. Self-assessment can be viewed objectively as a project to manage.

SWOT, an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, is commonly used in business strategic planning (Table 1). This tool can quickly identify factors inside and outside your organization to help manage a project or suggest new business opportunities. It can be applied to any situation to help focus on strengths and minimize threats.

Table 1: SWOT Analysis Template⁹

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