What First-Time Managers Get Wrong — and How HR Can Help

New manager mistakes are costly. 

Any manager plays a critical role in the organization. We know that 70% of a team’s engagement is directly tied to their manager, with the impact rippling into your workforce and your bottom line. Managers are the lynchpin for productivity, employee satisfaction, attrition, and organizational performance. 

The stakes are high for first-time managers — and the odds aren’t great either. 

According to research from CEB Global, 60% of new managers fail within the first 24 months in their new role.

New managers have a steeper learning curve than their more seasoned and veteran counterparts. First-time managers are learning the ropes of everything all at once: how to be an effective liaison between leadership and individual contributors, how to execute strategic initiatives, and how to manage team members’ performance. 

Like anyone stepping into a new role for the first time, it’s inevitable that mistakes will happen. After all, we’re only human. But at a time when the margin for error is slim, organizations can’t afford new manager mistakes that compound across the organization.

So, how do you avoid classic new manager mistakes? 

It’s Tough to Be a New Manager

The first step in preventing mistakes is to first acknowledge the fact that unprepared, ill-equipped managers leading employees for the first time are bound to stumble. The best way to reap the potential from your people is by having a precision skill development program in place from the get-go. Unfortunately, the reality is, many businesses do not. 

This is not a new issue. A 2024 article from the Center for Creative Leadership stated that 60% of new managers did not receive relevant training at the start of their role. In comparison, this 2018 article estimated that 59% of junior managers received no training that otherwise would have made them better leaders. So over six years, there was virtually no change in how managers were brought on board.

But new leaders also share some of the blame. Those who take on managerial positions often behave in ways that may have been helpful before they were hired, but no longer. An article from the Kellogg School of Management cites three reasons explaining why first-time managers make the same sort of mistakes:

• New leaders are accustomed, like most employees and students, to handling their work independently. As they move from individual contributors to leaders, such managers find it hard to trust their subordinates to do a better job than they can.
• Whenever they do take the plunge and delegate, the lack of trust manifests in the form of micromanaging the smallest details of their employees’ work.
• A first-time manager wants to prove their indispensable value to their bosses. They tend to present the results of their team’s efforts alone, while trying not to give too much credit to whomever contributed. 

Now More than Ever

The pressure to perform is not going to lessen anytime soon–especially in the age of AI. It is simply critical to set new managers up for success with the proper training, especially in light of business trends we’re seeing today:

Businesses are investing less while expecting their teams to stay productive. This naturally causes more stress, a workplace issue that is usually the responsibility of leaders to handle. New managers stepping into this environment must build the skills that enable them to motivate staffers with fewer resources.

AI is changing how companies operate and manage their people. Getting the most out of artificial intelligence systems to create efficiency, productivity, quality, and impact is a challenge even for experienced leaders. First-time managers who need to handle both AI and new leadership responsibilities require real support to unlock AI’s potential. 

Significant growth in change initiatives has taught us that adaptation in the business world is constant. First-time managers must be able to handle the change management process both in terms of doing their part and in keeping their teams engaged.

8 New Manager Mistakes — And How to Avoid Them 

Without proper learning and development, your new managers could be making costly mistakes — both for your people and your business. To help you minimize the repercussions, we’ve outlined some of the classic mistakes first-time managers often make — and how to guide managers through them:  

1. Set Clear Expectations

When a new manager walks in, employees are often uncertain how to react. Do they keep working according to the old rules, or wait for instructions? Are cuts going to be made to the department? Is it worthwhile putting in the effort if there’s a chance that it will all go to waste? With all of these questions up in the air, there’s a distinct possibility that team effectiveness will suffer.

To navigate issues like these, it can be helpful for first-time managers to turn to a mentor. Their inside knowledge of the organization makes them a great source of advice for communication strategies. Similarly, their experience in how teams react to a new boss will filter down to the manager, who can then set clear goals and settle expectations. Even if the new leader intends to make changes, the mentor can advise them on how to best explain and implement their ideas. 

2. Avoid Micromanaging

A team will typically have significant collective experience that a new manager can’t beat. It takes time to learn the ropes of most operations. A new leader should understand that before trying to implement any important change. Much can be learned by simply letting people do their thing. And micromanaging is never a good idea, even for veteran leaders. In psychological terms, this management approach “stifles creativity, dampens motivation, and reduces productivity”. This is exactly the opposite of what new managers should be aiming for.  

Internal mentoring can go a long way towards curbing the instinct to oversee every last detail. By pairing first-time managers with a seasoned expert in your organization, you can help ensure that teams feel empowered to do the work that will have a lasting impact. 

3. Be Social

A new manager might not have the time, the confidence, or the personality to put their social foot forward, but it is essential. In our personal lives, meeting new people comes with uncertainty, and the same is true of the workplace. All employees judge additions to their department, new managers in particular. To make a good first impression, it is critical for leaders to focus on getting to know the people they’ll be working with. If that means adding hours to your first few days, it’s worth the sacrifice. 

You don’t need to be the friendliest person around to make a good connection. Simply showing sincere interest in those around you is a great start. Take five minutes to hold one-on-one meetings with those on your team to talk about their personal interests, role in the department, and professional goals. Then introduce yourself along the same lines. 

Connecting with superiors is equally important. Even if they don’t approach you, think about taking the initiative and going up to them. You might even find a mentor by being proactive. 

Now that you’ve made a good impression, keep it going by considering moves such as:

• Using social gestures like eye contact, smiles, greetings, compliments, and a friendly tone of voice 
• Advising your team on the best ways to contact you by, for instance, email, WhatsApp, Slack, or a knock on your door 
• Making sure to regularly meet in person with your staff to keep a personal connection going; this includes open office hours
• Trying Management by Walking Around, which is an opportunity to be seen and learn about problems in the employees’ environment 
• Arrange a social event for your team; this can reveal personal issues between employees and the dominant personalities and dynamics in the group 

4. Empower Employees

First-time leaders are familiar with their own abilities, but not so much about those of the people on their new team. This knowledge gap might result in a new manager trying to handle all of the pressing tasks faced by their subordinates, which is never a good long-term solution. 

The social connections mentioned above won’t help when it comes to understanding the individual skills of the people on your team. Few employees are going to admit that they don’t have the ability to perform certain aspects of their job. It’s only through actual work that you will find out who has the relevant talents.  

Assuming that a new manager is relatively good at (or at least understands) most of the work performed by their department, the first step in this discovery is delegation. New leaders should break down tasks, assign them to the most appropriate employee, and keep a close eye on the results. Don’t like what you see? Try to figure out what the employee is doing wrong and ask around. Perhaps this is how they’ve been trained, and you’ve got to make a change. But don’t turn their world upside-down overnight. In addition, if they don’t seem competent, delegate to someone else. In the meantime, make a note of sending workers who lack certain skills to the proper L&D courses. 

On the other hand, if a new manager quickly discovers that they are in over their head, then they’ll need a different approach. In keeping with the vital leadership skill of self-awareness, they should admit that they are in trouble and turn to experienced employees for help. 

5. Get a Clear Picture of the Goals

In keeping with this idea, there is very little chance that a new manager knows everything about their function. Even experienced, lower-level employees usually are not up to date with all managerial tasks. Some new managers might want to keep their lack of knowledge a secret, but that is a classic mistake.

Instead, they should connect with their immediate employees and other stakeholders who can help them. Questions should focus on department goals and general business objectives. 

6. Seek Out Learning and Development Opportunities

Rookie manager mistakes are often blamed on the lack of training. Unfortunately, some managers simply assume that their company is not in the business of supplying or being open to L&D (and sometimes, they are right). In addition, many new managers are so overwhelmed when they start, that they forget about development and instead think mostly about surviving. 

Yet there are many potential learning opportunities that leaders can create for themselves. With enough effective delegation, there’s a good chance that they can carve out a bit of time for unofficial training. Options include:  

• Online courses in management and leadership
• Independent learning at a local college or university 
• The company’s knowledge base
• Job shadowing 
• Finding a mentor

7. Take the Feedback

Given the fact that they are first-time managers, criticism is par for the course. The less confident ones may feel threatened by negative feedback, and resist internalizing it. 

However, constructive criticism is an essential method of judging performance. New leaders must swallow their pride and listen to whatever feedback comes their way. Hopefully, experienced employees have taken courses in communication and put some thought into delivering advice in a constructive way.   

Studies have even found that employees actually want meaningful feedback from those around them as a way to gauge their own performance and find ways to improve. When delivered properly, feedback can increase engagement because it shows that management is paying attention to what the employee is doing, as opposed to them just being an anonymous cog in a wheel.  

8. Demonstrate True Leadership

Maybe they’ve had bad examples, or maybe it’s just part of their natural style, but some new managers believe that leadership is about giving orders and being feared. Of course, there are situations where this is necessary. But an effective leader employs whatever tools are necessary in the moment, and that includes soft skills like empathy, active listening, and teamwork. 

Here are a few examples of how first-time managers can show that they comprehend what actual leadership is all about. None of these steps require training, permission from higher-ups, or a budget:

• Acknowledging the emotions of their team while remaining professional
• Admitting mistakes and asking for advice
• Being objective and proactive when it comes to managing conflict in the workplace 
• Encouraging employees to take risks
• Recognizing individual contributions and innovation

How Growthspace Supports New Managers

Strong leaders not only avoid making mistakes, but also educate themselves on proactive leadership concepts. And yet not all companies support new managers in this important effort. Too many HR departments put the blame on ineffective L&D initiatives, whether that’s due to poor instructors, a lack of success metrics, topics that are too general, or courses that take away too much time. 

Growthspace is the remedy that hundreds of leading companies have found for their corporate training initiatives. The Growthspace precision skill development platform enables customized learning that is delivered in efficient sprints, supplied through access to a global group of vetted experts, and with a number of assessment tools for HR teams to prove value. With Growthspace, new managers can lead with confidence and stay prepared for any challenge.