{"id":1247,"date":"2025-02-11T11:10:02","date_gmt":"2025-02-11T10:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/AVEO"},"modified":"2025-02-21T15:11:55","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T14:11:55","slug":"how-first-time-managers-can-make-the-successful-jump-to-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/percepti.com\/dk\/how-first-time-managers-can-make-the-successful-jump-to-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"How First-Time Managers Can Make The Successful Jump To Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Harry Kraemer<\/a>, Contributor. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Harry Kraemer, Jr. is a professor at the Kellogg School of Management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feb 11, 2025, 10:30am EST<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s arguably the most difficult career transition in business\u2014moving from being a single contributor to leading a team. Suddenly, everything changes. Let\u2019s take a look at why this jump to leadership is so challenging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you were in school, even though you may have been one of 30 students in a class and you were expected to collaborate with others, you really wanted to be among the best\u2014the top 5% or even 1%. Although you cooperated and worked with others in group projects, when you were a student, it really was all about you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In your first job not much changed. You brought a good work ethic and values, and you cooperated with your colleagues. But you and your peers were all on the same level, and no one was reporting to you. You viewed your performance as your chance to shine so the boss would think of you as the best person to promote. In other words, it was still mostly about you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then came an enormous change: being promoted to managing a team for the very first time. No longer a single contributor, you were now a leader who was expected to take responsibility for the development of others. You were aware of the importance of talent management and leadership development\u2014you read the business books and took the courses. But knowing something and actually doing it (and doing it well) are not the same thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As research has found<\/a>, as many as 20% of first-time managers are rated as doing a poor job by their direct reports and 26% of first-time managers said they did not feel ready to lead others. Tellingly, nearly 60% of those first-time leaders said they never received any training as they assumed the role of leading others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For business leaders at all levels, supporting and developing first-time managers is a priority across the organization. To understand what should be done, let\u2019s take a step back and look at the obstacles and challenges facing these new leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three Problems When Advancing From Single Contributor To Leading The Team<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on my forty years in business, including being chair and CEO of a $12 billion global health care company and now a clinical professor of leadership at Northwestern University\u2019s Kellogg School of Management, I see three problems that undermine first-time managers. The first problem is that they are used to doing everything by themselves. In fact, they\u2019re so confident in their own capabilities that they hesitate to delegate tasks, knowing that other people will probably take longer to perform the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second problem is micromanaging. Although first-time managers know they are expected to delegate, they check and double check everything that every team member is doing. It may be that, based on how their former bosses<\/a> acted, they think micromanaging is a sign of being engaged with the team. Micromanaging others, however, is not delegating, nor will it develop others. It\u2019s also demoralizing for the team members who don\u2019t feel they are trusted to do the work by a manager who is operating as a one-person army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Third, even when a new manager knows the importance of developing others, they are still focused on looking good to their boss. When the department head or division leader asks for a summary of a project, the new manager gathers information from the team and makes the presentation by themselves. In their mind, the manager thinks the \u201cbig bosses\u201d will see them as irreplaceable\u2014and that is a double-edged sword. Someone who is irreplaceable in a role is not likely to be promoted out of it; after all, there\u2019s no one who can do it as well as they can!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conversely, when a manager brings the whole team that worked on the project to the meeting with senior leaders, everyone gains visibility. The team feels empowered and appreciated, and the bosses see that people on the team are being developed who could one day assume the manager\u2019s role. That means the manager is more likely to be promoted into roles with increasing responsibility. And that\u2019s why the focus should be making yourself replaceable not irreplaceable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Leaders Can Do To Support First-Time Managers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The struggles of first-time managers are a wake-up call for more experienced leaders in the organization to step up and support people transitioning into their first leadership roles. Not only will first-time leaders become more effective, but the organization will also build and sustain a leadership pipeline of the most promising people at all levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some foundational tips for first-time managers and the leaders who are supporting, mentoring, and coaching them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n