Growing at Work
You were promoted for being good at the work. The work has just changed.
A first management role often arrives with a new title, a team and very little guidance. The skills that earned it, doing the work quickly and well, are not the ones the job now asks for. This session sets out a sensible order for the first ninety days: listen first, agree what is expected, set up a rhythm, and delegate without disappearing. It is a framework for thinking, not a rulebook.
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The first ninety days set the pattern the team will remember.
People are usually made managers because they were good at their previous job. Few are shown how to manage, and many manage the way they were managed, for better or worse. The early weeks are when the team forms its view of what working for you will be like, and when habits, good or bad, settle in.
Most early mistakes come from the same few causes: changing too much before listening, doing the team's work because it is faster, avoiding a hard conversation until it is harder, or being unclear about what is expected. All of them can be avoided or repaired, and the session is about how.
What the session covers
35 topics across 7 areas. Seven parts, roughly in the order the first three months run. 6 apply to almost any business; the rest only in a particular case.
What Has Changed About Your JobYour output is now other people's output.5
- Why your own speed matters less than the team's
- Letting go of work you were good at
- Being judged on results you do not produce directly
- The loneliness of the role, and where to find support
- Deciding what only you can do
The First Thirty Days: Listen and LearnResist the urge to prove yourself with changes.5
- A conversation with each person about their work and what they need
- Understanding how work currently flows
- Learning what the team is proud of and what frustrates it
- Asking your own manager what success looks like
- Noting what to change later, and what not to touch
Agreeing What Is ExpectedClarity is the kindest thing a manager can offer.5
- Your expectations of the team, said aloud
- Their expectations of you, asked for
- What good work looks like, with an example
- Priorities, and what can wait
- Writing a short summary after each conversation
One-to-Ones That Are Worth HavingA regular conversation that belongs to the other person.5
- A fixed time that does not get cancelled
- A short list of questions that keeps it useful
- Asking what is in the way, not only what is done
- Following up on what you said you would do
- Using it to give feedback before it becomes a problem
Delegating Without Dumping or HoveringHanding over the work and the outcome, not just the task.5
- Matching work to the person's skill and appetite
- Explaining why it matters and what finished looks like
- Agreeing checkpoints rather than watching
- Accepting a different method that gets the same result
- Taking responsibility when it goes wrong, and fixing the system
The Early Mistakes Most Managers MakeRecognise them early and they are cheap to fix.6
- Changing everything in the first month
- Still doing the old job on the side
- Avoiding the first difficult conversation
- Having favourites, or being seen to
- Saying yes to everything from above and passing the strain down
- Never asking how you are doing
Things Not to Handle AloneIf it appliesWhere company process and the law apply.4
These must follow your company's process, and some have legal requirements that vary by employer, role and state. Take them to HR or a senior leader early. If you are unsure of your obligations, ask HR or a lawyer rather than guessing. For personal distress, the facilitator's part is only to say where help exists, for example Tele-MANAS on 14416.
- A complaint of harassment or discrimination
- Decisions about pay, leave, discipline or termination
- A team member whose health or wellbeing worries you
- Anything involving a contract, notice or a legal dispute
A first-fortnight checklist
- Meet each team member one-to-one
- Meet your own manager and ask what success looks like
- Set the one-to-one rhythm
- Find out what is urgent and what is merely loud
- Pick one small, visible thing to fix
What this session is not
- Not a management qualification
- Not a substitute for your company's manager training
- Not legal or HR advice
- Not a list of rules that work everywhere
- Not a place to discuss named colleagues
How the session runs
An experienced manager outlines the first ninety days and the early mistakes, then participants work through a short exercise on their own team: who they need to talk to first, what they will say, and what they will delegate. Small-group discussion follows, with a chance to ask questions. Nothing about a named person is shared outside the room.
What your students leave with
- A simple plan for the first thirty, sixty and ninety days
- Questions to ask the manager above them and each person in the team
- A one-to-one routine they can start in the first fortnight
- A way to delegate work without either dumping it or hovering over it
- Awareness of the common early mistakes, and how to recover from them
- Knowing what to take to HR and what not to handle alone
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
The first ninety days are not for proving yourself. They are for learning what the team needs.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.