The First 30 Days: Setting The Foundation As A New Manager

So today I want to talk about being a successful manager. And part of doing that is setting, you want to set the foundation in your first 30 days on the job, in your first 30 days in the new position. So sit back, relax. This is what we're getting into.

Welcome to the No Nonsense Podcast. On this show, I help new managers become more confident leaders and I do this with no-nonsense sense, if that makes any sense. And assuming it does, get you careful because the show will start. All right, as a manager, your first 30 days of the leadership journey can be both exciting, yet equally nerve-wracking.

It's an important, hugely important transition period for you to learn about your new team, how they work, and what their individual roles are in making the organization successful. So in your 30 days, in your first month, you should expect to do the following. You need to get to know everyone on your team. So your first priority should be getting familiar with each employee, each staff member on your team.

You want to learn their names. You want to know their job titles and roles within the company. This is your opportunity to ask questions about their experience working at the company. and without getting too deep into their, you know, being their bestest of friends, you want to see if you can figure out their career aspirations, what they want out of life, what they, what they hope to get for, from their workplace.

Obviously money is one of them things, but often, or, I mean, it has to be more than that. Of course, some dead end jobs, people are just there for the money, but we as leaders can dive a little bit deeper and see what really motivates people. This is going to help you build trust between them and you. It's also setting the tone to create an atmosphere where people, your staff, they feel comfortable in being open and open and honest with you.

You're going to want to, in your first 30 days, you're going to want to establish relationships with your colleagues. That means you should take time to connect and speak with other managers in the organization, especially if you have other leaders, managers in your department or departments that are closely related. See, this allows you to collaborate on projects. I don know if it a fact but I feel like there a big battle between sales and marketing But in my opinion sales and marketing are two are two different sides of the same coin.

So when you can build relationships with these other managers, you can, you're able to collaborate on projects more easily. You can share resources and, and provide advice or, or get advice from these people. Connecting with your colleagues who have experience in a similar role, it can help you successfully transition into the management role. Remember you're going, if you're, this is your first 30 days.

It may not be your first management job, but it's your first time in this company. And it may be your first time in this role. Here's the newsflash. You don't know everything.

We need to become more comfortable. Maybe I'm just speaking we as in me, but not knowing things, being vulnerable and being willing to seek advice, guidance from those who have done the job before, done the job longer, have an understanding of the pulse of the company, of the environment. This is, this is a huge opportunity talking to your colleagues that can basically help you adjust, help you fit in. Now in your first 30 days, I also want to make sure that you're setting goals for yourself and for your team.

Because once you've gotten an understanding of the team dynamics, you should create individual goals as well as group objectives. for anyone and everyone on the team so that each staff member has an idea of where they're headed. And of course, depending on the nature of your business, these goals could be related to sales or customer satisfaction, whatever it might be. But make sure that everyone is on board with these targets, that they know the expectations.

And it's great if you can help them understand how their individual contributions will help the team, will help in the long run. Now, yes, it's easy to say, okay, this is what I want my team to do. This is how I want my team to develop. I just found sticky stuff on my desk.

I need to clean this. Okay. Uh, squirrel anyway, but sometimes as new managers, we get so focused on, okay, this has to be done and this has to be done and I have to look good and I have to get my team to do this. But what are your goals?

What is it you're going to ask of yourself? Because when we ask their team, you know, this is what I see happening. It's always, it seems to be delivered to, this is how the team is going to work under the new management. But what's the new management going to do?

What their what your goals What your expectations of yourself What can your team expect of you Your first 30 days this is a great opportunity for you to share this information The next thing is that you're going to have a lot, it feels like an overwhelming amount of tasks to juggle from day to day, such as responding to emails and attending meetings and hosting teams calls, etc. Make, you know, like in order to make sure that nothing is slipping through the cracks, because when you're new, your head should be spinning.

It's normal to feel lost and overwhelmed, but you want to make sure that you stay organized. you have a you know you create yourself a schedule a to-do list and you stick to it this this is going to help you stay on top of upcoming projects upcoming assignments and meetings and it's going to help you to make sure that everything runs as smoothly as possible with that said don't expect your first 30 days to be smooth it will be for lack of better terms it's going to be a shit show and I feel that if we are become if we're just honest with ourselves when we know it's going to be a shit show okay let's make it as good a show as we can let's do our best to stay on top of things to be organized and just get through those first 30 days it's expected to be a little bit wonky you're expected to feel overwhelmed.

So allow it, but just stay organized in that time as well, because that's going to help the overwhelm, help you get a handle on it. Now, in your first 30 days, we need to make sure that we encourage open communication. If you've watched my YouTube channel, you've listened to any of these podcasts for more than a minute, you know that I am not a fan of, oh, just come. You know, my door is always open.

In theory, that sounds nice. It sounds like a, you know, because I said in theory, I've got Siri getting nosy and talking back to me saying, oh, shucks. But anyway, that's not the type of communication I was talking about. But we want to show our team.

We want to be, we want to create an environment where the employees, your staff members feel comfortable discussing issues and voicing their opinions. So this means that I want you to set some time aside each day for your team and have these, have some informal check-ins or create one-on-one conversations so that there's an opportunity for them to share ideas, thoughts, concerns whatever it might be but it fostering that that open communication within the team Just by introducing yourself to your team and saying you know guys got an open door policy.

Anytime you want to talk, you just pop your head in. That's like saying, don't call me. I'll call you because you haven't established that that's actually what you mean. You haven't shown that that's actually who you are.

It's hard to know that if I pop my head in that office that, you know, the door is always open, that's not inconvenience, that I'm not going to feel like a schmuck coming in and talking to you because I don't know, it doesn't seem to work. But when you put yourself out there and you show that you're, you know, interested in hearing what your team has to say, you're asking questions where they have an opportunity to share their expertise. Now you're showing that the door is always open after which, yeah, you can expect and hopefully know that people are comfortable popping their head in and saying, Hey boss, you got a second?

That's how we show that our doors are always open, but more importantly, that we are open to the conversation. Listen, I'm not going to lie. Your first 30 days, it can be, it can definitely be overwhelming. But using, you know, these steps, these ideas can help make it a little bit easier.

Not easy. Shit ain't going to be easy. But if you, you know, encourage open communication, if you stay organized, If you set goals and share them with your team, for the team and for yourself, you establish relationships with other managers or leaders within the company, and you get to know people on your team. If you ask me, that's the perfect way to start a new job, a new role.

it's not to come in and have this grand plan as to how you're going to change thing buddy you're new you've been here for five minutes get an understanding of what is going on see it with your own eyes hear it with your own ears from the team that is going to allow your next 90 days to be so much more productive so much better because you've established a foundation of respect and openness. And you're going to be getting great feedback from your team. Not from everybody. I'm not going to lie.

You're going to have some senior employees that don't give two shits if you're there. Or you're not there. You're just another new guy. But doing it this way, establishing, you know, starting off your first three days in this manner will help you set the tone.

and eventually them old crusty bastards, they're going to come on and they're going to like you. I promise.