How to Prepare Yourself for Your First Management Job
How do you prepare for your first management role?
- Be Aware of Your Strengths and Weaknesses
- Seek Mentors and Advisers
- Improve Your Communication Skills
- Do Your Research
- Always Be Learning
Getting hired as a manager is a goal for many people. It leads to great rewards as well as opportunities. Many people wonder, “How do I get on that management track, to begin with?” and “What do I have to do to prepare?” Both are valid concerns. But before you can step into any management roles, your higher-ups will be expecting many things from you. Get ready because this blog lists five tips on how to prepare for your first management role.
Be Aware of Your Strengths and Weaknesses
Self-awareness is one of your key weapons when applying for or awaiting a managerial promotion. You have to be aware of your strengths and weaknesses as an individual. We cannot be a jack of all trades. Although it’s good that you can be an all-rounder, you must have some skillset that you genuinely master that will add value to the company. So, this is the first step.
Being aware of your strengths and weaknesses will help you in your management role because it helps you serve your team better. First, know your weaknesses. It is advisable to surround yourself with people who can compensate for your weaknesses, so they can make up for what you lack and you can learn from them. The second step is discovering your strengths. This is so that you know what you are passionate about, where you excel most, and what you contribute to the team.
If you still haven’t discovered your strengths and weaknesses, ask yourself two questions: what do I always enjoy even when it gets repetitive or tiring? What is something that I always avoid doing or feel tired of right away upon doing it?
See the difference? You’ll be more aware of yourself by answering these questions. You can also take some personality tests online to know your individual strengths and weaknesses.
Seek Mentors and Advisers
Good mentors will always help you out. Make sure you apply what you learn from them. You will be surprised how much value you can get from your coaches, advisers, colleagues, or fellow entrepreneurs. As a tip, make sure that you also provide for them, and that they will also get value from you. It’s a two-way exchange, and you can build your network through this, which will help you later on.
Improve Your Communication Skills
When you’re managing a team, it has to work together. It has to be a two-way street where you communicate with each other because communication is necessary for any relationship to grow. If you step into a managerial role and it is always you speaking, directing, and not listening to any feedback, chances are your team will not give you their thoughts. That’s not a healthy relationship.
As a matter of fact, your role is mostly to listen. Because you already know the solutions in your head, there might be some things you haven’t considered before making that decision, and it’s practical for you to listen to everyone else on your team. You may run the show, but their opinions are just as important because they keep the show going.
Do Your Research
Before you step into any job position, you must study the role and what it entails. What is expected of you by the upper management and by the team that you will lead? What are the roles of the current managers? Do your homework. Make sure you study. People who step into managerial roles and refuse to do their research often lead the team into chaos.
After knowing and studying, practice those things even if you don’t yet have the title or the position. Eventually, your leader or manager will notice that you possess the attributes they are looking for.
Always Be Learning
Finally, be an eternal student. This may be last on this list, but it’s one of the most important pieces of advice you’ll hear in life. Keep studying, keep reading books, and keep listening to podcasts. Arm yourself with the knowledge that will help you in your career and life. Always learn and add value to yourself, so you can add value to others.
Key Takeaway
Now that we’ve discussed how to prepare for your first management role, a challenge I have for you is to think of a role that you hope to see yourself in 2-3 years from now. Then reverse engineer what you have to do to get that role, based on what you’ve learned in this article.
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