9 Conversations Every New Manager Must Have With Their Staff

Congratulations … you got your first management job! That’s great! Everyone’s excited about the new manager! Woo-hoo!

I hope you enjoyed that 10-second honeymoon period because now it's time to get to work.

We live in an era where today’s workers repeatedly state that the main reason that they leave a job has to do with their manager. In fact, depending on the study, the percentage of people leaving due to dissatisfaction with their bosses runs somewhere between 60% and 70%. Hey, you may have done it yourself in the past.

But now, YOU are the manager and you don't want to be the manager that they leave.

Instead, here are some of the things that you want them to say about you:   

• My boss is a terrific leader.     
• I can always count on my boss. I know she will get things done.     
• My boss is a strategic thinker, and I know he will have my back.   

It feels fantastic when employees sing your praises. Today, I am going to give you the tools to be a great leader from the get-go — even before you sit in the “boss’s chair” on your first day. You’re going to learn how to immediately establish a positive working relationship with your team and win over anyone who is resistant to change or getting a new boss.

Understand Your Mission, Vision, and Purpose

First, get to know your business and the company you work for. It doesn’t matter if your move to management was an in-house promotion internally or if it’s a position with a new company, one of the best things to do is to research your company. Even if you are familiar with the company’s mission statement, values and core purpose, it’s time to revisit them. To complete this research, gather information like annual reports, as well as mission and value statements.

Your company should also have a mission statement and history. Learn not only what its mission is, but how you fit into that big picture? Consider developing your own mission statement. It can be valuable for you personally and professionally.

Some questions to consider are who do you want to be, what is your character and what do you want to do? What contributions and achievements do you want to make? What's important to you? What are your values? What are your principals?

To develop that, try a values clarification. A really simple way of doing it is to write down a long list of words and principles, then narrow them down to 10, then five, then three and then only one. It doesn't have to be complicated. It’s just a way to have the values you use to navigate through your professional and personal life and keep them front and center.

Second, have a plan in place. When you move into this new management role, what are you putting in place for yourself so you can be organized and successful? Think about your first steps and how you will implement them.

Third, get your team’s attention. Start by having a meeting with your entire team. There are two tactics for this. You can meet one on one with everyone first and then have a meeting with the group, or you can hold a meeting to get a more general consensus from everyone, then do one on ones. In either case, these next steps will help when you are meeting with someone for the first time.

Meeting with your new employees

When you meet with your new team members for the first time, there are several ways you can connect with them, so they value your leadership and feel comfortable with you as their manager.

1. Establishing ground rules. What are your expectations for your employees? What are your assumptions about them? This is also not a bad time to find out from your employees what their expectations and assumptions are of you, so you know you are on the same page.

Have you ever gotten into trouble because your assumptions and those of your coworkers were different? Let’s say you assume that someone is going to complete a report, and they are going to do it by the end of the month but never verbalize that deadline. In their mind, they have 60 or 90 days because it wasn't specifically laid out. Make sure that you are clear in your expectations.

2. Establish common goals. These goals should be specific, attainable and measurable. Think clear and concise when creating these goals and take time to confer with your team members so they understand what the goals are, if they are realistic and achievable, and the results of these goals can be measured. If your expectation is to have a 30-page report due in the next two weeks, that should be clear to everyone involved.

3. Establish your timeline. With timelines, think about touchpoints or check-ins along that timeline. In the beginning, you might even want it to be 48 hours later to make sure projects are going well and create a feedback loop that keeps you connected and accessible to your team. Also, consider how you will check-in and what your expectations and assumptions are.

Think about what your leadership style is going to be and what will work best for you and your team. Do you want to be a leader that wants everybody to contribute and collaborate before you come with a final decision? Are you a leader who wants to decide what's going to happen, then notify the group? Look at this considering your mission statement and values and decide what kind of leader you are, and what kind of leader you aspire to be.

4. Show your employees that you care. There is a saying, “People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." We’ve all had experiences with people that say one thing but demonstrate another. You will want to make sure that you have integrity with what you say and do, then demonstrate that to your team. Let them know that you are invested in them, have their backs and support them.

5. Find your team’s strengths and weaknesses. Start with your own strengths and weaknesses. Transparency can build trust. Being honest about being human is always helpful. Once they know the areas where they can shine, they can increase their investment in the team as well.

So how do you find those strengths? Ask them what they consider to be their strengths, where do they feel they shine, what they love to do at work and what they think they do well.  You can also ask what they find to be a challenge with their job? Keep in mind when you ask this question that your employees know they are safe sharing their struggles with you and don’t feel like they have a target on their back if they do struggle with certain aspects of their jobs. You want to have a safe place for your employees so you can work well with them.

If they share their challenges with you, there are a couple of different ways to approach deficiencies. You could say: “Oh, that's interesting that Excel spreadsheets are something that you find really challenging. Here are a couple of ways we can move forward with this. We can provide some training for you, or Sally is awesome at working with Excel. Maybe you can take some work off Sally’s plate, and you can share those responsibilities and collaborate." The point is to show them that you care, let them know that you have their back and be transparent with them, which encourages them to be transparent with you.

6. Express your loyalty. Let your team know that you support them, and you are there to help them solve problems. While you don’t want to encourage people to complain, you want them to bring their challenges to you and your team as a whole or individually to solve that problem by consensus.

7. Speak passionately and come from a place of empathy. When you are having a conversation with your team members, focus on eye contact. You want to look at someone and have eye contact as if you are giving them a suntan, not a sunburn, meaning you are not laser staring them down. You want your eyes to be soft, letting them know that you are all in. Be focused and not distracted by things that might be going on around you. That may mean taking your conversation into a separate space where you can truly focus on the other person without distractions.

8. Pay attention to body language. Adopt an open body language stance with your arms at your side. Be aware of who you are talking to and pay attention to their body language. If their arms are crossed in the beginning, they should slowly open up as you begin to talk and establish trust.

9. Make the conversation positive. This isn't the time to talk about consequences or repercussions. Right now, your goal is to establish the ground rules, establish your leadership style and create rapport in your first meeting with your employees.  

This advice works well whether you’re a new manager or if you’re on a team that has gotten — or will soon get — a new manager. Team members can study these tips and make the transition for the new manager smoother