Becoming a people leader

A quick rule of thumb to remember, which will help you track your progress, from the anxious first steps as a newly promoted manager, to a confident manager who achieves their goals.

It’s nearly impossible for a new people manager not to meticulously analyze KPIs, not to track the exact arrival and departure times of each team member, not to demand formality in communication, not to indulge in flattery, etc. These are all baptism by fire. Go through them, but remember to stay human.

A successful people manager, on the other hand, one who will develop a career in management, will stand out from the crowd when it’s time to level-up. There are two options:

a) You continue to use the above as the basic criteria for managing performance and forming opinions about your team members,

b) you start to see the big picture, which means: evaluating quality, tracking efficiency, analysing behaviours, cultivating team sentiment, actively developing your leadership ability, etc.

This simple guide will help you develop the self-awareness you need in order to determine where you are in your management journey.