Accounting Industry

5 Basic Mistakes New (Finance) Managers Make

It is a rare company indeed that gives its managers training before they are appointed to their first supervisory role.

In fact, it is more often the case that people are appointed and then just expected to “get on with it”.

So if you are a new manager, or if you have been supervising people for a while, what mistakes should you avoid?

Here are our top 5:

Thinking that you need to know everything
Thinking that you need to control everything
Not communicating your expectations and goals
Changing everything all at once
Not understanding what your success markers are

Thinking that you need to know everything

This is probably the first mistake that a new manager makes and it is a source of considerable stress.

When you get the job you think that you need to know everything before you start and you also think that when one of your reports asks a question you have to know the answer.

Both of these are totally wrong. Most of the time, people have been appointed because they are good at their current job and they show the potential to be a good manager.

So it is perfectly acceptable to take advice from your peers and line managers. Don’t worry about asking for help, that shows that you are taking the role seriously and that you value their advice.

By the same token, when one of your reports asks a question you don’t know the answer to then you are quite at liberty to say “I don’t know, what do you think?”.

This shows that you aren’t so arrogant that you think you know everything and more importantly, that you value their opinion and knowledge.

Thinking that you need to control everything

There comes a point where you have to accept that you can’t control everything.

Certainly from a practical point of view but also in terms of team management.

A good manager isn’t threatened by having outstanding team members. Instead, they view it as a mark of success to develop a future generation of superstars.

One way to do that is to set the direction of travel and then delegate the delivery. Start with small, simple tasks and then work upwards. Before long you’ll have a team that runs itself.

Not communicating your expectations and goals

Hopefully, you have taken some time to sit down and sketch out what you want to see from your team and how you would like things to work. If not then do this now.

But it is no good keeping this to yourself. We often find that new managers are trying to achieve something without letting their team in on the secret.

This means that people can be working at cross-purposes doing the things that they think they are supposed to do.

But if you spell out explicitly what you want to achieve as a team you will often find that your people have some great ideas about things they always wanted to change but were never asked about.

Have goals at an individual level too so that people know what they have to do to become a productive member of the group.

Changing everything all at once

There seem to be two camps that new managers fall into; they either change nothing or everything!

Changing everything all at once is rarely a good option. It produces uncertainty and distress in the team and you can often end up throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

Naturally, there will be pressure to ‘make your mark’ but often this pressure is internal and can be just what we think we are supposed to do rather than what our line manager is expecting.

It is far better to relax, take time to think about things and understand why tasks are being done the way they are. Then make considered choices to alter a little at a time.

Not understanding what your success markers are

This is the single biggest mistake that new managers make - they go into the job not understanding how they will be judged by their line manager.

If you understand the perception of your new department, the goals that your line manager has and what they will be looking at in your appraisal then you have a road map for your first few weeks.

If you go in blindly then you could end up making a huge mistake.

Try not to accept vague concepts like ‘shaking it up’ or ‘being a steady hand’.

Dig down and ask exactly what things would show that you have been a success in your new role. To a very large extent, this will provide you with a plan that you can work on to develop your new team and yourself.

Above all - don’t worry!

The most important thing when you take on your first management role is to relax into it.

If you are stressed then your team will pick up on that and you could be in for a rocky ride.

Ask your boss exactly what they expect of you and your team and make sure that you take advantage of their experience by asking for help when you need it.

Don’t go in with the attitude that you need to know everything from day one and definitely don’t start changing things as soon as you arrive.

Instead, form a smart plan, communicate it with your team and trust them to deliver it.

Good luck in your new role!

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