- MGMT Playbook
- Posts
- 7 Deadly Sins of A New Manager (Plus Tips to Avoid Them)
7 Deadly Sins of A New Manager (Plus Tips to Avoid Them)
And why experienced managers can't help themselves from committing to them, too.
Today: Lead Make-or-Break Conversations
Join us Wednesday, June 5th, at 2 PM ET for this free 30-minute workshop.
I’ll share my SAFE framework for shaping hard conversations and we’ll apply it to three of the trickiest:
Your Underperforming Employee
Your Unresponsive Manager
Your Uncooperative Peer
Sign up to gain access to the recording even if you can’t attend.
We’re approaching 1,000 signups and would love to see you there.
![](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/d3b7354a-5796-42c8-9ccc-ef372fc7fdc7/image.png?t=1717552208)
Read Time: 2 minutes.
Only 15% of new managers get any training.
We take our top performers and simply hope they’ll figure it out.
Some do. Eventually.
But most aren’t given that much time.
I got lucky. But it wasn’t without making a boatload of mistakes.
Now 20 years and thousands of leaders later, I’m not the only one.
I showed a draft of this to a founder yesterday, and she said:
“That’s like the new manager’s bible. And we were all sinners.”
Unfortunately, many of us still are.
1. Don't Set Expectations
You probably did the job you now manage. You take for granted the 100 lessons you learned through time. But when you make them guess what you want?
Your habits become someone else's heartache.
Tip: Align on expectations for Goals (the What) & Approach (the How)
2. Don't Delegate
You keep your old work.
But now you have a new role too.
4 tasks pile on for every 1 you finish.
Meanwhile, your team waits.
Patiently at first. Then vocally. Then, with their feet.
Tip: Delegate faster than feels comfortable.
3. Don't Build Trust
Illusion: Believing you start with trust.
Reality: No trust Day 1, not even your old friends.
And w/o trust, small things (gestures, comments) have big impacts.
And big things (critical feedback) are crushing.
Tip: Lead with questions. Meet your commitments. Race to trust.
4. Don't Provide Clarity
You’re in charge, so guess what matters?
Your words
Your habits
Your actions
Your priorities
Your decisions
Your indecisions
Yes, your words matter.
But what you do (and even what you don't do) matters more.
Tip: Slow is smooth & smooth is fast.
5. Don't Act Decisively
Should you lead with questions and humility? 100% Yes.
Should you gather data and seek triangulation? Also wise.
But then you need to convert those inputs into a decision. And much to the new manager's surprise, that decision is usually: "No."
Leaders remove "maybe" from their vocabulary.
Tip: Be clear about which mode you're in: "Debate" vs. "Decide"
6. Don't Hold People Accountable
The magic formula for high-performing teams:
Set ambitiously high standards
Hire extremely talented people
Believe they'll achieve them
Challenge them to do it
Tip: Ask them first. A-players are their own harshest critics. They’ll hold themselves accountable.
7. Don't Help Stars Outgrow Them
Leaders know they're only as good as the people they're leading. If you cap their upside, you'll only attract talent willing to settle.
Humble & Hungry >> Accepting & Average
Tip: Build a brand as a talent accelerant. Stars will come to you.
MGMT Fundamentals for New Managers
We ran our first MGMT Accelerator on Maven 2 years ago. After working with more than 1,000 leaders, we hear 2 common requests:
Do you have something foundational for my new managers?
I’m slammed during the week. Could you teach on a weekend?
Starting on June 29th, the answer is now “Yes!” to both.
We’ll give you the training, tactics, and tools to support sustainable management in less than 10 hours over one weekend.
Early career leaders will learn how to:
Manage Yourself (Change Your Perspective)
Manage Potential (Coach, Develop and Inspire)
Manage Performance (Motivate, Incentivize and Fire)
Manage Outcomes (Design High-Performance Systems)
Manage Conflict (Convert Hard Conversations)
Manage Up (Make Yourself Invaluable)
Our subscribers get a 25% early access discount.
To qualify, enroll using the link below before June 9th.
What You Missed
Here are a few posts that got outsized attention this week.
I’m looking for inspiration!
Hit reply and give me a leadership topic you’d like my take on.
Podcast Alert
This week’s podcast: The Daily Huddle
This was my first “live” show. Luckily, Marc’s been doing this for years and made it easy on me—except when we went into Overtime!
We covered a range of topics:
Did the fans really boo Zach Bryan’s encore in Brooklyn?
Why every company should watch “game film”
How I got over calling myself a coach
Thank you for reading. Appreciate you!
Dave
Ways To Work With Me
MGMT Fundamentals - Join our summer weekend sprint. June 29 and 30th, 12:00-4:00 pm ET. Perfect for managers with 0-3 years of experience who need a jumpstart. Lower price. Faster results. Enroll by June 9th to save 25%.
Customized Leadership Programs - Bring our MGMT Accelerator in-house in a tailored, two-day intensive workshop. Ideal for 20+ leaders.
1:1 Executive Coaching - My roster is currently full. Drop me a note if you want to be notified when a slot opens up.
Speaking - We’re now booking keynotes for Q3 & Q4. Hit reply on this note, and we can set up a time to discuss topics and pricing.
MGMT Playbook - If you’re here because someone forwarded this email, please subscribe before you leave.