Successfully training new managers is vital towards the longevity of any business, but many business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs are at a loss when it comes to empowering their future leadership. Despite the proliferation of digital teaching tools and an abundance of strategies that can be found online, many business owners are simply giving up, and relying on outdated methods to teach and train their new managers. Luckily for you, your new manager training model can be updated by following these simple tips. Here’s what your new manager training is missing, and how you can prepare your new managers to lead by example in your workplace. Teaching your managers useful skills If you want to truly teach your new managers some useful skills that will prove to be helpful in the workplace, you need to understand that there’s a difference between training sessions and reality. Much of what you’re aiming to teach your new managers may look good on paper, but when it’s practiced in the real world, it can quickly fall apart. That’s why it’s vital to remember that training new managers should include in-person sessions with the employees they’re soon to be leading, as only hands-on experiences can mold them into the kinds of leaders you need them to be. It goes without saying that eLearning methods are important and useful in the contemporary workplace, but you don’t want to rely so much on technology that your managers lack the people skills they’ll need to lead and succeed.
While you should never shy away from digitizing your operations, particularly if it optimizes the training process while saving you some cash, you should understand that even in today’s digital age, not everything can be mediated by a computer screen. Give your new managers plenty of opportunities to interact with the employees they’ll be managing before they assume their leadership positions, and you’ll have established more trust and prepared them better than if you had merely relied on a digital training regime. In-person training sessions also provide ample opportunities to provide open and honest feedback. It can be tough to criticize someone to their face, but it’s important that your managers learn about how they should provide their own employees and underlings with useful feedback, which is why you’ll need to show them how it’s done before promoting them. Check out some of the proven ways that giving tough feedback helps your managers grow into more resolute and effective leaders, and you’ll likely be sprucing up your new manager training regime in no time. This is also a great time to begin teaching your new managers how to deal with particularly difficult employees.
After all, while performance reviews can be digitized just like a license plate lookup, your managers will need to speak face-to-face with your employees about how they’re doing at some point, and it’s vital they have the experience necessary to dish out positive feedback while sternly putting an end to any unacceptable behavior. Listen to your new managers If you think your new manager training regime is failing, it’s probably because you’re not doing enough listening; after all, aspiring leaders make their wishes and wants well-known. Consider the fact that managers have made it abundantly clear that they need more training in conflict resolution, and you’ll come to realize how beneficial it can be to incorporate their wishes directly into your training program. After all, what business doesn’t inevitably suffer from some kind of conflict amongst employees or leadership figures? By listening closely to your aspiring managers (and by querying your existing leadership figures), you can create a manager training session that focuses only on the information your students want to learn about. This will make them more engaged during their lessons, which will ultimately translate into them becoming better teachers and more effective managers themselves. Listening to your experienced managers when it comes to training your new ones can help you avoid commonly made mistakes that will slow down your progress, too. For instance, you should be talking with your existing managers and leadership figures about the kinds of mistakes they made when they were just starting out. That way, you can cover these topics in-depth with your fledgling managers, and help them avoid potholes in the road that would seriously stymie their development. Check out some of the most common mistakes managers make if you’re unsure of how to proceed when it comes to avoiding these disasters well ahead of time. Above all else, be confident in your new managers; after all, you picked them for a reason! Equipping your leaders-of-tomorrow with the tools they need to succeed and giving them ample opportunities to hone their skills before taking command of the ship is a surefire route towards success when it comes to retrofitting your new manager training.
