From team member to manager
You are young, motivated and achieve excellent results in your job - and now you are up for promotion to team leader? Congratulations! But enthusiasm is often quickly followed by the first doubts: "Will I even be able to do this? Will I keep my friendships with my colleagues?".
We spoke to a woman who remembers it well. Carla Hees is Regional Manager East and Head of Marketing at pme Familienservice. She herself rose from team member to manager. She tells us about her beginnings and the changes that came with the new position.
Ms. Hees, you have risen to become a manager within your team. What were your early days as a manager like?
I was lucky because I came from a comfortable situation. A colleague and I had taken over the management of the pme Familienservice branch in Berlin together in 2004 by team decision. At first, we thought that not much would change. We had already taken on responsibility before. But we very quickly realized that we were suddenly faced with a wide variety of demands from inside and outside the company and that almost nothing remained the same.
What exactly has changed for you?
The "grace period" was very short. It was unexpected for us that we now had to decide many things that we had previously decided together as a team. Of course, not all team members always liked our actions. We were also required to make strategic decisions more quickly than before.
How do young managers deal with these changes?
At first, it was very difficult for me to understand that it was my new role that was increasingly excluding me from team activities. For example, while I used to be a natural part of the "movie after work", I soon realized that I was no longer asked so often. That wasn't easy. At the beginning, I hadn't really thought about what could change as a manager. Now I had to learn to deal with things like that.
How do you manage to reposition yourself in the team?
I don't know if there are any general tips. From my experience, I can say that the acceptance of me as a manager has increased with every new team member. However, completely different demands were placed on me as a manager by my new colleagues, who no longer experienced "team self-management".
What were the requirements?
They demanded more of a "boss" - in other words, someone who makes announcements and monitors. It always takes a while to convey that nobody should be released from their own responsibility and that a team can also make good decisions together. And that this is even better for some processes because we can find more sustainable solutions. This may be more strenuous for a manager and may also take more time for some processes. However, I am certain that this is the more sustainable way forward.
So it was a two-way learning process: As a manager, I had to learn that I can trust my team and that they can make good and correct decisions without me. And my team had to learn to have confidence in their own performance. This requires regular communication.
Of course, this does not mean that I, as a manager, am taking myself out of responsibility. The so-called undecidable decisions are clearly a management task. And so is setting the framework within which decisions are then made.
How can I best communicate the transition from team member to manager within the team?
In my case, nothing had to be communicated. Later, when I wanted to install divisional managers as the teams grew, communication didn't always go perfectly. It worked best when I involved the team right from the start and advertised the position. This meant that the requirements were clearly formulated for everyone and the selection interviews and my decision for or against an applicant were transparent and comprehensible for everyone.
What was your biggest challenge as a young manager?
To identify myself with my role as a leader. Also to define for myself how I want to lead without denigrating my own values. At that time, we had not yet developed a leadership model together in the company. There were also no great programs for junior staff like the ones we run today over the course of a year when someone is supposed to or has become a manager. For me, it was learning by doing and sometimes resulted in a "bloody nose". But I learned a lot this way.
Were you afraid of failing at first or did you have doubts about not making it?
No, at the beginning I wasn't even aware of what I had to achieve (smiles).
What is a no-go as a young manager?
Suddenly becoming authoritarian because you believe that leadership must come from above and that you are now at the top. Relating every criticism to yourself as a person instead of to your role as a manager. Wanting to please every team member. Or remaining without a sparring partner or mentor with whom you can exchange ideas at eye level.
So you recommend mentorship as a measure to support young managers in the early days ...
Yes, absolutely. I was in contact with my co-manager a lot in the first few years. And that was incredibly important for me. Otherwise I would certainly have felt very alone more often and not received any helpful feedback. As she was already focusing on personnel development at our company back then, she gave me valuable input with her expertise and her view of leadership and team development. It was practically almost permanent on-the-job training. Later on, I joined external management networks. And through my business coach training, I received other helpful tools and began to practise changing my perspective.
Do you have any tips for young managers who are just starting out?
You should seek support and guidance in good time. If it's not within your own company, coaching services can also be helpful. I myself have used external coaches when I had particular issues that I couldn't solve on my own because I didn't have an outside perspective. In general, all managers should learn that it is enormously helpful to have someone from outside look at the system. Nothing helps more than changing your own perspective. Suddenly things look completely different and other solutions become conceivable!
How do I develop my own management style?
If available, at best in accordance with the company guidelines and mission statement - but also always remain individual and authentic, even if you can't and won't always please everyone! Respectful and cooperative interaction with all colleagues is particularly important to me. I am therefore very pleased that my team members confirm this to me in the voluntary and anonymous feedback that we discuss together afterwards.
Thank you very much for the interview, Ms. Hees!
Carla Hees, Regional Manager East and Management Coach, pme Familienservice.
From manager to manager: the pme's management offer Familienservice
Have you recently become a manager or have you been a manager for some time and are interested in coaching on topics such as "Leading decentralized teams", "Maintaining personal balance" or "Preventing overload"?
The management program of the pme Familienservice supports you in this - personally in private, in feedback with your team or in cooperation with other managers.