7 Questions All Rookie Managers Must Answer on Day One
Rookie success includes good fortune, but it’s never an accident.
Rookies crash and burn when they fly by the seat of their pants.
7 questions for rookie managers:
#1. What is the definition of success?
Imagine a year has passed and you’re a raving success. Write a short paragraph.
- What happened?
- What results did you achieve?
- How were others involved?
- What did you start doing?
- What did you stop doing?
Write another paragraph explaining failure. Imagine a year has passed and you’re a colossal failure. Answer the above questions with failure in mind.
#2. What traits and strengths do you possess that enable success?
An alternative question is, “What lights your fire?”
#3. What behaviors might derail your success? Make a list of three things you must never do.
#4. What behaviors will enhance your success? Make a list of three things you must do every day.
#5. What are the top three strengths of each team member? How do team member strengths contribute to success?
#6. Who will you go to – outside your organization – for mentoring, coaching, or advice? Make a list of three people.
Touch base with at least one outsider every month.
#7. How will you put gas in your own tank? In the tanks of others?
Go to your boss:
#1. Discuss your answers to the above questions.
#2. Ask, “What did you see in me that caused you to give me this management opportunity?”
Learn what makes you desirable and do more of that.
#3. Ask, “Based on my strengths and our mission, what is the #1 factor for my success?”
Your boss’s answer will be broad and general. Ask two or three questions that create clarity. If your boss says, “The number one factor for your success is learning,” ask, “What might you see me doing that demonstrates learning?”
Listen for behaviors, not generalities.
What would you add to the seven questions? Modify?
What are the key factors for rookie-manager success?
What would you add to the seven questions?
What are your intentions for your position and why are they different from others? How will you enhance the team?
What are the key factors for rookie-manager success?
Learning to listen from all viewpoints and prioritize.
Do you understand the assignment?
What will it take to accomplish the tasks?
Do you know the desired outcome or can you visualize the results?
Thanks Tim. I couldn’t help but think about the universal necessity of listening. But when we are new, we don’t know what we don’t know. We may have confidence without openness. This is when listening is most important, but sadly least utilized.
Dan,
I see “listening” beginning at a very young age that we should carry with us as long as we live!
How many times do we ask a question that if we listened we would not be asking?
Understanding there are distractions sure “could you repeat that please”, yet on the serious side people only seem to hear what they want to hear. your correct we only know what we know or don’t know. Such a journey life gives us.
Rookie Manager—Questions to ask yourself?
1. What do the customers think of our products and services?
2. Am I focused on the right things–goals, priorities, problems, etc.?
3. Which team or individual processes need the most attention?
4. Am I clear on what is expected of me? How will success be measured?
5. Which of my peers can I go to for help and assistance?
6. What do I need to do more of and less of?
7. What is the one thing that most motivates each team member?
8. At the end of every day ask–what are the one or two key things I learned today?
Review your answers to 1-to-7 with your boss.
Thanks Paul. So valuable to bring the topic of customers to the conversation. Your second question really sings. I like to begin it with “how”. HOW might I set priorities or establish goals.
#7 is often neglected. But how can we expect peak performance when we don’t know what motivates people?
Actually–my questions above are more related to what a rookie manager might ask after 2-to-3 months.
The questions I would ask on day one are the following:
1. What products and services do we provide?
2. What is our competitive advantage?
3. What are the major challenges the team faces today?
4. Who are our major customers. How long have they been customers?
5. Who are our key competitors?
6. What are the names of each team member? What’s their role on the team?
7. What does my boss expect of me?
8. Who are my peers? Who can I go to for help?
Thanks again Paul. It’s exciting for me to read your input. The difference between questions you might ask BEFORE you take a position, On the first day, or after the first quarter seem to have a different focus.
I also recommend new managers ask their boss and others to describe the company culture. That helps the new manager to understand the context in which they are operating.
Dan I love reading your posts so much. So insightful, and very helpful. I have a question, do you know of any podcasts or online sources that are specifically about the best ways that we can try to help transitional employees (staff hired under us who we know will only be with us for a year, like apprentices and interns) to identify and achieve their goals – I’m looking for tools and to help young people grow and get to know themselves and their strengths and weaknesses better and before they leave us to move on in their career. I would greatly value and appreciate any thoughts you had!
Thanks Tony. Great question. I don’t know of any specific resources. Perhaps you should develop some?
I find anger in young people can be directed to useful growth. Throw gas on their anger. Get them talking about all the things that are wrong with the world, organization, leadership, or team. Then ask them what they want to do about it. Don’t let them off the hook. Give them homework assignments. Encourage them to answer their own heat. (Just a thought.)
I just realized I forgot to thank you! I appreciate your thoughts, and the responses of others, as well! 🙂
Coaching for leaders, on leadership, the look and sound of leadership are all great podcasts which would have episodes you would find useful
In light of being transparent and help some of my staff that have a different viewpoint of leadership than me, I sent a copy of this blog to my “future managers” for them to think about their answers. Gives us a starting point to understand our different viewpoints. Thank you.
Thanks Carla. Best wishes for future success.
I would suggest rookies. who take over a well-established team, run through the Appreciative Inquiry model with the team. I have experienced rookie managers who have been given awesome opportunities to lead and they fail to build trust because they draw conclusions and make decisions before they know the history and successes the team has experienced before they joined.
Thanks Robyn. Once again humility comes to mind. The humility to learn about others before imposing yourself on them.
Ask your boss “What’s the organisational tolerance for failure?” The answer to this may impact what other questions you ask.
Thanks Mitch. Your comment made me smile.
Love this! I am going to ask some of the people I mentor these questions and also myself in preparation for my next session with my manager.
#7. How will you put gas in your own tank?
This is a great question. I’ve seen staff become managers and regardless of support from upper management, become complacent and not move forward with their personal development. I think I would modify this to ask what do they intend to do to improve themselves. For some individuals, just reaching this point is the pinnacle they seek, but they must also lead as well. And without self-development, they become stagnant or rely on past practices that may not yield higher results.
Thanks Tim. Best wishes on your educational journey. Thanks for jumping in. That last sentence is so important. “And without self-development, they become stagnant or rely on past practices that may not yield higher results.”
Leaders are learners.