The First-Time Manager

You’ve Been Promoted! Congratulations (Maybe)

As soon as you hear that you’ve been promoted to a managerial position, bone up on the difference between being an employee and being a boss. To make a smooth transition, you must understand that:

• You are no longer responsible only for what you do; you are responsible for what others do individually and collectively, and for getting them to achieve the results that upper management expects. That’s what you’re getting paid to accomplish.
• The acceptable ways of getting these results may change over time or differ between companies. Often these methods are not written policies, but are political, tacit "understandings" of "how things work around here."
• Official written rules may be outdated, incomplete or very different from actuality.
• You must acquire a basic knowledge of human relations and behavioral psychology.
• Quickly ascertain and navigate the political arena. Corporate cultures vary, but before you try to change the culture, you must assimilate with the culture that exists.

Managers get paid for results, not hours. No matter how challenging, your job is to overcome...