Ok, so you’ve finally accomplished recognition at work as someone with potential in your field and landed that first promotion into a management position. Or, you’ve recently graduated and have accepted an entry-level manager role. Either way, you’re likely excited, yet nervous at the same time. This is a big career opportunity and you don’t want to blow it!

Throughout the span of my forty-year hospitality career, I have had the pleasure of witnessing literally hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people transition into the ranks of management. Most of them admirably rose to the occasion, while some failed miserably. Here are a handful of the most common pitfalls I’ve witnessed that I would warn new managers to avoid in their new role and responsibilities.

1. “I’ve finally made it so now I don’t have to work so hard…” More than likely, you’ve earned the promotion to manager because of your competency, work ethic and knowledge. You’ve have been a hard worker and shown great potential and . Your boss has rewarded that effort with career advancement to a manager position. Nothing can be more frustrating to your boss than when you pull a 180 and it seems like you’ve now, all of a sudden, stopped working as hard. Early in my career as a GM, I recall one of my front desk agents, who was a superstar. We promoted her to a Front Office Manager when the position came open. She knew the property management system inside and out, was great with guests and was our go-to trainer for any new on-boarding front desk associates. As soon as she was promoted, it seemed all she wanted to do was sit in her office. She began totally disengaging with her staff and the guests. After a couple of candid conversations and coaching, we had her back on track by dispelling this myth that once you make it to the top, you can take your foot off the gas pedal.
2. You can’t demand respect; you have to earn it… Perhaps in dictatorships or the military you can “demand” respect, but in business it’s been my observation that you have to “earn” it. The best way to earn respect from your subordinates is to let them see that you are willing to work as hard as, or harder, than anyone else. Especially in the beginning, be the first one in and the last one to leave. Employees need to believe that you will never ask them to do anything you aren’t willing or able to do yourself. They need to see that you have their back and will not throw them under the bus to guests, other associates or other managers. If you see one of your associates being utterly reamed by a guest, step in and “take the bullet”. If others see you going above and beyond and leading by example, you will build respect much more quickly. Take responsibility, be a straight shooter, mean what you say and say what you mean. Don’t make promises on things you can’t deliver. Give staff clear and achievable expectations. Set clear boundaries and hold everyone to the same level of accountability. Be transparent, be ethical and show integrity. Recognize/praise in public, reprimand in private. Make the “Golden Rule” a habit. Don’t be afraid to admit mistakes. Ask for consensus. Trying to demand people’s respect, without earning it leads to resentment, frustration and failure.
3. Making changes too soon, and for the wrong reasons… Sometimes change is necessary. But be careful not to be a “bull in a china shop”! New managers should spend the first few weeks, or months, asking questions and carefully observing and analyzing processes, systems and work flow. People are normally and naturally resistant to change and prefer predictability in their work lives. Coming in and immediately creating change, just for the sake of change, or just because you can, creates unnecessary anxiety and apprehension in your team. Ask the team what obstacles or roadblocks they are encountering that makes their work harder and what changes they would like to see. If they see and understand how changes will benefit them, make work more efficient, more rewarding or more likely for them to succeed – changes will be easier to implement and maintain. Benefits should always be described in terms of your business or company’s core values. For example, improved profitability, service, employee satisfaction or whatever they may be. Be sure any change is worth the effort, well planned and clearly communicated to your team in advance. Most of all, clearly state the benefits.
4. Don’t “buddy-up” to your staff or “play favorites”… Healthy relationships between a manager and their team are important. That does not mean that you have to fixate on being liked or strive to be everyone’s friend. While this may seem counterproductive to building a great culture or working environment, I have seen this habit develop in many new managers to their detriment – even though it’s well-intended. Getting too close to those who report to you can weaken your position of authority where employees may not take you seriously enough. Novice managers who befriend staff sometimes end up avoiding confrontation that is needed in healthy boss/employee relationships. This results in loosely defined boundaries, inefficiency, loss of productivity and eventually, poor results. Similarly, “playing favorites” creates an atmosphere where “pet” employees are rarely disciplined when needed and get favoritism on scheduling or other perks. This is especially dangerous when the actions could be misconstrued as discrimination or harassment. The rest of the team will lose respect for the manager, employee engagement suffers and you may risk unnecessary HR & legal issues.  
5. Inexperience in recruiting… This one is a no-brainer. It’s understandable that novice managers have little to no experience hiring people. It’s likely the only thing inexperienced managers know about interviewing are their own past experiences as an interviewee. Perhaps those times have even been few and far between.  And who’s to say they were properly interviewed? Effective interviewing techniques are rarely taught to first-time managers in advance. Unfortunately, they usually learn through trial and error. So, it’s bad enough young managers lack the interviewing experience to properly vet candidates and select those with the greatest potential like their more experienced counterparts can but they also tend to make less than ideal hiring decisions based on faulty motives. Of course, they logically should want to fill open positions with the very best candidates, however, I have often seen where managers who are still somewhat insecure in their new roles shy away from hiring excellent and highly qualified candidates in fear that the new-hire may outshine them or challenge their newly acquired position of leadership. I’ve also observed how inexperienced managers gravitate towards hiring their own clones. They have yet to realize that great teams need diversity in talent and personality. As “strengths” author and employee engagement guru Marcus Buckingham puts it, “a team is well-rounded because the individuals in it aren’t.”  For example, you may not be very organized or very analytical. It would be wise to consider hiring folks with strengths that compliment your own versus mirroring your own.

As a new manager, you are bound to make some mistakes. No big deal, just make sure you learn from them. Don’t be afraid that asking for help or guidance in new situations would be viewed as a sign of incompetence.  I’m sure your boss, other managers and your HR department will be happy to offer you training and advice if you’ll just ask.

If you are a new manager in hospitality, or planning to be, take a look at these free online assessments and use them as guides to ensure you are utilizing industry best practices.