For a manager newly appointed, letting go of the detail is sometimes a challenge. Promotion very often is based on a positive assessment of a candidate’s technical skills and understanding of detail.

Leadership, however, demands an applied and subtle understanding of how a team best works together and how individuals are best supported in their roles.

A great manager and leader creates a team that: works well together, gets the job done, is accountable for their work and is restless in a desire to do things better.

Technical competence, therefore, is the first step for a new manager, not the last word.

A good manager has a complicated job. No longer solely orientated on tasks, good managers focus on projects and processes.

Good managers set goals. They define priorities. They build skills and confidence. They inspire and motivate staff. They set standards and define expectations. They solve problems and they support staff to solve problems. They remove obstacles. They enforce standards and realise expectations. They protect staff. They take responsibility. They admit mistakes and then correct them. They are alert to what a team must do, three, six and twelve months down the track.

They reject fear, paranoia and uncertainty as operating principles because these undermine teams and hurt individuals.

A good task manager must first be a good people manager. The fact that you can do something better than anybody else doesn’t mean that as a manager you should.  It’s about getting the best out of an often diverse group.

If you are a new manager you might consider Ethos CRS’s Leadership Skills for New Management workshop which helps new managers develop the skills they need to become great leaders.