Being a new manager is hard enough. Imagine being a new manager in a completely new country, and working remotely from your entire team.
I had just moved from New York to Lisbon. My first direct reports were based in Porto with the rest of the Portugal-based analytics team. My boss and the rest of the team were based in London.
I was the only one from the analytics team in the Lisbon office. In the beginning, I felt really alone.
I had been dealt a difficult hand for a first-time manager, even if you ignore just having landed in a new country and leading a team remotely. One of my direct reports had confidence issues and was struggling to keep up with demanding day-to-day stakeholder requests. Another direct report was at the other end of the spectrum. They were overly confident and not open to taking any form of feedback from me.
I was overwhelmed to say the least. But step by step, through trial and lots of error, I overcame my challenges, and I learned and grew as a manager. I built a support network around me, I learned to ask for help, and I felt less alone. It took time!
Looking back, there are 3 things that I wish I had known from the start that would have saved me a lot of time (and pain!) in the long run. Hopefully they can help you too if you’re an emerging leader or even if you’re a more experienced one who could use a reminder.
1. Take on an adaptive management approach
Every person comes into an organization with their own unique background and experiences, so a one-size-fits-all approach to managing just doesn’t work.
For example, some people want more hand-holding, while others want more autonomy. In the beginning, I held daily 1-to-1s with my direct reports, which was something normal from my working experience in the U.S. While this helped one to get the guidance they needed to gain more confidence and autonomy, another completely hated it and felt micromanaged.
Now, you can’t always avoid doing things that your team is going to hate. But you do need to be finding out what motivates and challenges them. That’s going to be different for each person, both due to their personal experiences and preferences and the culture that they’re coming from. The best way to find out is by asking them! (And don’t wait for the performance review to do this.)
By the way, if you want to understand more about working with people from different cultures, you can check out my podcast. My guests and I often discuss our personal experiences with this. I also highly recommend reading The Culture Map by Erin Meyer. I found (and still find) it extremely helpful in understanding how to work and communicate with others from various countries.
If you’re able to motivate your team, you’ll find that they’ll feel happier and more fulfilled. And in my opinion that’s pretty important when you’re spending half of your waking hours at work every week. (Not to mention that they’ll probably be more productive.)
2. Ask for support
Something else that I really wish I had done from the start is to reach out to others for help and advice.
I did reach out to people I knew outside of work, such as my partner and friends. But that wasn’t enough. There wasn’t anything they could directly do to help me. They could only listen and give advice.
I wish I had reached out sooner to the other managers on my team. They had already been working with my direct reports before I arrived on the scene. They could have provided insights about how to work with them successfully. But I chose not to talk with them about my struggles in the beginning.
As a new manager, a new teammate, and a foreigner, I was worried about being judged as incompetent. What I’ve learned since then is that most people want to help. Don’t be afraid to explain what’s going on with you and to ask for help! When I eventually did this, my peers stepped in to support me, and things got a lot easier.
You might also consider finding a coach. Unlike friends, partners, and colleagues, a coach will be unbiased and non-judgemental. This puts them in a unique position to help you to find your own solutions to challenges you’re facing. If you’re interested in learning more, you can contact me here.
The more support resources you have around you, the better you’ll be able to weather any storm. And that brings me to my next learning.
3. Build relationships across the organization
In order to have a support network within your organization, it’s really important to form strong relationships.
I already talked about forming relationships within your own team. It’s also important to form relationships outside of your team.
Maybe your manager isn’t someone you feel comfortable approaching with your problems. In that case it’s helpful to have other leaders that you can turn to. They might even be working in other job functions. (I found my mentor in a different job function than my own.)
If you have stakeholders that your team interacts with, building solid relationships with them can help you to get candid feedback about what it’s like for them to work with your direct reports. This can help you to even better understand what motivates them.
In general, having solid relationships with the people that you work with day-to-day can make work a more positive place for you and for everyone (even if it’s to commiserate about the latest benefits to be revoked).
So how do you build good relationships with your coworkers? Try to take some time to get to know them as the people they are when they’re not at work. Ask about their families and their hobbies. If you’re working in a physical office together, invite people out for coffee or for lunch. If you’re remote, take time at the beginning of your meetings for chit chat. I’ve been known to spend the first 30 minutes of an hour-long 1-to-1 just talking about travel, films, music, and other things that we enjoy. I promise it’s time well spent.
Growing as a manager
Being a manager can definitely be challenging. But with the right approach and support you can face any challenge (even if you’re new to your role and living in a new country!). You’ll come out on the other side feeling fulfilled and with an expanded view of what you’re capable of. You’ll grow.
What do you wish you would have known when you started your leadership journey? Leave a comment below – you might just be helping someone else who needs to hear it today.