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Why do New and Front Line Managers (NFL-M) matter?

Why do New and Front Line Managers (NFL-M) matter?

What’s so important about new and front line managers, anyway?  They are just a bunch of people that were promoted into positions of authority because they either a) did something right b) we needed the spot filled, and there was no one else c) got tired of their complaining. Right?

New and Front Line Managers (NFL-M) are the heart of any organization. Big or small. Don’t believe me? Think about your company. Think about how many of them there are. And then think if they disappeared tomorrow. Yeah. Like, walked out, were all hit by a bus, fell off the planet (that last one is my personal favorite). Your middle managers and executives would walk in, ready to be strategic; ready to tell their front line folks exactly what to do (strategically) – and let those other managers take the time to figure out how the heck to get it done.  Right? But wait… there’s no one to do it.

Could the middle managers do it? Perhaps. But it may have been a while. They may have been corporate folks that have never been out in the field. The front line employees will know in about two minutes (strike that, about 2 seconds) that these corporate managers have never seen the inside of their field office. They may have been in the field, but have forgotten. Yup, it happens.

Being a front line manager (with direct reports that are NOT managers) or a new manager (typically also a front line manager, but with less than five years of experience) is one of THE HARDEST roles to have. Why? Because you have not one but TWO groups to please. Make happy. Check the box.  You have the managers – the senior team we just talked about… and you have the employees. Your bread and butter. The ones that you are now responsible for – their success, their development, their next career steps. If you’re lucky, you may have realized that they make you something greater than you are. If not, you may be wondering how you’re going to survive with these people that want to see you gone and/or take your job at the first opportunity.

Some newsletters take their time in drawing you in and pushing something on you that they want you to see, want you to relate to you. This one isn’t in that group.  You’re subscribing to this newsletter because you’re in that group of managers that are the first group of managers – you see what your team is, and want to help it be everything it can be. That also means everything YOU can be as a manager. You’re not alone. In fact, you’re part of 95% of new and frontline managers that are not ready for the job (Lesko, 2015).

In upcoming months, we’ll talk about the areas to help you improve – one month at a time, step by step. Training. Development. Timing, Feedback. Just a few.

If you want to jumpstart this process and be a better manager now – because you know you don’t have the time to waste – good for you. Good for your employees. Email Ashley@squarepegsolutions.org  to get started. We have both a webinar and in-class session starting soon. It’s based on current research and actual stories – the best of both worlds – and it won’t suck. In fact, that’s the name of it. How Not to SUCK as a New Manager.

So let’s get started.