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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
What to Do When You Become the Boss summary
Bob Selden
How New Managers Become Successful Managers
18 mins
Brief summary
What to Do When You Become the Boss is a practical guide for new managers, offering essential tools and strategies to effectively lead teams, make decisions, and navigate the transition into a leadership role.
Table of Contents
What to Do When You Become the Boss
Summary of 6 key ideas
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Key idea 1 of 6
It starts with your team
Let’s start right away with the bad news: most people are promoted to management because they’re great at something that isn’t management. Then the job hits – with budgets to balance, reviews to run, strategy to lead, and conflicts to sort out. It’s a lot, and it hits fast.
But here’s the good news: managing effectively really boils down to just two components: task focus and relationship focus. Task focus means getting things done – setting goals, making plans, hitting targets. You’ve already shown you can do that – that’s why you’re now a manager. So in this Blink, we’ll concentrate on that second focus, beginning, in this section, with team building.
How do you build a team, you might be asking? But here’s another question: Do you even have a team? You might be in charge of a team that needs to collaborate. You might also be managing a group who work independently. This team-group distinction should inform your management approach. To manage a group, focus on one-on-one communication and use meetings primarily for information sharing.
If you do have a team, your approach should begin with an honest assessment of its dynamics. Once you’ve taken a good look at how your team works together, you can make targeted improvements to fix specific issues you’ve spotted.
Start with what you see. If the team feels disconnected, that’s your signal to step in. Do team members work in their own bubbles? If so, create projects that mix people from different areas and set up regular show-and-tell sessions. When people work alone too much, connect their deliverables so they have to collaborate. And where you observe knowledge gaps, pair up team members so they can learn from each other.
Once you’ve addressed the team structure, zoom in on individuals. Talk to each person about what drives them. Then, where it makes sense, align their personal goals with your team objectives. For example, when someone wants to develop specific skills, create opportunities for them to practice within team projects.
Remember, one of your strongest management tools is this dual perspective. When you understand both the group dynamic and what motivates each person, you can create an environment that brings out the best in both.
That’s the groundwork. Now let’s look at what happens when a manager misses something foundational – and how to fix it.
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What is What to Do When You Become the Boss about?
What to Do When You Become the Boss (2007) offers practical strategies for effectively managing in all directions: upward, downward, and inward. This accessible manual covers essential management skills from team leadership and performance management to decision-making and self-management, serving as both an introduction for new managers and a reference tool for experienced leaders navigating workplace challenges.
Who should read What to Do When You Become the Boss?
- New managers seeking guidance on immediate challenges
- Aspiring managers ready to demonstrate their management potential
- Experienced managers who want to brush up their team leadership skills
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