Sunday Edition: If I Could Tell Every New Manager One Thing…

If I could sit down with every person about to become a manager for the first time, I’m not sure I’d talk about budgets, performance management or strategy.

Those things matter, and you’ll learn them with experience.

Instead, I’d probably say something much simpler.

Never forget that leadership is about people first.

Over the last twenty-two years, I’ve worked with hundreds of leaders across health and social care. I’ve seen exceptional managers, average managers and, if I’m honest, a few who probably shouldn’t have been managing people at all. The biggest lesson I’ve learnt is that great leadership isn’t something you achieve when you receive a promotion. It’s something you practise every single day in the way you treat other people.

When you’re promoted into management, it’s easy to think your role is to have the answers. In reality, your role is to create an environment where other people can do their best work. Sometimes that means making difficult decisions. Sometimes it means asking questions rather than giving instructions. Often it means simply listening.

One thing I wish someone had told me earlier is that not everyone will see the world the way you do. What motivates you may not motivate someone else. The way you like to receive feedback might be completely different from the person sitting opposite you. Leadership isn’t about expecting everyone to think like you. It’s about taking the time to understand what makes each individual successful.

I also wish I’d understood sooner that being liked and being respected are not the same thing. Every new manager worries about difficult conversations. Nobody enjoys telling someone their performance needs to improve or addressing behaviour that’s affecting the rest of the team. Those conversations can feel uncomfortable, but avoiding them rarely makes things better. People generally appreciate honesty when it’s delivered with kindness and fairness.

Perhaps the biggest lesson of all is that your team will notice far more than you think. They’ll notice whether you keep your promises. They’ll notice whether you remain calm under pressure. They’ll notice how you treat people who can’t do anything for you. They’ll notice whether you take responsibility when things go wrong or look for someone else to blame.

Culture isn’t created by mission statements or posters on the wall. It’s created by the behaviour people see every day. As a manager, you become one of the biggest influences on that culture, whether you realise it or not.

I’ve certainly made my own mistakes over the years. There have been decisions I’d handle differently today, conversations I wish I’d approached another way and times when experience would have helped me see things more clearly. That’s part of leadership too. The goal isn’t to become someone who never makes mistakes. It’s to become someone who learns from them.

If you’re stepping into management for the first time, remember that nobody expects you to know everything. Ask questions. Be curious. Admit when you don’t know the answer. Keep learning. The managers who continue to grow are usually the ones who never stop being students themselves.

Most importantly, remember that every decision you make affects real people. Behind every rota, appraisal, meeting and performance review is someone with a family, worries, ambitions and challenges that you may never fully see. Leading with empathy doesn’t mean lowering standards. It means recognising the responsibility that comes with influencing another person’s working life.

If I could leave every new manager with just one piece of advice, it would be this.

People will rarely remember every target you achieved or every report you produced. They will remember how you made them feel. They’ll remember whether you believed in them, whether you treated them fairly and whether you helped them become better than they thought they could be.

In the end, that’s what leadership has always been about. Not managing tasks, but helping people grow.

Jill Newey
Editor-in-Chief