It’s not easy being a first-time manager. For many it can be challenging. People usually become first-time as a result of promotion or because they always wanted to lead people and hence, worked towards making it happen. In either case, having no prior experience makes it a daunting task to get started and excel in the leadership role. While leadership training programs for managers help, if one understands the challenges and plans to deal with them, one can easily handle the new role. Here are the top five challenges that every first-time manager faces:

1. How to display authority without prior experience in leadership role:

One of the biggest challenges a first-time manager faces is performing the new role without prior experience in executing it. One may have been an excellent individual contributor, but becoming a leader is an entirely different ballgame. Now, they are not only responsible for their growth but also everyone reporting to them. Displaying authority becomes even more challenging if one has worked in the same team as colleagues, before moving to management. The team might have trouble accepting the person as the leader. The formality of one’s power may be hard to absorb for many. However, authority is much needed as without it, one cannot influence the direction of the team and manage the deliveries. At the same time, authority is not something that can be demanded. One needs to earn it gradually by establishing influence without alienating the team.

2. How to build trust with the team:

As a first-time manager, it will be hard to build trust in the initial days of the job. As there is no prior evidence of one’s achievements or leadership abilities, it is understandable when the team and stakeholders don’t show their trust outright. Trust is highly essential to lead a team and have fruitful partnerships with stakeholders. Without trust, the team will not be comfortable following the leader’s directives. Team members will frequently question the decisions and approach. However, trust is not something that gets built overnight. It takes time and effort to enable the team members to have confidence in someone. For that, the leader needs to show that they are worthy of the team’s trust and support it through their words and behaviour.

3. How to lead a diverse team:

Owing to the multitude of team members, often there are different individual priorities and interests in a team. Some members are more ambitious and goal-oriented, while others desire a better work-life balance. At the same time, people’s priorities and interests can change with time. Within all this, the team needs to work towards a common goal that aligns with the company’s vision. Irrespective of individual preferences, they need to come together to build a strong team. Any friction among individuals due to conflicting ambitions can adversely impact the team’s performance. Hence, the leader must assess the dynamics regularly and adjust his/her leadership approach. The more diverse your team is, the more challenging it will become to accommodate everyone’s aspirations and make them work as a cohesive unit.

4. How to manage stakeholders and higher management:

As an individual contributor, you’re shielded from the complexities of managing higher management, internal stakeholders, and the politics that come with them. Your manager bears the burden of handling these aspects for the team. However, stepping into a leadership role requires mastering the art of shielding your team from these hassles. Even if you excel at leading a team, managing upwards presents its own set of challenges. The future of you and your team hinges on your ability to manage your superiors effectively. It falls on your shoulders to showcase the team’s accomplishments, secure funding for crucial projects, advocate for deserving raises and promotions, and more. Navigating the intricate power dynamics of senior leadership can prove daunting, especially when you’re still acclimating to the corporate landscape. Seasoned managers hold a distinct advantage in influencing higher-ups, leaving newcomers feeling powerless.

5. How to develop leadership skills while being personally effective:

As a first-time manager, your journey involves a myriad of learning curves and revelations. Navigating this terrain means embracing the challenges of adapting to a fresh role, comprehending new responsibilities, nurturing your team, orchestrating relationships with leaders and stakeholders, and assimilating into a corporate culture distinct from your prior experience as an individual contributor. Amidst this whirlwind, you’re also tasked with cultivating your professional trajectory and honing a diverse skill set to foster personal growth. Balancing these multifaceted demands can strain your time management skills, leaving you stretched thin amidst competing priorities. The inevitable push beyond your comfort zone, particularly in the initial months, can feel overwhelming. There may be moments when you believe you need more time to address each obligation adequately despite your earnest efforts. However, recognize that grappling with the complexities of managing teams, executing individual tasks, and advancing your career is a natural facet of the first-time manager experience.

Embarking on the journey as a first-time manager is undoubtedly challenging. While the prospect of stepping into a managerial role may initially appear straightforward, the reality demands a steadfast commitment, unwavering focus, and an indomitable spirit. First time manager training programs help the new managers gain ground on the skills needed.

This blog has been written by Amol Dhamne, a consultant and facilitator with Growthsqapes

A Key or a Strategic Account in B2B sales is a strategically valuable customer of yours’ whose loss would impact your organization’s revenue or profits significantly. Owing to the same these accounts are your organization’s “precious jewels”. While managing those “jewels” is crucial, towards the same, it is noteworthy that Strategic/Key Account Management (SAM/KAM) is not just about winning new business from your customers but changing the very complexion of how you do business with those customers. This calls for a robust SAM/KAM framework with a strong focus of winning and retaining those strategically significant customers to unlock the value of those “jewels”.

Let’s look at 3 keys which can be used to unlock the value of the jewels.

Accurately estimating the future value: All customers do not become large from day one. What is big today started off small at some point of time in the past which is why it’s important to look at growth potential in your key account selection criteria. The business value that the customer offers is co-related with time. Therefore, while trying the estimate the value opportunity, some of the areas where account managers would need to do research pertaining to the above are: potential volume of future sales, their expansion into new markets, their profitability from operations, the uniqueness of their product offerings, focus on innovation etc.

Deftly analyzing the attractiveness value: Over and above the value opportunity, there are several pointers to determine your interest and investment of resources in a particular account. For example, you may like to consider the ease of doing business with a particular account before investing your resources in them for the longer term. Some of the other factors that you may like to evaluate are: how much of industry’s work do they represent, their budgets for your products/services, customer’s potential volume you can realistically capture, their willingness to collaborate with you, your access to their decision-makers and influencers, the mutual alignment of values and culture and the like.

Deeply understanding the positioning value: What is your positioning in the customer’s mind space as against your competitors, will determine, whether both teams will be able to work well together for the longer term or not. For example, a good current position in their mind would mean that you have a good relationship with the customer but more growth of the account is possible, perhaps through cross-selling products/services or by penetrating other divisions. A strong current position would mean that you are well entrenched with the customer and are maximizing the value from and to them. Limited current position would mean that you have been selling to them for some time but have only limited penetration of the account and future growth is unlikely unless conditions change.

Key account managers shoulder the responsibility of deepening the existing accounts via development of new opportunities. Towards the same, they do not have an infinite bandwidth of time to grow and protect their existing accounts. Therefore, they must ensure that they are applying uniform guidelines in assessing the new opportunities when they arise. Those guidelines are determined by these factors: 1. The current and future reality of the value opportunity. 2. The competitive ability. 3. Winnability in the account 4. Financial and non-financial worthiness of the win.

The Key Account Development framework of GrowthSqapes empowers you to train and develop both the skillset and mindset that is vital for Key Account Management.

This blog is written by Meena Murugappan, an Associate Partner with GrowthSqapes