I got promoted at the age of 21 — Here are three mistakes I’ve learned to avoid as a young manager (and how you can improve as well)

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

As of now, I’ve been a manager for the past four years, and in that time I’ve learned some insightful lessons while looking over a team of more than 20 people.

The learning curve can be rocky and very steep, so allow me to share some do’s and don’ts that I’ve gathered in the last couple of years, so YOU can excel as a manager in your twenties.

Mistake #1: Overworking yourself

If you just got promoted, you might be over the moon, happy to keep showcasing what a great asset you can be. The momentum will make you want to be overly productive and neglect your team’s core needs.

How can you avoid this?

A manager is supposed to coordinate, supervise and well, manage the team. Now it’s not all about the work you do, but how your team performs. These are some steps to follow:

• Have a procedures manual. You have been there for a long time, you know the drill, now you can show your ways. A procedures manual basically includes everything (or at least covers the principles) to get the job done. Here is what you can include:

1. What are the frequently asked questions within your team and with clients?
2. How to approach certain scenarios with clients?
3. What to do in case of a difficult customer?
4. How does your system of operation work? What are the key functions needed to do the job?
5. How to solve basic technical issues that may arise during the shift?

Make sure the procedures manual is available and accessible to your team. This can be done by sharing it on Google Drive, email, printed or in a Slack channel. Keep it updated and make it a habit to always refer everyone to it.

A team of empowered individuals is a team that flows and delivers results.

• Assign tasks accordingly. If you are a manager, then you probably know your team pretty well by now, you know their strengths and the areas they shine, as well as where their performance drops. As their manager, your duty is to leverage those opportunities and help them grow individually and as a group.

When provided with the proper tools (like a procedures manual) you can:

1. Locate each person in their area of expertise, delegating the work you are 100% certain they’ll ace.
2. Focus your attention on the weak parts of the team to reinforce improvement.

Mistake #2: Not separating work from your personal life.

You were put in this position because you have shown great responsibility and success in the completion of your tasks. You are a capable employee and you can provide support and guidance to the people under your supervision.

However, this all needs to happen during work hours.

It’s not the end of the world if you are out of the office.

One of the main causes of burnout at work is caused by overworking yourself even after hours and cutting back on your sacred rest time.

This is NOT the way to be productive, on the contrary, you are causing more harm than good, with consequences such as:

• Create dependence with your co-workers. They can’t get the job done if you are not there to look over everything.
• Never-finished-working mindset. You are home with your family, out with friends, hanging out with your partner, but your mind is going 100 miles per hour thinking:

“What if they need me? Do I call to make sure everything is ok? Is the office on fire? What if I’m the only one who can answer an extremely specific question and I’m not there?

Nonsense.

You must remove yourself from the office and set clear boundaries.

How can you do this?

• Specify your working hours to your team and stick by it. You could stay available to be contacted for one hour after your shift ended, just in case (if you are comfortable and willing to do so).
• Check everyone is clearly aware of their tasks and responsibilities. This helps keep the team organized and focused on their assignments.
• Remind the team where to find the necessary tools in case something out of the ordinary happens. The procedures manual is handy in these circumstances, when everything seems lost and the answer was right there all along.

Mistake #3: You don’t encourage feedback from your team

As a young manager, it can get to your head, let’s be honest.

When troubleshooting, we sometimes fail to realize the decision we are making is affecting the team in ways we never imagined, so at the moment of taking decisions regarding the whole team, you must talk to them and get honest, straight forward feedback.

Holding weekly, monthly, or even quarterly meetings is crucial to maintain trust within your peers, depending on the amount of people, these meetings can be done privately or in groups.

But even then, ensuring someone is being open with you can be tricky.

How to approach this

• Know your team. Like we covered earlier, you are supposed to understand the dynamics of your team, their weaknesses and strengths. But also know them as people, I’m not saying you have to force a friendship by any means, but you can:

1. Pay attention to how they solve problems during their shift. If they constantly need reassurance or if they pull through with the tools and training available.
2. Keep record of how and when they perform at their best, and when they don’t deliver. If they work best alone or in groups.
3. Be mindful of how they start and finish their shift. If they are on time, if they finish their assigned tasks of the day respectively, etc.

All of this can give you a good perspective of how to approach every individual and get the best out of them.

• Practice emotional intelligence. Your actions as a manager must be aligned to get the most benefit for the company and the team. They can’t be a mere display of power.

When dealing with a difficult situation at work, the manager is supposed to lead by example, avoiding outbursts and understanding a situation on its whole before reprimanding or taking actions that may affect your team’s trust in you.

Here are some examples of how to be emotionally intelligent:

• Don’t assume the worst in someone before talking to them. Seeing a mistake being repeated after you have explained it time and time again can be frustrating, but it could be telling you more about how you explained it. Try a different angle.
• Never reprimand before getting the full picture. Messing up is not nice for anyone, it’s daunting and demoralizing not only for the person messing up but you as a manager as well. Emotions can run high, so before making decisions that can affect someone’s performance report, try to understand where they are coming from and how the situation can be mended immediately.

Ultimately, being a manager brings a very important set of responsibilities, your team’s issues happen to be yours, and when you are still in the process of growing your own career, it gets overwhelming.

Good news is, you are not alone.

The experience of others in your same position can help get a clearer image of how things can work more efficiently, and therefore, bring out an improved version of yourself, so you can be a great manager even in your early twenties.