Rookie Management Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs

Management is an entirely different skillset from being an individual contributor — avoid these costly first-mistakes.

I’ve been fortunate enough to see a lot of first-time managers take up the responsibility of managing their teams for the first time. Almost like clockwork, they generally fall into a series of common traps and early mistakes. The good ones learn from them — the bad ones repeat them.

It’s unfortunate but expected — management is an entirely different skillset than being a good individual contributor.

In many companies, a person enters their first management job without support or mentorship — a trial by fire. Startups often grow so rapidly that the initial contributors rise to management positions for the first time in their careers. They never get the opportunity to learn how to do it “right” and make a lot mistakes in figuring out how to manage effectively, if they even learn it at all.

While mistakes are an opportunity to learn and improve, some mistakes can be costly. Easy-to-avoid mistakes can drive away high performers and create a negative team culture that takes months or even years to repair, if it is even reparable at all.