Unfortunately,
60% of new managers never make it to their second year anniversary.
That's actually more than half that are completely gone from the role in less
than two years.
Well, Hey there, welcome to Mak TV. My name is Mak,
and this is a channel for first time managers who are looking to increase their
confidence and their skills so that they can lead their teams effectively.
So this is a video that I've been meaning to do for quite some time now,
because I mean,
we all know that the failure rate for a new manager is very high. In fact,
there was a study done that was released just recently that again showed that
unfortunately 60% of managers never make it to their second year
anniversary.
That's actually more than half that are completely gone from the role in less
than two years. That's hardly enough time for you to get your feet wet.
And so I wanted to do this video today to just call out some of the most common
reasons why this failure rate is so high in hopes that we can actually
decrease that rate by helping you not make some of those same silly
mistakes that so many make that caused this failure. So let's dive into it.
So one of the things that I think causes new managers to fail is actually going
into their role thinking me versus we.
Now a lot of the times when I'm having a conversation with a new manager that is
seeking out my help through coaching,
they'll go through an application process with me just to see if we're a good
fit. And during that conversation,
I usually just ask a couple of questions and I'll notice that they're usually
talking a lot about themselves. Now, listen, you know,
like if you've been following me for some time,
you know that I am your greatest cheerleader and I know how special you are.
However,
if you go into the role where every revolving thought is around you,
then you're not going to be successful. Because really,
and truly your role is to help your team members and to support your team
members achieve results.
Another reason why managers fail is because they actually don't set clear
expectations. This happens a lot where managers will set a standard,
but they won't really clearly explain what it is they're actually expecting.
And so the team does something completely different because they didn't actually
understand.
And so this lack of setting clear expectations actually affects their ability to
give clarity and actually influence their team's efforts.
The third reason why managers fail is because they don't place enough value on
building relationships.
I talked to a lot of new managers who start right out the gate,
driving performance and trying to get results from their team.
But here's my question.
How do you mean expect to drive results or performance from people that you
don't understand or even know?
This is extremely detrimental and of course causes a lot of problems.
The fourth reason why managers fail is because they rely on their title.
Relying on the power of your title to get things done will really only get you
so far. Command and control has a limited shelf life.
Another reason why managers fail is because they fail to listen.
They don't take the feedback that's given to them.
And so they ended up in the complete wrong direction,
or they're not listening to what's being said and not being said to really help
them execute properly.
The sixth reason for failure is focusing way too much on climbing the corporate
ladder.
I literally just had a call with someone last week who just got into management
and she was already asking me for advice as to how to move into senior
leadership. Listen,
I am all about having goals and there's nothing wrong with having ambitions.
I get it. In fact,
you should always have a goal so that you're growing and expanding.
I actually think that focusing on the next actually hampers your ability to do
well at where you are right now.
So these are just some of the most common reasons for this high failure rate in
management. But you know, just thinking about it the other day.
And I think that these are really just symptoms of a deeper problem.
And you know, me,
I like to get to the root cause of something so that we can actually solve
something.
I was thinking about it I think that there are basically two root causes that
are causing these symptoms.
So number one would be internally and number two would be externally.
So internally speaking, I would say that it's, you know, a lack of confidence,
self doubt, imposter syndrome,
even a fear of failure itself that causes compensation and for all these errors
to happen. And then externally speaking,
I would say it's usually because of a lack of support,
a lack of training resources or tools.
So you truly understand what your role is about so that you can be successful
about it. So if you are struggling with either one of these issues,
whether it be internally, externally, or even both, what do you do right? Well,
I have a few suggestions for you.
The first thing you can do is get yourself a mentor. You know,
this person or this group of people that you choose to mentor you can really
help you just identify some of the negative or disempowering thoughts that
you're having. And practically speaking,
they can also help you make what is going to be being most difficult transitions
of your career.
The second thing you can do is learn to ask questions and then actively listen
to the responses. You know, instead of aiming to have all the answers,
maybe you can aim to be the person that asks the best questions.
I've said it here on this channel before that a question is like a scalpel.
It's so true, right?
Because the scalpel is able to get deep to the root of things.
And so if you're that person that is asking the best questions,
then you're going to get the best answer and you'll be able to make the best
decisions. The third thing you need to do is to ask for what you need.
In order for you to do this well, you need the resources,
the tools and the training.
Just like we would never expect a doctor to perform heart surgery without the
proper training. You shouldn't expect the same of yourself. And you know,
most companies have a stipend or some sort of education fund for your
development. So you should use that instead of trying to you know,
figure it out on your own. Because if you try and, you know,
DIY you might actually run out of time. I mean,
isn't that what happens to a lot of managers,
that's why we see more than half failing it's because they're trying to figure
this out on their own and the runs out on them.
So a lot of people during the application process with me for my coaching will
say, well, I know there's an education stipend that I can use,
but I just don't want my manager to know, I don't know what I'm doing.
Here's the thing they already know that you don't because you're brand new at
this.
And besides you pretending like you know what to do is actually costing them
money. Because the longer you take to get spun up.
The more mistakes you make, which actually is affecting their bottom line.
So they actually want you to get trained it's within their best interest.
Let me let you in on a little secret here. Nothing says to senior leadership,
more that they made the right decision by promoting you.
Then you taking the initiative to get the support that you need.
I'll give you an example for me, with my team.
When my team members came to me and said, Hey,
there was something I'm interested in taking so that I can develop myself more.
I was so happy each and every time they said this,
or came to me with this because I knew that their commitment level was very high
to improve themselves and as well, the team. Now,
could we always afford it? No,
but each and every time they asked it did bring it a smile to my face.
And the same will be true for you.
The fourth thing you really want to do is just to ask for help when needed.
Don't try and do everything on your own because honestly you can't.
And this is one of the lessons I had to learn the hard way,
because I was that type of person I was trying to do absolutely everything until
I burnt out real quick. So for you,
I want you to learn to empower your team members by learning to delegate.
Let them be the experts, let them be the specialists.
And you focus on the higher level tasks that can move the team
forward. Now, if you're watching this and you're new to management,
and you obviously don't want to make any of these mistakes and you want to be on
the path to success,
then I highly encourage you to get registered for my free masterclass.
That is all about my five step framework that will help you to become an awesome
sauce manager. So I will leave the link for that in the description box below.
And I hope to see you there. Thank you so much for watching today's episode.
I hope that you found it valuable.
If you enjoyed it don't forget to give it a thumbs up and to subscribe so you
don't miss out on any other content that I share here on Tuesdays. Again,
thank you so much for watching. I hope you have a fantastic rest of the week.
Don't forget to keep smiling. I'll see you in the next one.