New Manager: The Basics and More of Being a Great Leader

Attached to this lecture is a downloadable checklist that will help you step by step through the early stages of your new role as a manager. Using the checklist you will be able to prioritize your tasks, direct your focus and manage your time more effectively.

The following lectures in this sections will show you how to use the New Manager Checklist in an effective way and explain it more in detail.

So you have the basic groundwork done. Now it is time to have some really important meetings. First with your manager or supervisor, then with your team as a whole and finally individual meetings with each team member.

This does not apply to everyone, but if it applies to you it is valuable to do. It applies to you if you have been promoted from within the organization, and especially if you were previously a member of the team you are now a manager of.

This is a very good time to know the names of your team members. It makes a huge difference when you can address a person by name. In the words of Dale Carnegie: “A person’s name is to him or her the sweetest and most important sound in any language."

There are many important relationships that you need to maintain as a manager. The one with your manager or supervisor is clearly a key one. The “Boss Contract” is a document, in written form, that describes the relationship between you and your manager. It supports the important dialogue between you and your manager.

When you have your initial preparations and meetings done, this lecture will teach you some additional things, proven and practical actions, to give your career as a manager a great start.

As mentioned in other parts of this course, the shift in mindset needed to succeed in your new role should not be underestimated. In this lecture you will learn three key parts of that mindset; changing your focus, avoiding micromanagement or abandonment and resisting a very common temptation as a new manager.

This lecture contains an important reminder about your first days as a new manager, to go slow with people. Move slow with people, despite what your boss might say. If you want to get a machine to run fast, you can work on it fast. Not so much with the people side of things. You will get practical tips about how to handle this situation.

What limits us is usually not that we do not know enough, but that we are not using what we know.

In this exercise you will create a "Boss Contract" with your manager, or revise an existing one if you already have one.

In this lecture are a series of questions that can be very helpful for you to ask yourself before you decide to become a manager or at the start of your managerial career, to save both yourself and others heartache. You can use the attached PDF to follow along during the video.

Learn about the top three psychological obstacles when it comes to shifting from a specialist into a great manager and how to manage those obstacles in a good way. 

Assessing your leadership skills regularly will help you to focus your growth as a manager and to become more effective. Download the attached PDF:s and use one of them to assess your leadership skills while you listen to the video in this lecture. Also download the attached assessment instructions that will explain the use of the other two PDF files.

When you move into a new manager role there are some specific new skill sets and focuses that will help you with that transition. Here you will get a summary of those skill sets and focuses, which you can also find an overview of in the downloadable PDF-file attached to this lecture.

There are several myths regarding being a new manager. Many of them are simply not true. Believing in, and acting upon, theses myths is a common reason why managers fail in their new role by neglecting key leadership responsibilities. This lecture will help you avoid getting sidetracked by these myths.

When a team receives a task it will perform some kind of work to achieve a result. This work can be divided in two dimensions or parts, Things and Experiences. In this lecture you will get examples of what is included in each dimension and learn the how important it is to focus on both dimensions for a long term quality result.

Attached to this lecture is an illustration of the two dimensions.

Attached to this lecture is also a textbook in PDF-format that you can download. It is a written version of the lectures in this section and can be used to supplement the video lectures.

This lecture includes examples of how the two dimensions can play out in a team or an organization. It also gives you practical pointers about how you can work with the two dimensions in your team to be the most effective.

You will learn the key distinctions between management and leadership which will help you see how you can cover both these aspects to become truly successful as a manager.

What limits us is usually not that we do not know enough, but that we are not using what we know.

This exercise has three parts and helps you get started with applying the concepts of Management and Leadership, Things and Experiences, right away.

Sometimes our feedback does not come across as intended and might cause problems in the relationship to the other person. The three questions you will learn in this lecture will help you to greatly increase your rate of success with giving feedback to other people.

This lecture gives you seven helpful tips for giving feedback so you will be able to deliver your feedback to others more effectively while minimizing the risk for misunderstandings or unnecessary conflict.

This lecture attempts to answer a very common question among new managers; how much so called "positive" and "negative" feedback should you give your co-workers?

Understanding, and using, the fact that every relationship with your colleagues has a relationship account is critical to your success. In this lecture you will learn about how the account works and how you can make it work for you.

I-statements provide an effective format for giving feedback, both so called "positive" and "negative" feedback. Watch the video first and then use the attached worksheet to practice your communication skills.

Giving feedback is only half of successfully working with feedback. Here you will learn how you can receive feedback in a way that increases the likelihood that others will give you more feedback and that they will take the time and effort to do it well.

What limits us is usually not that we do not know enough, but that we are not using what we know. 

This exercise has three parts and helps you get started with using effective feedback right away.

You will learn to understand the four levels that are key to successful communication and when to use which one so you can be the most effective in your communication.

Attached to this lecture is also a textbook in PDF-format that you can download. It is a written version of the lectures in this section and can be used to supplement the video lectures.

You will learn one of the secrets of successful communicators - starting with the end in mind. Prepare yourself by clarifying this before each interaction and watch your communication skills increase.

Being perceived as credible is essential to your success as a leader. The Arrow of Credibility teaches you five steps to take to come across with more credibility and be able to create more confidence and trust in others.

You will learn examples of non-responsible and responsible language and the effect in can have on your clarity and ability to build confidence. After watching the lecture, use the attached worksheet to practice your communication skills. There are two versions of the worksheet, one you can print and fill out by hand or an interactive one that you can fill in on your device.

One thing people really appreciate about good leaders is that they are good listeners. After watching this lecture you will understand the basics of active listening and you will know the three questions to ask yourself to check that you are truly ready to listen to somebody else.

What limits us is usually not that we do not know enough, but that we are not using what we know. 

This exercise has six parts and helps you get started with improving your communication right away.

Learn about the three preferences that late American psychologist Will Schutz found that we have when we come together in groups. You will find out how to use this knowledge to improve your leadership, both of yourself and of others.

Understanding the different development stages of a group is essential to your success as a leader. In this lesson you will learn about the first stage and the specific behaviors, opportunities and challenges this provides.

When the group matures it enters another stage where your skills as a leader will be seriously tested. In this lesson you will learn what behaviors and challenges to watch out for as well as their underlying drivers. It will also reveal three different paths you can take to make the transition through this stage.

The third stage of group development is where the group is the most effective when it comes to working on and performing tasks. You will learn the common behaviors and characteristics of this stage and the opportunities they present.

Learn how the different stages can play out at work. How some organizations with good intentions actually hinder the development of a team and how others use it to their advantage. You will learn to recognize these dynamics in your team.

In this real life example Markus uses a romantic relationship to exemplify the different stages. You will learn how to build effective, lasting relationships and how different parts of your group can have different needs.

Understand the basics of how you can lead effectively depending on your group's maturity and what stage it is in. Learn a trick for figuring out which stage your group is in.

You will get practical advice and strategies to use in each of the different group stages. The lecture is highly action oriented to help you aid your team in becoming more effective.

What limits us is most of the time not that we don’t know enough but that we don’t use what we know. 

This exercise has three parts and helps you started straight away with using what you have learned about group dynamics.

There are four kinds of ground rules for behavior in groups. The most effective are the kind that are Clear and Spoken. Learn how to recognize all four kinds and how you can make sure your team and leadership are the most effective.

What limits us is usually not that we do not know enough, but that we are not using what we know. 

This exercise has three parts and helps you get started with using the concept of rules of the game right away.

You will learn about two common differences that influence the dynamics of groups. Mental or emotional identification and how different people process information, their learning styles including Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic. You will also get tips how you can adapt your leadership to be the most effective here.

What limits us is usually not that we do not know enough, but that we are not using what we know. 

This exercise has three parts and helps you get started with using differences and similarities more effectively right away.

You will learn about the five conflict styles, Fight, Adapt, Avoid, Compromise and Cooperate, and about when each one is appropriate, and not, to use.

Markus shares an example of how the conflict styles can play out in a relationship on a Saturday afternoon. This example will make the dynamics of the different conflict styles more clear to you.

Hear an example of the five different conflict styles used in a group working on a project. This example will help your understanding of the styles.

When it comes to conflict we can have two different views. Here you will learn the characteristics of these two views and how they affect our behavior.

What limits us is usually not that we do not know enough, but that we are not using what we know. 

This exercise has three parts and helps you apply right away the concepts of conflict management that you have learned in the previous lectures.

Expectations can either make or break a team or relationship. Here you will learn why it is critical for your success as a leader that you become skilled at working with expectations. You will also get practical tips on how to manage expectations so you can be more effective in your communication and meetings with your team, your clients or others.

What limits us is usually not that we do not know enough, but that we are not using what we know. 

This exercise has three parts and helps you get started with clarifying expectations right away.

Using one quote and two stories Markus will tell you why acknowledgement is such a basic human need and why you as a leader need to pay attention to that.

You will learn how you can acknowledge people in four different ways, or from four different perspectives, and how that will influence your effectiveness as a leader.

What limits us is usually not that we do not know enough, but that we are not using what we know. 

This exercise comes with three different parts, three different perspectives, to help you change how you work with acknowledgement right away.

You will learn different definitions of trust. You will also increase your understanding of the important role trust plays for your leadership to be effective.

Attached to this lecture is also a textbook in PDF-format that you can download. It is a written version of the lectures in this section and can be used to supplement the video lectures.

You will understand the trust and openness spiral and how it can either make or break your leadership. You will be able to better judge how much trust and openness that is needed for a specific task.

According to Wikipedia small talk is an informal type of discourse that does not cover any functional topics of conversation or any transactions that need to be addressed. It is also a very powerful relationship building tool for leaders and here you will learn how to use it to build trust and to become a part of the entire decision making process.

You will learn how it can be very beneficial to be personal with your co-workers, but how it is equally important to learn to define and draw the line to that which is private. 

What limits us is usually not that we do not know enough, but that we are not using what we know. 

This exercise has three parts that help you apply the concept of trust and openness right away.

You will learn about what values are and through the Anchor-Buoy model you will understand how values interact with attitudes and behaviors. You will also learn how values can be key to increasing the motivation of your team.

Attached to this lecture is a textbook in PDF-format that you can download. It is a written version of the lectures in this section and can be used to supplement the video lectures.

You will learn about how the surroundings can influence your behaviors, attitudes and values. You will get practical examples of situations that can challenge your values.

Learn about personal values, what they are and how it can be of use to you to become more clear on your values. As well as the importance of making sure your values are active and supportive of you, rather than passive and hindering. This lecture also contains a downloadable worksheet that you can use after watching the video to discover and become more clear about your own values.

You will get tips about how to work with values in your team and your organization. You will learn about the benefits of having clear values and about the difference between means values and ends values.

This lecture contains a story about the attempted implementation of values in an organisation and the lessons learned from it.

Ethics is a big, and important, topic that there is a large amount of books about. Here are five questions to ask yourself when faced with a tough decision that will help you get a quick grasp on if the option you are leaning towards is OK ethically or not. Use the attached checklist to remind yourself of the questions.

What limits us is usually not that we do not know enough, but that we are not using what we know. 

This exercise has three parts that help you to get started with the concept of values right away.