Needing your wisdom Fairygodbosses!

Anonymous

September 9,2022 at 3:36AM UTC

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Needing your wisdom Fairygodbosses!

I am in a new role, just over 2 months, and things are a hot mess on my team. There are many things to fix, some which are significant, and the team is very junior. I am trying to balance allowing my team to feel empowered but there are a lot of mistakes being made everyday due to lack of knowledge and training, and a lot of big mistakes popping up left and right. In some ways, these mistakes create an opportunity to learn, but I also feel that discovery of these mistakes is discouraging. It's hard for me to hold them responsible for past mistakes, but now that I am living through it, I am needing to address any in the present that I am seeing that they just don't see, again due to lack of knowledge, but also due to lack of proactivity.

I am also starting to see that they are not a group of go-getters but all looking to me for instructions (not direction). But I am trying to stay positive, encourage action, share knowledge and training, but it's putting a lot of stress on my wellbeing. The problem also is that 2 of them are also expecting a promotion, and I have no clue where that came from! Any seasoned managers out there that have gone through something like this? I know we can turn things around, but I am feeling exhausted already needing to keep tabs, follow up constantly despite specific direction, setting deadlines, etc.

Have you inherited a similar situation going into a leadership role in a new company, and any advice or tips on how you overcame it? I need some inspiration, please!

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Maegan, Nike Sales Rep & Career CoachSeptember 12,2022 at 5:05PM UTC
Sounds like they would really benefit from setting the standard for them so they know, in black & white what is expected of them. A round of training sounds appropriate too.
M Elizabeth IngramOctober 4,2022 at 10:01AM UTC
Consider a reset conversation with the team; you can use it to set expectations now that you have some experience in the role.
If you don't already have them, I recommend 15-20 minute weekly one-on-ones with the folks on your team, ask them to bring any questions, problems (with solution ideas) to them and bring your own concerns.
For the folks that expect promotions, if they mention that to you, let them know how a promotion can be earned (if promotions are available at all). This could mean, you need to be able to do your current role with fewer mistakes, reach a certain level of competence, complete work independently and before the deadlines while problem-solving, etc.
Good luck!