Ross Saunders explains why new managers struggle: they're promoted for strong individual work, not management skills. They assume they can scale up what worked before, but lack training and overestimate their readiness. The result is a perfect storm of high expectations, inexperience, and overconfidence.
So, what are some of the most common reasons why new managers struggle when transitioning from what you call an individual contributor to a manager or to a leader?
I think there are a number of factors that come into it. It almost becomes a perfect storm of it. And a lot of times, the folks that are going into management are moving into it because they've been promoted rightfully so because they are perhaps really excellent performers. And they're coming into management perhaps not quite knowing what it entails. They've perhaps come in having one-on-one engagements with other team members, or they've managed a small project or something like that. And it's very easy to get stuck in the, oh, well, I can just jump in and do this. And I can scale it up very rapidly because I've managed a small project or I've worked with a smaller team or something like that.
