Why Young Managers can be a Menace

I see it all the time.

New managers are often proud that they have been promoted and think they have “made it”. Their actions can be downright scary to more seasoned managers. The big thing is that their journey has just begun and if they don’t see that they can do big damage to the organization. Young people often get promoted into management because they have proven themselves to be:

• hard working

• reliable

• ambitious

• smart

• task oriented

• focused on their own performance, looking for credit

• non-confrontational

Great managers are:

• patient

• nurturing

• flexible

• great communicators

• vulnerable

• respectful of differences

• focused on team performance, pushing away credit

• willing to tackle tough issues head on

It is often said that being a leader or manager is a learned skill. We have all seen that some people “get it” quicker than others. Young new managers need a strong mentor and lots of coaching and feedback. Anything short of this is just too big a risk to your organization.

IBEX Payroll extends our profound respect and immeasurable gratitude to all the ancestors and keepers of the land on whose traditional territories our work takes place. We acknowledge that we are on Treaty 1 territory, the traditional gathering place of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene people and the traditional homeland of the Métis people. This land is sacred, historical, and significant.

Every time we acknowledge this truth, we have an invitation and an opportunity to reflect on the wrongs of the past, what we do in the present, and what we can do to continually honour the people whose lands and water we benefit from today.

This statement only acts as a first step in honouring the land we reside on and its peoples, and must be paired with education, understanding and informed action.