One of your biggest challenges will be learning to get things done through other people.

Good managers need to have a good handle on their business. Just as important, they need good people skills.

In your first weeks as a new manager, you may discover that one of the biggest challenges facing you is getting things done through other people. Your work is less about you and more about motivating, evaluating, and managing a team.

Management consultants Don and Sheryl Grimme offer advice in The New Manager’s Tool Kit: 21 Things You Need to Know to Hit the Ground Running (New York: AMACOM, 2009, $16.95). Among their tips:

• Treat people with respect. Respect is a fundamental human need. You need to know this to tap the full potential of the people you supervise. Each employee should know that you care about him or her not just as a worker, but also as a person. Do your best to listen actively to concerns, including problems balancing work with home life.
• Help employees focus on doing a good job. Receiving a competitive, fair wage is important. Once employees are assured of this, though, what they want most is appreciation and involvement, the Grimmes say.
• Praise accomplishments. Offer praise at least four times more often than you do criticism, and offer it promptly, the authors advise. Suggestion: When you catch someone in a positive act, write the accomplishment and your feelings about it on the back of a business card, sign it, and hand it to the person.
• Clearly communicate responsibilities and expectations. Make sure employees know how their work contributes to the organization’s mission. When work goes in the wrong direction, never criticize in public. Get things back on track in private.
• Keep employees engaged. Ask them for ideas and opinions. Involve them in decisions, especially ones that affect them. Create opportunities to learn and grow, such as on- or off-the-job training programs.
• Openly share information. Do so promptly, clearly, truthfully, and with compassion.
• Give enough autonomy to address job challenges. Someone who feels out of control when facing a difficult task is at risk for frustration, burnout, and poor performance. That same person facing the same challenge may be enthusiastic, loyal, and high-performing when empowered to make meaningful changes.

In The Busy Manager’s Guide to Delegation (New York: AMACOM, 2009, $12), authors Richard A. Luecke and Perry McIntosh address another tricky challenge new managers face: delegating to others.

It makes little sense to fill your day with work a subordinate has the time and skill to do just as well. Still, be mindful of others’ needs and interests. To delegate effectively, Luecke and McIntosh suggest you:

• Ask yourself: “What tasks am I now doing that do not require my unique knowledge, skills, or authority?”
• Consider delegating tasks, especially recurring ones, that your subordinates have the time and ability to handle (with training if needed).
• Take other factors into account. Someone who will find a task interesting is more likely to take it seriously. Someone with too much work may burn out or do a poor job.
• Delegate equitably. An employee who notices coworkers doing less work for the same pay may lose morale and goodwill.
• Never delegate essential managerial activities such as hiring, performance reviews, firing, disciplinary actions, or tasks that have been delegated to you by someone else.

In the end, m anaging is about people. If you communicate well, delegate skillfully, and show due respect to the people you supervise, you’re well on the road to success.

By Polly Turner, a feature writer for Vitality.

© StayWell Custom Communications. Information is the opinion of the sourced authors and organizations. Personal decisions regarding health, diet, and exercise should be made only after consultation with the reader's own medical advisers. This material may not be reproduced for redistribution without written permission from StayWell Custom Communications.