By avoiding these four common mistakes, you’ll be well on your way toward becoming an excellent manager.

Mistake #2: Doing It All
Chances are, you got promoted into management because you were very good at the work you did. But you won’t be able to do the managerial work you should be doing if you’re still spending most of your time doing hands-on work. If you do that, you will neglect your real job—which is to plan and organize the work of others, and to motivate them through your leadership.

The problem, of course, is that you derived real pleasure and satisfaction from doing the hands-on work. Your great skill in doing that is what got you promoted in the first place. For many new managers there is a real grief reaction when they realize that they can no longer indulge their passion for the basic work. Instead, you have to learn to love your management role.

Some new managers never do come to terms with this and feel they made a mistake by accepting their promotions. Sure, they love the better pay and they appreciate the status conveyed by their new titles, but they recognize that they were really happier dealing with day-to-day tasks than they were with human employees.

It takes time to adjust to the new realities. Before throwing in the towel and deciding you’d like to get back into the ranks, give yourself at least a couple of years to see if you can’t grow into the job. It’s a tough transition, but most managers eventually do learn the skills needed to appreciate their management roles.

Martin Seidenfeld, Ph.D., is President of Human Resources Corp. Besides his clinical work and university teaching, Dr. Seidenfeld provides consulting to organizations on management issues and on managing organizational stress. Human Resources Corp., 349 N. 30th Street, Suite 102, Boise, ID 83702; 208-338-6515; www.docmartyseminars.com.