Question: “Our office is moving to bigger and better premises, and the Managing Director has appointed me Office Manager. I have been his personal administrative assistant. I have no managerial experience, so I’m looking for advice on what my role should entail and how I can become a good manager. I will be overseeing the receptionist.” — Tatjana
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I was put into the exact same situation… I have been an Executive Assistant for 15 years and now I am supervising the receptionist position…It’s been a rocky road the first year. My best advice is to go to at least one leadership trainging for new managers. Rockhurst University has an excellent 2 day seminar that changed the way I looked at being a leader. I hope this helps. Good luck!
Congratulations tatjana: One of the first things to remember is not to let this promotion get to your head and remember also that being a good manager involves being humble and courteous to those you will be managing.. Have confidence in your ability to adjust to living through your new role and showing up as a lady who is caring about the people while keeping your eyes on the ball (tasks, jobs, deadlines, and what needs to be done) Being an excellent communicator is one of the hallmarks of a good leader/manager. cultivate and advance your communication skills as well as your emotional intelligence as you might find yourself frustrated at times…that’s what managers face everyday… Good luck to you.. I wish you lots of success..Abe
These are all wonderful suggestions. I would also suggest that you have a meeting with your boss to find out what he expects of you in this position. Get his input. You don’t want to find out later that he was disappointed because he was expecting something that you never thought of. I believe in being straight-forward and honest. I’m sure he will understand that this is new to you and you just want to know everything you should know. He should appreciate your honesty and willingness to do a good job. Congratulations!
I, too, was promoted to Office Manager from an Executive Assistant. I suddenly got 3 employees to manage as well as oversee the entire structure and running of the office. The most difficult part was going from a peer to a superior in the case of my 3 employees. I was fortunate that ours was a small office and everyone worked well with everyone else regardless of titles. It’s still tough come evaluation time but I’ve learned to think like a manager and not their “buddy”. You just have to get in the mindset of a manager and recognze that your job will not be the same.
Did they not give you a job description or explain the new position to you? That sounds odd..
Fred Pryor has a seminar, “Making the Transition from Staff to Supervisor,” that might be something to look into. And they have another, “Essential Skills for 1st Time Managers/Supervisors”. Maybe you can present this to your boss so the company can pay. I’ve gone to a few of their seminars and have always come out with professional tools I put to use at work. It also looks good on your resume.
Wow, first of all, congratulations! You have just been promoted to a position that is best when developed personally. What I mean is, you are not coming in behind someone who has already set up a standard.
Also, you are probably selling yourself short, when you say you have no managerial experience. You probably manage a household right now, whether you live alone, or with a spouse and/or children. Bring those skills into the workplace.
Use whatever organizational skills you have at your disposal from your assistant position, and go from there.
The one most important advice I can offer is to lead by example; and be a team leader. While I’m not a perfectionist, I demand quality work. We work as a team.
If your receptionist has been with the company for awhile, she/he probably already knows what to do. If not, then start from scratch and teach the person what you know and explain how you would do it, but be open for suggestions on how to perform the work more efficiently.
Do a Google search for books and/or free courses on excelling as a first-time manager. There’s a lot of stuff out there. I learned mostly by trial and error, but also took a few courses on my own. The company was great to pay for anything I needed, but I kept it low cost.
Good luck to you in this great adventure!