Managing people is both a huge responsibility and a great honor. For the first-time manager, making the transition from being an individual contributor to a manager can be a dramatic shift. A common mistake organizations make is to promote high-performing individuals into the role of manager, assuming that their track record of success alone will assist them in making this shift. The reality is that the skills that served a person as an individual may not serve him or her as a manager.

Another pitfall for many managers is that without proper support and development, they can misjudge their role or become paralyzed from fear of doing the wrong thing. Additionally, they may not receive adequate training to prepare them for their new role. For these reasons, managers can fail to accomplish their goals and develop meaningful relationships with their people.