The Accidental Boss: Why First-Time Manager Training Isn’t Just a Nice-to-Have, It’s Essential
By the time someone earns their first managerial stripes, you’d assume they’ve been well-prepared for the responsibility. But more often than not, first-time managers are thrust into leadership with all the ceremony of a tree surgeon being handed a chainsaw and told to “just give it a go.” As charming as improvisation can be, managing people is one area where winging it rarely ends well.
From Star Performer to Stressed-Out Supervisor
Let’s start with a rather uncomfortable truth: being good at your job doesn’t automatically make you good at managing others who do that job. It’s the classic “Peter Principle” in action — individuals get promoted to their level of incompetence (Peter & Hull, 1969). Many new managers find themselves floundering not because they lack talent, but because they lack first-time manager training.
Research by the Harvard Business Review found that most people don’t receive leadership training until they’ve been managing for nearly 10 years (Zenger & Folkman, 2012). Imagine sending someone into a Formula 1 race without so much as a driving lesson. Terrifying. And yet, we routinely do the managerial equivalent.
What Actually Happens When We Don’t Train New Managers?
Untrained managers tend to do at least one of the following:
Micromanage like a helicopter on a caffeine binge.
Avoid conflict like it’s an ex at a wedding.
Overcompensate with endless meetings, because that’s what they think “leadership” looks like.
The result? Burnt-out teams, poor morale, and a revolving door of talent. Gallup (2015) reports that 50% of employees have left a job to get away from a manager. Half! That’s not turnover; that’s an exodus. Clearly, people don’t quit companies—they quit managers.
The Magic of a Proper Introduction to Leadership
Now, let’s contrast that with what happens when first-time managers actually receive first-time manager training. Research from the Center for Creative Leadership (2020) found that leadership development programmes significantly boost self-awareness, communication skills, and the ability to manage conflict — all crucial tools in a manager’s kit.
Even modest investments in training pay off. A study by the Association for Talent Development (2016) showed that companies with formal training for new managers had 20% higher employee engagement scores and 30% higher productivity rates. That’s not just good business sense; it’s practically alchemy.
So, What Should First-Time Manager Training Include?
It’s not about giving new managers a ten-tonne manual and hoping they read it between emails. Effective training is practical, relevant, and ideally sprinkled with a bit of humour (despite the rise of A.I. we are still human, after all). The essentials typically include:
Emotional intelligence: Because being a people manager means navigating a daily maze of egos, moods, and Slack messages.
Feedback and coaching: Learning to give feedback that’s honest but not soul-crushing. It’s an art.
Delegation: Not just offloading work, but matching tasks to the right people — without doing it all themselves or, heaven forbid, doing none of it.
Time and priority management: Because there’s nothing more tragic than a manager drowning in their own calendar.
Conflict resolution: Teaching them to address tension before it turns into a full-blown office soap opera.
Training as Culture, Not a Checkbox
A crucial point: first-time manager training shouldn’t be a one-off PowerPoint marathon. Ongoing support, coaching, and mentorship create a leadership culture where managers grow rather than merely survive. After all, as Simon Sinek so wisely put it, “A boss has the title, a leader has the people.”
It’s about showing new managers that it’s okay not to have all the answers — and giving them the tools to find the right ones. That’s not weakness; it’s wisdom in disguise.
The Bottom Line
If organisations are serious about performance, engagement, and retention, then first-time manager training isn’t a “nice-to-have.” It’s a must. You wouldn’t send someone into battle without armour — so why send a new manager into leadership without preparation?
With the right first-time manager training, your accidental bosses become intentional leaders. And in the process, you build teams that are engaged, productive, and — dare we say it — even enjoy coming to work. Now wouldn’t that be rather lovely?
GET IN TOUCH TODAY, ANd let’s talk about how our FIRST-TIME MANAGER training programs can support your team’s development, motivation and purpose, leading to long lasting change
References:
Gallup. (2015). State of the American Manager: Analytics and Advice for Leaders.
Peter, L.J., & Hull, R. (1969). The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong. William Morrow and Company.
Zenger, J., & Folkman, J. (2012). Why Most Managers Are Not Ready to Be Managers. Harvard Business Review.
Center for Creative Leadership. (2020). Developing First-Level Leaders.
Association for Talent Development. (2016). Developing New Managers: Best Practices for Onboarding First-Time Leaders.