what's hardest for the new manager?

The transition from "worker" to "manager" is tough and often unrecognised. As well as taking on a new role, it can also mean seeing yourself in a new way. Quite often, what worked for you as an effective team member is not what's needed as a manager. Or rather, those skills and qualities are important - you're probably still a member, of a new team - but you need to take on a new set of skills, knowledge and understanding. And it's important to pick them up or refresh them in a hurry.

This adds to the feeling of stress that many managers feel.

Whatever the new manager finds hardest, the thing that matters most is to be clear - clear about what your team is meant to deliver, clear about the working style that you want to establish, clear about what success looks like.

On the new manager site new members say that they face a variety of challenges: from dealing with a difficult team member to keeping calm under pressure. We're trying to incorporate ideas about the various challenges as they come in.

When working with new managers, I've seen that in many cases they need to learn a different way of thinking, one that focuses on outcomes, both in personal relationships ("how do I want this relationship to be?") and in tasks ("What are we actually trying to achieve here?") This requires some moments of standing back and looking at the situation, including oneself as well as others. Looking at one's own impact is hard but necessary if one is really to succeed as a manager.