As a new manager, do you make use of these three tips? New role brings in new responsibilities. Leading a team is vastly different from working on code or fixing a defect. It means unlearning a few things and acquiring various fresh skills. A new manager gets tempted to do everything by herself. Though she is aware that her role has changed, she cannot give up her urge to code by herself. It results in heavy workload and ultimately she is left with no time. In this story, an expert developer excels at her job and eventually leads a team. She struggles to set priorities of her tasks in the initial days. Habits formed over the years take a long time to change. Good developers like to write code with their own hands. It is a good quality in developer’s role, however it is not so for a manager. Analyse the way you spend your time. Are you spending time in activities that do not match your role? Is there a way to reduce non-project related activities? Are there any activities that you accepted as a favour to someone? Here are three smart ways to get used to your new role: 1. A team member may be delegating work to you, rather than you delegating work to him/her. It is called reverse delegation. Avoid this trap. 2. Use software tools to automate your work. Improve the tools, to reduce future work. Learning tools is a smart investment. You can efficiently scale by using tools, without compromising quality. 3. Use to-do-list to complete your tasks on time. At End of Day mark your completed tasks and pat your back for achieving it.

31. Pramod Paranjape writes at
ConverSight.com, where he shares
practical ideas for new managers.
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