Managerial responsibilities often seep into our jobs, and we find ourselves managing others to perform the roles that we've mastered over the years. Organizations typically add managerial responsibilities to those employees who have been the best doers. And more often than not, because you've been a great doer, it's assumed that you'll automatically become a great manager. But the truth is, the skills that made you successful in your prior experience are not the same skills that will make you a good manager.

Going from doer to manager can be a difficult transition. You're confident about your skills in the former role, while a little uncertain about the new managerial territory. There are a number of challenges along the path to managerial mastery, but cultivating the following practices can help keep you on course.

• Clarify roles and responsibilities. Things can run amok in your department simply because there isn't a clear delineation of what your team members are supposed to do. Make sure there are current job descriptions for each person and that they understand the scope of their responsibilities. Sound simple? Yes. Often ignored? You bet.
• Manage expectations. Communication can break down in record time because the manager doesn't tell her people what she expects. Articulate your expectations. Be clear about what constitutes success on a project or longer term in a particular job. Avoid the "mind reader" syndrome by which you assume that your people know what you think and want.
• "My people just aren't performing." This is an outcome that arises from not paying attention to the previous two points. A good practice is to use performance appraisals. This tool sets standards, helps manage expectations, and provides direction to your people. Use a formal process to review performance. Ideally, you should do this twice a year, but once a year is certainly a good start.
• "It will be easier if I just do it myself." Sound familiar? Everyone deals with this one. As a manager, your job isn't to do what your people do. You're supposed to monitor the activities of your team members and provide support, resources, and guidance as needed. One of the new manager's challenges is to step away from how well you've done a particular task in the past, and to help your direct reports learn how to do that task even better than you.
• Establish best practices. Although you're committed to letting go of the doing, a good management technique is to establish best practices for the new. Set some general ground rules, and allow these to expand over time as your people develop new ones. This way you set the guidelines, but leave enough room for your people to shine as they go through their learning curves.
• Become a coach. We're long past the era of autocratic managers. Develop the skill of coaching, and you'll guide your people to success. A coach is a guide, a mentor, an encourager; someone who provides direct feedback and even delivers the difficult messages. Your guidance and your people's own unique experience will make a winning combination.

Managing People Take Away

The transition from expert to manager can be an exciting time in your career. Here are some key points to remember:

• When in doubt, over-communicate. Don't assume that people know what you're thinking.
• Don't be a micromanager. Give your people some space to make their own mistakes and accomplishments.
• Take a new manager class through a local college's continuing education program.
• Develop coaching skills, and practice them with your employees.
• Know what you don't know, and ask for help. Seek a mentor who can help you.

Lisa M. Aldisert is a New York City-based management consultant and professional speaker specializing in executive development and organizational growth strategies. She is the author of Valuing People: How Human Capital Can Be Your Strongest Asset. Feel free to e-mail her at lisa@businessgrowthcenter.com and visit her Web site at www.businessgrowthcenter.com