22 Questions Every New Manager Should Ask on Day One

New Managers Need to Hit the Ground Running on Day One Based upon feedback from thousands of new managers, we have identified the most important questions new managers should ask on day one if they want to be set up for success.  Too Many New Managers Are Not Prepared  The shift from being an individual contributor to taking on the role of manager is huge. Unfortunately, very few new managers are well prepared to succeed without a lot of management training and support.  A recent McKinsey study found that nearly 70% of senior executives are only "somewhat" or "not at all satisfied" with the performance of their companies' front-line managers and that 81% of front-line managers are not satisfied with their own performance.  Even Experienced Leaders Stumble Leadership can be daunting. But there are steps you can take that will minimize leadership mistakes and maximize both your performance and the performance of your team. Those steps are the same for new managers who are in over their head and for leaders who have been leading ineffectively.   Questions New Managers Should Ask On Day One  Smart leaders invest the time and energy to understand the current situation, complications, and implications of their role and their team from day one.  Here are twenty two questions new managers should ask, and answer, from the start.  The questions are divided into categories of Alignment and Focus, Decision-Making, Resources, Information, and Interpersonal. 10 Alignment and Focus Questions New Managers Should Ask How is my boss' success measured?  Has the team been achieving its objectives?  How do the team objectives map to overall company priorities?  Are individual and team goals clear?  Does everyone know how success and failure are measured?  Are rewards at the individual and team levels clearly understood?  Is everyone clear on their roles and responsibilities?  Have inter-dependencies between team members and key stakeholders been identified?  Is work organized in a way that clearly leads to accomplishing individual and team's goals?  Do we agree upon who our key stakeholders are?

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