First-time managers need five skills to succeed in their first year: communication, accountability, conflict, prioritization, and delegation. These skills depend on each other. A manager who sets no clear expectations struggles to hold anyone accountable. A manager who avoids conflict ends up doing the work instead of coaching the person who should do it.

I'm Lori Ennis, Founder & CEO of WorkWell Nexus. I have spent 20+ years in retail, manufacturing, healthcare, and global aviation, including senior roles in talent, learning, and development. WorkWell Nexus is a boutique leadership development firm. We develop confident people leaders through the Leadership Accelerator, workshops, and coaching. Below, I answer the questions new managers ask me.

Which skills do first-time managers struggle with most?

Communication, accountability, conflict, prioritization, and delegation decide how a first-time manager's first year goes. The five connect. Unclear expectations make accountability hard. Avoided conflict turns into extra work for the manager.

A hard conversation at the first sign of trouble clears away the conflict that grows when nobody speaks up. Each section below shows one of these skills in practice.

What is the best way to give feedback as a new manager?

Describe what you observed, explain the impact, and either recognize good work or coach toward improvement. Be specific, honest, and respectful. A calm tone helps the other person hear the message.

1. Name the behavior you observed.

2. Explain the impact of that behavior.

3. Recognize the good work, or coach toward a better result.

"You need to be more professional" leaves an employee guessing. This version gives the employee something to change: "You interrupted the customer two times during the call. We missed the chance to hear the full concern, and we must follow up. On the next call, let the customer finish, summarize what you heard, and offer a solution."

The employee leaves with one behavior to change.

What steps help a new manager hold a difficult conversation?

Prepare the facts and separate them from the story you built around them. These steps work for a performance issue, a conflict, or bad news:

1. Prepare the facts. Set aside the story you built around them.

2. Open with honesty: "This may be a difficult conversation, and I owe it to you to be honest about what I'm seeing."

3. Describe the concern and explain its impact.

4. Ask, "What am I missing?" Listen to the answer. New information may change your understanding of the situation.

5. Make clear what needs to happen next.

Respect means addressing the issue without making personal judgments.

What changes when you go from teammate to manager?

The relationship changes before it feels different. A new manager can keep close friendships on the team, and the job requires fair expectations for everyone and protection of confidential information about other employees.

I coach new managers to do three things:

• Acknowledge the transition.

• Stay consistent.

• Resist proving authority through every decision.

New managers make mistakes. Owning those mistakes and following through on commitments builds trust.

What does a good one-on-one look like?

A good one-on-one gives the employee a voice. The employee knows what to discuss and arrives prepared. Cadence depends on the role and the team: a less formal weekly check-in works for some teams, and dedicated monthly time works for others.

I ask employees to bring:

• Progress on goals

• Upcoming plans

• Decisions they need

• Areas where they need help

The manager brings feedback and makes room for career goals and development.

The biggest mistake new managers make is turning every one-on-one into a status report. The manager can get updates from other sources. Use this time to understand and support the person doing the work.

What should a new manager prioritize in the first 90 days?

Listen and learn the way the team works. Get clear on expectations, strengths, obstacles, and the places where people need support. Address conflict at the first sign, with respect, rather than hoping it resolves itself.

A common mistake is taking ownership of every problem an employee brings. A better move is a coaching question: "What happened when you addressed it?" or "What do you think we should do next?" These questions help employees build judgment and show them the manager is available to support them.

What changes when you shift from doing the work to managing it?

A manager's responsibility changes to helping the team accomplish the work. A manager who stays involved in every task loses the time to set expectations, recognize good work, coach improvement, and hold people accountable.

I encourage new managers to delegate with three parts:

1. A clear outcome

2. An owner

3. A time to check in

Learn each person's strengths and see where that person needs development or a different assignment. Managers keep building this skill throughout their careers.

What should a first-time manager do next?

Choose one skill from this list and practice it in your next conversation with your team.

WorkWell Nexus builds these skills through the Leadership Accelerator, a cohort for new and emerging leaders, and through workshops and coaching. Bring whatever's on your mind about your team, your leaders, or where you're stuck. Book a 20 minute call.