Usually when it is an employee’s first go at a manager’s role, he has been promoted from within and is quite excited and eager to please his boss and old co-workers. The excitement of the promotion and wanting to still hold the ranks with his old buddies all the while accepting a leadership role can be quite challenging.
At some point or another the new manager needs to learn that in order to lead appropriately he has to decide how to situate himself in the ranks, how to handle old and new relationships, learn how to motivate and gain respect as a leader, and enable trust in his workers to delegate.
Dealing with Old Co-Workers
One of the hardest things for a new manager to deal with in the new role is making the transition from a member of the pack to the leader of the pack. This is not very easy when you are having to automatically convince past pack members you deserve their respect and you are now an authority to them.
Most managers are promoted from their line positions within a certain restaurant because they excelled at the position and showed leadership qualities that helped them with asking for a raise and promotion.
Accepting the promotion is easy, but making the move out of the old peer circle is quite difficult and takes an independent and strong person to effectively manage restaurant staff that were once an old friend. The first step in having the co-workers to accept the new manager is for him to slowly move outside the social circle and move into a more professional relationship.
While moving outside the gang is crucial to gaining the respect as a new leader; it is also very important for the new manager to treat everyone the same with no one being better or treated differently than the other. This can be quite difficult as strong bonds are made on the line in a restaurant and an old friend will also have a hard time when their best bud is not giving them preferential treatment they feel is deserved.
Transitioning Slow and Building Trust
When becoming a new manager in a restaurant it takes time for all your old co-workers to follow your lead and to build trust within the new team. If you come into the new role and automatically start making changes and order without much communication it can definitely ruffle feathers.
If you do not have trust in your new team and they go against you , it can make for a very rough time as a manager. The best thing to do is to talk to your employees, ask questions about their roles, and get their insight on any new changes you might try to enforce. Communication and feedback are essential to gaining respect and building trust with your new role as a leader.
Allowing the Team to Adapt
Once the team has started to evolve and accepted your new managerial role it is time to put your spin on things and maybe introduce some new ways of doing things. This is ultimately why you were hired and these decisions will directly impact the company by saving money.
Just one example of implementing a new procedure is using technology, like an online time clock that is able to simplify and improve employee management workflow. This saves time and money by automating the payroll, a reliable way to track daily clocking in/out of staff, and create detailed reports.
