Free guide

Most managers learn the hard way.
This guide skips that part.

You were promoted because you were good at your job. Nobody promoted you because you'd had the right management training. This guide covers the nine mistakes most new managers make in year one — and what to do instead.

✓ 40+ years of people management

✓ CMI Chartered Fellow

✓ Free — no card required

Free guide

The People Mentor

From Colleague to Manager

The 9 mistakes most new managers make in year one

Waiting until something is serious before you say anything
Trying to stay popular with everyone
Solving every problem your team brings you
Assuming your team knows what you expect
Managing everyone the same way

Nicola Richardson | The People Mentor

Who this is for

This guide was written for you if...

You don't need years of management experience to get value from this. You need to be honest about where you are right now.

✓

You've recently been promoted

You're in your first year as a manager and finding the people side harder than you expected.

✓

You were promoted from within the team

You're managing people you used to work alongside and navigating that shift without a rulebook.

✓

You're avoiding conversations you know you need to have

There's something you've noticed, something you need to say, and you keep putting it off.

✓

You weren't given any real management training

You were handed a job title and told to get on with it. Most managers were.

✓

You want to be a manager people actually respect

Not just someone with a title — someone whose team trusts them to be fair, consistent, and honest.

✓

You're further into your career but feel underprepared

Experience doesn't always fill the gaps that proper preparation would have closed earlier.

Not sure if this is for you?

If you manage at least one person and you've ever walked away from a situation thinking "I'm not sure I handled that well" — it's for you.

What's inside

Nine mistakes. All avoidable.

Each one comes up constantly across every sector and experience level. Most happen because nobody told you what to expect.

01

Waiting until something is serious before you say anything

02

Trying to stay popular with everyone

03

Solving every problem your team brings you

04

Assuming your team already knows what you expect

05

Managing everyone the same way

06

Only giving feedback at formal review time

07

Thinking your job is to have all the answers

08

Not making time for the team as individuals

09

Thinking that asking for help means you're not cut out for this

About Nicola

I've been in these rooms for over 40 years

I started managing people at 17 when I took over the family business after my father was hospitalised. Nobody gave me a framework. I worked it out the hard way — through difficult conversations, mistakes, and a lot of learning on the job.

Since then I've worked with managers and leaders across the Civil Service, the care sector, and UK businesses of every size. I'm a CMI Chartered Fellow, a qualified coach, and the author of How to Make Difficult Conversations Easier in the Workplace.

The nine mistakes in this guide are the ones I see most often. In 40 years, they haven't changed much. But the managers who name them early do.

CMI Chartered Fellow CMI Level 7 40+ years experience Published author