LinkedIn Post Example: First-Time Manager Lesson

I became a manager 6 months ago. Here's what I've learned: • Leadership is about serving others • The best managers listen more than they talk • People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care • Empathy is your greatest tool Being a new manager is hard but so rewarding. Trust the process! 💪 #management #leadership #newmanager #growthmindset

I became a manager six months ago. Last month I almost lost my best engineer because I didn't notice she was burned out. She'd been shipping faster than anyone on the team. I took that as a sign she was thriving. Turns out she was working weekends to compensate for a teammate who wasn't pulling their weight, and she was too professional to complain about it. I found out when she asked to move to another team. When I asked why, she said: "I told you in three different one-on-ones that the workload was uneven, and each time you said 'let's keep an eye on it.' Nothing changed." She was right. I'd been hearing her without listening. "Keep an eye on it" was my way of avoiding a hard conversation with the underperformer. I had the hard conversation the next day. Redistributed the work. She stayed. New rule: if someone raises the same issue twice, it's not an observation. It's a request for help.