leadership traps that new SEO team managers must avoid

You need to change your mindset to become a manager for an SEO team.

You can succeed in your new position by focusing less on your output and more on the needs of your team.

How to transition from a SEO manager to a professional SEO

It is difficult to make the transition from being an individual contributor into a manager.

Ram Charan, co-author of ” the Leadership Pipeline“, highlights the points where a career can transition from an individual contributor to a manager or team leader and then to directing managers.

It is a big change to go from “leading yourself”, to “leading others”. You need to adopt a new mentality as you shift from relying solely on yourself, to relying and coaching your team.

Although intimidating, the transition from an individual contributor to a leadership role is extremely rewarding.

The role of an SEO is different from the daily duties you perform as a manager. You will likely have to learn things on your own, as there is no overall training.

Your past successes and expertise are based on what you have done as an individual.

It is assumed that if you have been successful as an individual you are set up to lead a group (or you will learn how).

Technical HR topics make up the bulk of training for new managers.

• How to fill in HR forms
• Approve your vacation.
• How to fill out your annual performance review
• How to navigate the HR platform.

After I was promoted to a managerial position, I contacted several directors, managers and vice presidents to ask for their advice on management training and to get references.

No in-house training was provided on how to be a “good” manager, coach and develop employees, or demonstrate any of the behaviors I considered to be “good” managerial behavior.

It took me some time to find a group of peers to talk to about management, podcasts to listen, and resources to guide me on my journey to become a manager and leader.

You’ll need a new way of thinking, to communicate clearly, and to help your team succeed to be successful at this next step.

By using the principles from the Leadership Pipeline you can make the transition from leading yourself, to leading others.

Leading yourself (IC)	Leading Others
from
Your own efforts can yield results	Your team’s effort will yield results
What you need to deliver	Set clear goals for your team to achieve
Productivity is a key to being more efficient	How to make your team more productive
Planning your work	Plan work for your team
Self-motivation	Motivating your team
Develop yourself	Team members development

How to change your mindset from maker into manager

You achieved success as an individual through your expertise and outstanding performance in your role.

Dig deep: Your guide for the first 90-days as an enterprise SEO director

You will now measure your success by your team’s achievements, rather than your own. Each of the key points in “Leading Yourself”, has a pair that focuses on your team.

You can now focus on helping your team members develop their leadership skills while you learn how to lead others.

To move into a managerial role, you must embrace a new mindset.

It is not enough to be the best SEO. You must lead the team.

You’re not judged by your own performance, but rather on the results and efforts of your team.

New managers will be scared by these.

You can’t rely on yourself to deliver. That’s scary.

It is also necessary to acquire new skills in communication, management and leadership. (That’s scary, too!)

Managers often revert to old habits.

We tend to avoid stressful situations and do things we are good at.

You’re going to learn new behaviors when you transition from an individual to a manager.

You’ll be tempted at this stage to fall back into your old ways of doing things and to make common mistakes in early management.

How to avoid the common traps that new managers fall for

Trap 1 – Fixing mistakes instead of teaching the correct way to do it next time

When I became a manager of a team, I went through a period of transition where I wanted everything done exactly the way I did it.

This meant that I had to redo a lot of the work done by my team or spend time on it in order to achieve what I wanted.

I realized I had to do more than just polish my work. I also needed to help my team improve.

I decided to communicate expectations and feedback about the work instead of focusing on individual outputs. This helped them improve.

What to do if you fall into this trap

Your team was selected for a specific reason.

It is your job to help them learn and improve. You can still do 80% of the work if they are at that level. You have to keep coaching them to improve.

Instead of fixing their work, you can have a one-on-one review session where you go through the work and discuss how to improve.

Be clear about the output you expect from your team and put as much information as possible in a knowledgebase (wiki, checklists or procedure documents).

Trap 2 – Doing everything yourself, and refusing to let go of jobs that you once enjoyed

It’s another example of not letting yourself go and seeking comfort by doing what you are good at. This is a trap that I’m still falling into.

It’s comforting to tackle a project or task and finish it the way you want. It feels good to get it done and know you still have it.

You’ve also lost two opportunities for development.

• You can grow if you improve your communication skills and detail project goals.
• To grow in your team by delivering a project.

Avoid this trap

You may be a “player coach” at times and lead your own projects.

You should try to delegate to your team as much as you can.

If your boss asks that you complete a project, they are not asking you to finish it. In this case, your team is an extension to you.

If you’re not asked to lead the team, delegate your responsibilities to other members.

Trap 3: Try to be “one of the team” rather than leading the group

It’s especially hard when you are promoted from being a member of a group to leading a group.

When you are the expert or go-to person in the team, you have to be careful when giving performance reviews.

You need to change your team’s behaviors. While you may not want to shut off all humor and empathy, you should still be able to show some.

You are now a leader and manager, and you have the responsibility to hold team members responsible for their work and behavior.

The new manager is more concerned about being liked by the team than with providing the feedback and coaching needed to make the team perform at its best.

Avoid this trap

Be sure to communicate clearly and set expectations.

According to engagement surveys, teams expect leaders to hold individuals accountable and communicate with them.

Create a culture where people feel valued and are held accountable.

Trap #4: Failure to address performance or behavior issues early

Dealing with performance issues is one of the less fun aspects of managing.

Managers avoid performance issues to appear like they are “part of the team” and to look good.

You must act immediately if you notice a problem with team behavior.

You will have to deal with the issue in future if you do not.

How to avoid the trap

Talk to the member of your team immediately about any issues with their behavior or performance.

It may make you uncomfortable, but if you don’t address it your team will suffer.

When you ignore behavior issues, your high-performing employees will be resentful.

For them, this is a sign that their behavior does not matter and you will have retention problems on your hands very soon.

Dig deep: The career path of SEO: How it might look and how you can level up

Trap 5: Giving too little (positive) feedback

Managers, in general do not provide enough positive feedback. This is the opposite of failing to deal with performance issues.

It’s the feeling that “nothing is bad news,” but it leaves your team in a state of uncertainty.

Team members can feel worse when they are not given feedback.

Your team member might interpret what you meant as tacit approval (“You’re doing an excellent job and don’t need intervention”) as criticism (“I’m so bad at my job, he won’t speak to me”).

Manager Tools, an online management resource that I use, gives specific guidelines on when and how to give feedback.

Avoid this trap

Your job is to motivate and inspire your team.

Your team will achieve more if you provide feedback and coaching.

Make a note of the positive behaviors you observe and mention them in your feedback sessions or one-on-one meetings.

You can encourage your team to be on the lookout and tell them that you’ve noticed the behavior.

Example:

• Thank you for sending the notes from the meeting to the team. This shows that you are organized and engaged. “Please keep doing that.”

What you should do as a newly appointed manager

What should you now do as a newly appointed manager, knowing the traps you need to avoid?

All begins with building trust and relationships.

You should go on an listening tour when you are promoted to manager.

Plan one-on-ones for each member of your team and key stakeholders.

It’s important to do this even if your promotion is imminent and you know everyone.

As a team manager, the beginning of your tenure is the perfect time to go out and have conversations.

Conversations with partners and stakeholders from other departments will change. Discussions will shift from what you can achieve to what your team must do to succeed.

It is important to have one-on-ones when establishing new relationships with team members.

Asking questions to your team will help you better understand their goals and work.

It’s a journey that is full of challenges, but also very rewarding. You’ll face many challenges, but the rewards are great. Your team can achieve so much more than you could by yourself.

The article 5 leadership traps that new SEO team leaders should avoid first appeared on Search Engine Land.