UNDERSTANDING YOUR NEW ROLE TOOL

Planning Your Immediate Learning Needs

As a new manager, you may have a lot to learn in a relatively short period of time.

Purpose
In your first days as a new manager, you’ll need to quickly identify your learning agenda—the things you
need to know about your group and the skills you need to master immediately to begin making a
contribution.
As you build your learning agenda, you’ll need to be strategic—you will want to prioritize what learning
will make the biggest difference the soonest.
Over time, as you become more familiar with your managerial role and learn from your workplace
experiences, you will want to update your learning agenda to address your ongoing needs.

1. Identify My Group's Top Priorities

What are my group's most urgent priorities—the results that our success depends on?
 Example: Redesign and launch the company's Web site so that it is delivered on time and on budget.


2. Determine How I Will Support My Group

How can I support my group's efforts to meet its top-priority goals? Specifically, what
knowledge and/or skills do I need in order to provide that support?
 Example: I need to track the budget and allocate resources to ensure that the schedule is met. Since I am not
familiar with the group's project planning software, I must learn how to use the software so that I can better
manage resource allocation.


3. Examine Potential Obstacles

What barriers are getting in the way of my group achieving its immediate goals? In
addition to resource needs, be sure to consider other obstacles such as your group's culture—
the way people make decisions, work together, and handle problems—and possible cross-
functional issues.
 Example: There are not enough resources to support development of the Web site; delays that have already
been incurred in the first phase of development make it unlikely that the Web site will be developed on time.

What are the perceived solutions to these obstacles?
 Example: Obtain additional resources to accelerate the development schedule, and ask Rob, senior project
leader, to manage the company's expectations about delivery of the Web site.

What additional knowledge and/or skills do I need to help my group address them?
 Example: Since I am not familiar with how to justify additional resource needs, I must learn how to develop a
business case for senior management's review.


© 2005 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved.

 Planning Your Immediate Learning Needs (Continued)

4. Confirm My Conclusions with My Boss

Meet with my boss to discuss my thoughts and reach agreement on my group's most
urgent priorities, potential obstacles, and proposed solutions.
 Example: My boss and I are in agreement about our group's top priority goals and potential obstacles. We
also agreed that I should manage the company's expectations about the redesign and launch of the company's
Web site.

Confirm with my boss how my responsibilities in supporting my group translate into
learning needs.
 Example: In order to manage the company's expectations about the redesign of the Web site, I need to
strengthen my networking skills. To obtain additional resources, I need to learn how to develop a business case
and strengthen my presentation skills. Learn the project planning software to better manage resource
allocations.


5. Create a Learning Plan

How will I acquire these skills? Target completion
date
Example:
 Complete online training program in project planning software March 12
 Meet with my group's financial analyst to review steps in preparing a business April 1
case for senior management
 Take a half-day seminar on making and delivering effective presentations May 15
 Read articles on networking and then meet with key members of my network March 7, 14, 21

© 2005 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved.