Managers are often called upon to handle change in their organizations. Some changes are small and do not require much of a manager. But many are significant, requiring a strong leader to orchestrate the details. Whether it be handling new products, new technologies, new people, or new departmental missions, managers must be able to deal with change in an efficient and non-disruptive way.

This week, Skye Learning is excited to spotlight Shelley Mitchell, a subject matter expert for Skye’s Certificate in Sustainable Management.

Mitchell has an impressive academic background in natural resources management and strategic management. Dr. Mitchell is a professor of Management & Sustainability at Hult International Business School. She has also taught at the University of New Hampshire’s Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics and is the former Executive Director of the Seacoast Land Trust. Dr. Mitchell holds a B.A. in Forestry and Natural Resources Management, an M.B.A., and a Ph.D. in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies.

New managers should expect a learning-curve when transitioning into a leadership position for the first time. The process of adapting to new responsibilities, goals, and challenges takes persistence and determination, along with support from our peers, mentors, and superiors.

Moving From Peer to Boss

Moving from peer to boss can be challenging because you will need to establish a new relationship with friends who were peers and draw upon the boundaries of that new relationship when making decisions.

As part of its "Project Oxygen," designed to improve managerial performance, Google analyzed more than 10,000 performance reviews, feedback surveys, and other reports to figure out what makes a manager effective. After analyzing the data, the company circulated eight behaviors that managers could model to improve the quality of their management. Check out our latest infographic to learn more.

Once you’ve assembled your team, it’s important to focus on building a positive team environment. As a project manager, you will be responsible for dealing with both the good and the bad. Positive team morale can eliminate project setbacks, issues, and miscommunication. Check out our latest infographic which covers ten tips for building a positive team environment.

They collaborate, they coordinate, and they multi-task: Emergency managers are the people on the spot in times of public crisis. It's their job to support the first responders and handle all the complex logistics involved in keeping people safe when danger strikes. Roderick Fraser, president of Professional Leadership and Management LLC and former Boston Fire Commissioner, explains in our latest Skye Learning video.

One of the biggest mistakes a project manager can make? Management consultant Johanna Rothman says it’s the tendency to get involved in the project work itself. “As soon as you get stuck doing the work on the project, your project is doomed because you're not taking a look at the entire context of the project,” she says.  Check out our latest Skye Learning video for more of her words of wisdom. 

Management expert Henry Mintzberg has argued that a manager's work can be boiled down to ten common roles. According to Mintzberg, these roles, or expectations for a manager's behavior, fall into three categories: informational (managing by information), interpersonal (managing through people), and decisional (managing through action). Check out our infographic to learn more.

Rapid changes in technology are constantly making headlines—and they’re also making headaches for IT departments and company managers alike. Today’s managers face an increasing scarcity of trained personnel, a rise in security breaches, and a host of other IT problems, all competing for their attention. And doing nothing is definitely not an option: IT is no longer just a business enabler, it is a critical business driver, and businesses ignore the shifting IT landscape at their own peril.

One of the most important, and most complex, tasks for any team leader or project manager is effectively managing the people assigned to the project. Experienced project leaders know that successful projects are not the culmination of elaborate procedures, complicated tools, or elaborate techniques; they succeed because the people involved are integrated, organized, and empowered, which then frees them to put their skills to use in the most effective way possible.