The American Copy Editors Society>

The newspaper industry has become like the weather in Chicago — it changes every five minutes.  If you’re among the lucky that survived the layoffs, buyouts, forced-outs, closings, etc. over the past two years, it’s likely you inherited a lot of new work.

It’s been tough for everyone, especially new managers who are inheriting some honked off staffs, stressed out upper management and ever-increasing fickle readers.  On the plus-side, it’s a great time to be a manager — no rule is sacred anymore and the possibilities are endless.  The jury’s still out on whether employees who fear for their jobs are more accommodating of change, but there’s little doubt that the best people focus on the big picture and solutions during a crisis.  And there is help out there for new managers.

AP recently pub’d an article for new managers that has a lot of good advice. In addition, there are other good resources out there (in addition to ACES). Jill Geisler of Poynter writes an excellent column (http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=34&aid=137315) and Edward Miller also puts out a weekly column on management that you can sign up to get in your e-mail (http://www.newsroomleadership.com/reflections.html). 

My personal advice: Copy editors are perfectionists, doers and fixers. One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a manager is thinking you can fix everything and do everything — and make the world perfect. You can’t. There is no such thing as an employee who is 100% happy and no newspaper that is 100% perfect. Accept the fact that you’re human, prioritize your goals and cut yourself some slack.

Here are some excerpts from AP’s article:

Shift your focus:As an employee, it’s natural and important to focus on your individual performance. But as a manager, you’re now responsible for helping other people do well, and that means you need to change your perspective. Many managers, out of sheer insecurity, feel the need to constantly one-up their employees, said Curt Coffman, a management consultant and co-author of “First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently.” That’s a big mistake, though, since it can stifle employees’ creativity. It can also damage managers’ credibility by suggesting they feel threatened by staff members. Instead of telling workers “don’t be better than me,” managers should encourage them to aspire to excellence, he said.

Know your people: To get their employees to succeed, new managers need to relate to staffers on an individual level. To start doing that, Coffman said it can be helpful to set up casual with employees to understand what motivates them. Right now, employees may be weary of opening up to a boss or taking orders from someone new, especially if that person was formerly a colleague. Rather than grilling employees, simply ask: How can I help you do your job better? Also, simple changes such as getting an unpopular rule reversed can do wonders toward building support for a new manager.

Evaluate progress: Don’t get overwhelmed trying to change everything at once. One management expert suggests setting a simple goal, like accomplishing three tasks a day. It may sound small, but when new managers are facing “a million and one things” to do, deciding on the three most important goals can be highly productive.

Don’t doubt yourself: New managers often struggle to overcome another challenge: insecurity. Peter Eickelberg, the senior investment officer at Phoenix wealth management and investment planning firm Keats, Connelly and Associates LLC, was moved into a management role last year after his boss suddenly quit. He now oversees four people, and said it was a tough transition. “When you’re a first-time supervisor, your own self doubt gets in the way,” he said. “And you think, ‘Why would these people look at me as a supervisor, when until yesterday, I was on the same level as they are?’” His advice: Recognize that power doesn’t come immediately, and that it takes time and plenty of late hours to get fully organized and immersed in the role. To build credibility, new managers should spend time simply observing and taking suggestions from their employees, Harvard’s Hill said. And be prepared for the fact that employees will be judging you from day one. “Don’t be paranoid about it, but, yes, people are watching your every move,” Hill said.