Inducting Organization Managers

Abstract

If experienced managers find their jobs to be exhausting and stressful-and most surveys indicate they do- then what is it like for newcomers? Not surprisingly, words such as lost, overwhelmed, and shell-shocked pervade the literature on first-year managers.Traditionally, rookie managers have been left to sink or swim. Having completed a university training program, they are presumed to be prepared, and get little direction beyond bland encouragement or an occasional practical tip. But that attitude is changing as organizations realize that a scarcity of high-quality managers means promising managers should not only be energetically recruited but carefully nurtured once they're on board.Formal induction programs are too new to have generated a significant body of empirical research, but there is a growing literature that articulates a rationale for such programs, describes the efforts of districts to nurture new managers, and provides early testimony that induction efforts are well-received. This Digest examines the challenges faced by new managers.