Newly promoted managers can often, despite their past successes, struggle with their new responsibilities. It’s classic: you’re good at your job, you get promoted to the higher echelons of management and then find yourself struggling. I’ve walked in those shoes. The solution is straightforward, but first I’d like to mention the five greatest challenges managers worry about: sales, profitability, managing people, costs and competitors. So why do managers so frequently focus on the ‘hard processes’ of strategy, targets and policies, to the exclusion of ‘soft skills’ of managing people?

In the latest Sunday Times Best 100 Companies to Work For list, it’s interesting to note the theme across the top organisations: good leadership and management, teamwork and communication. These ‘soft skills’ - if applied consistently and in balance with the ‘hard processes’- make for a successful manager. So, here are the building blocks for new managers:

Team climate: as a manager, part of your role and responsibility is to create a culture that enables high performance. This sets the foundation for everything else. You can do this by ensuring people’s behaviour and attitudes are aligned to your organisation’s values. Hold people to account for bad behaviour. Be constructive and assertive with your feedback.

Communication: Engage all staff and aim to influence others. Listen, be in tune with what’s not being said. Is your style of communication adding to your team’s issues? Are your team confident to feed back? If not, why not?

Build positive relationships: make the time to develop genuine rapport. This means building trust, respecting different points of view and holding judgement.

Manage performance: ensure clarity of objectives, forward plan, manage resources to ensure objectives are met and communicate.

Manage inappropriate behaviour: get the balance right of holding yourself and others to account. Give consistent feedback that keeps others engaged, committed and motivated.

Give praise. Make it your mantra to catch someone doing something right every day. A simple thank you goes a long way to influencing your team’s motivation and commitment.

The final building block is confidence. Believe in yourself. You can be a successful manager.