Congratulations! You’ve been such a success in your job that you’ve been bumped up the career ladder to a management role. But once the celebrations are over you’d better brace yourself, because you’re moving into a whole new world of challenges.

Be careful of what you say to your colleagues everything you say will be taken differently. That means no more joking about performance. No more discussing other members of the team except in the proper professional context. No more speculating about the state and future of the organisation, because anything you say could be taken as solid truth. In general, you need to be very careful about the kind of jokes and throwaway remarks that may in the past have seemed totally harmless.

Vagueness is one flaw common to new managers. Employees look to their managers for clear and precise directions, and not receiving them can cause confusion and resentment, and seriously affect the working of the team.

Make sure you’re not keeping the most interesting or challenging work for yourself and assigning more routine tasks to your team members. This is particularly common when a manager is appointed from within the team. It may take some getting used to, but delegation is one of the key management skills, and it’s important to get into the habit as soon as you can.

A similar problem arises when managers take on work that’s being done badly by a team member. A good manager will sit down with the staff member to discuss the problem and find a way through it. Similarly, although it may go against your instincts you must be prepared to confront poor performers even if you are friendly with them. Never make it personal, but if a serious problem develops in your team you’re the one who’ll pay the price in the end.

Time management, motivating and leading staff, delegating and active listening are some of the key skills you need to develop as a manager. Get a good handle on these skills, and show the results and your value in the jobs market will soar.