SINCE my early days in college, I've studied management styles, by reading about businesses, top leaders and entrepreneurs, usually in my free time.

As the low man on the totem pole at one of the largest organisations on the planet (IBM ), I had the opportunity to work with great managers and I was able to watch less than perfect managers struggle through the process.

Today, I'm a co-founder of a small company, and I'm quickly learning that management is no easy task. It’s an art that probably takes years to master. Every manager, no matter how great, still runs into challenges that question what they think they know, every single day.

So, for your reference (and mine), here's a list of nine management mistakes that new managers can hopefully avoid.

1. Doing too much work

Going from employee to manager is a promotion. It means more responsibility, and the responsibility is making sure everyone else gets their work done. Then you get yours done.

If you're at the office (virtual or not) for 10 hours, a majority of that time should be devoted to talking with employees, figuring out how to improve your team -- their assignments, their self-management skills, and your relationship with them.

The funny thing is that when you become a manager, and your personal task list shrinks, I guarantee your time at the office will grow. Since you're not spending all day in front of a computer checking off your to-do list, you've got to get the actual work done somehow. And often, it will be early in the morning or late at night, when everyone else is still sleeping or celebrating the end of another work day.

Read: He's mean. She's a grump. They got promoted!

2. Failing to realise what 'work' is, now

In high school and college, work consists of papers, studying and calculus problems. When you graduate to the real world, typical entry-level work means sitting in a cubicle, staring at a computer and putting together PowerPoint Presentations or creating Excel documents.

Then, all of a sudden, you’re promoted to manager and everything changes. High school, college and entry level life are all about hands on, check off my to-do list type of work. Management work is completely different. It’s talking, it’s thinking, it’s planning, but it’s still work and it’s more vital to the bottom line.

If you don't turn that corner and come to grips with the fact that when you’re just chatting with someone about their weekend, you’re actually doing work, then you will fail as a manager, because this means you think it's about you, when in reality it’s about everyone else.

3. Delegating the grunt work

You have a lot of authority as a manager; you can delegate all of your work if you really want to. But be careful. Before you delegate anything, ask yourself this question, "Am I delegating this because it's boring and tedious, or am I delegating this because it truly makes more sense for someone else to do it?"

Obviously, you have to delegate grunt work sometimes. But when you do, be sure to explain why you're delegating, how it's helping the company, and be sure to delegate some interesting work the next time around.

Watch video: Want to start a biz but don't have the moolah?

Illustration: Abhijeet Kini

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