First-time managers often encounter problems in a range of their duties. often because in their previous role, they never had to do it. They were promoted based on their strengths, and now find themselves dealing with budgets, reports, employees and so on. So a team perspective, they have to go froma selfish to a selfless act of looking after their people, developing them and at the same time making them succeed.

In a recent article appearing Business Intelligence, it wrote this about new managers.

In case you haven’t noticed yet, your managers can cause you enormous problems–especially when it involves the law. To remind you of those perils, HR Specialist unveiled its list of the 12 most common mistakes made by managers that can result in litigation. To keep you on your toes, here are some to remember:

• Sloppy documentation. Managers should speak and write (even in e-mail) as if a jury will examine their comments some day.
 

• Not knowing their company’s policies and procedures. When managers admit ignorance in court, juries typically view that as purposeful, not forgetful.

• Giving inflated appraisals during performance reviews. If a manager later cites “poor performance” for an employee’s termination, overly positive appraisals can create a credibility gap.

• “Papering” an employee’s file. Courts will see through a rush of disciplinary actions cited in the days before a termination.
 

• Interview errors (e.g., questions about age, race, religion, political affiliation). Hiring managers should stay away from any question that doesn’t relate to gauging how well the person would perform the job.
 

• Being rude or mean-spirited. No matter how great your legal defense, you’ll face an uphill battle in court if your manager comes across as rude or insensitive.