You've done it. The higher ups have recognized your talent and rewarded your hard work by promoting you to a management position. While you deserve to pat yourself on the back for the achievement, you are smart enough to know that you can't just sit back and relax. You want to continually evolve and become a great manager. To do so, you need to follow some guidelines.

Employee Relations

First, feel free to let your employees do their work without micromanaging.

"Don't assume that you do or have to know everything," says Mary Diebold, division director of Robert Half Management Resources in Minneapolis. "Be open minded, willing to listen and leverage the knowledge of your employees."

By the same token, workers must be held accountable.

"Employees want to feel that their work and tasks are important," says Diebold. "If you tell employees to do something or that you expect something from them, yet you don't follow up and hold them accountable, that task starts to lose value and sense of importance to employees."

Scott Gunderson, professor and co-chair of business at Dakota County Technical College, notes that a manager needs to know the staff's capabilities.

"Before delegating, you need to know the skills and capabilities of your employees," says Gunderson. "Managers who get to know and trust their people will be much more effective."

Hone Your Skills

No matter what education and training you have, you should find more.

"Seek out employer-sponsored support through training and mentoring," advises Gunderson. "Consider outside sources to support your development including workshops or formal higher education."

Reliability and credibility are crucial both in dealing with upper management, and also with employees. "If you don't follow through on what you say you'll do, you will lose their respect and will be seen as unreliable, and will eventually lose their support," says Diebold.

"Credibility is the foundation to good management," says Gunderson. "Without it, people won't respect you or support you fully."

Self assessment can help you determine if you're really performing up to par.

"Take time to reflect," advises Diebold. "Think about, `Who was the best boss that I ever had?'"

Gunderson and Diebold also suggest examining your strengths and weaknesses, and then seeking opportunities for personal development.

"Every time you enter a new position, you should look to re-assess yourself compared to the new responsibilities," adds Gunderson. "This is not a one time event."

It's also important that the manager is able to represent the team to the boss.

"Communication goes both ways meaning you communicate with your employees and your boss," says Gunderson. "Work to be on the same page."

Robert Elsenpeter is a freelance writer from Blaine.