---
title: "How Can New Regional Managers Strengthen Execution?"
description: "New regional managers often start with enthusiasm and ambition, but many fall into a vicious cycle where pushing harder leads to resistance. This article offers practical advice on how to enhance subordinates' execution, emphasizing understanding before action, building relationships, communicating effectively, and managing with a strategic approach."
author: "吕谏"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2014-12-04"
language: "en"
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# How Can New Regional Managers Strengthen Execution?

> New regional managers often start with enthusiasm and ambition, but many fall into a vicious cycle where pushing harder leads to resistance. This article offers practical advice on how to enhance subordinates' execution, emphasizing understanding before action, building relationships, communicating effectively, and managing with a strategic approach.

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Generally, a newly appointed regional manager is full of passion and ambition, eager to deliver impressive results to prove their capability and justify their superior's choice. However, many regions easily fall into a vicious cycle where aggressive promotion leads to reverse outcomes. The stronger the desire for change, the greater the force applied, and the greater the reaction force. Casually dismissing subordinates deemed to lack execution can likely cause a decline in execution among other employees, triggering a reverse snowball effect in the organizational system. So how can you strengthen subordinates' execution? Based on my previous management experience as a regional manager, I'd like to share the following viewpoints, hoping to offer some reference.

**Understand First, Then Prescribe the Right Remedy**
Understand the reasons for the previous regional manager's departure. If there was a regional manager in the area before, you should roughly figure out why they left: Was it a voluntary resignation? What were the motivations? Was it due to irreconcilable internal issues in the area company, escaping because the company was beyond saving, or leaving for external temptations? The purpose of understanding is to avoid repeating past mistakes and to avoid touching the boss's sore spots.

Additionally, you need to communicate with the HR department to understand your subordinates' personnel status, compensation, social backgrounds, and even internal nepotism. Then analyze yourself accordingly: Does your personal management style and professional competence fit? Do you have a comprehensive and feasible work plan? As a newcomer to an area company, you have no personal authority yet, and this period determines whether you will have authority in the future. If necessary, learn to use any leverage, like using a feather as a command arrow or borrowing a tiger's skin as a banner, to maintain your leadership dignity. Since a new broom sweeps clean, but how to wield that broom requires careful planning; burning has risks, so you need a contingency plan. The intention is not the fire itself; you need to publicize everything you want to promote.

**Be a Person First, Then Do Things**
As a new regional manager, learn to be a person first. Start by understanding your subordinates through multiple channels. Only by understanding your subordinates can you know how to work with each one, quickly integrate into the team, and establish your authority. Second, demonstrate your work capability so subordinates know you are a leader who can provide development and be trusted, and that your decisions are correct. Only then will subordinates support you and diligently execute your decisions, even if some are reluctant. Of course, conflicts are everywhere; the key is to find the cause and analyze calmly. Is it something you did that caused dissatisfaction or resistance? Many aspects warrant self-reflection and analysis, then summarize and find a good solution that matches your personality.

As a newly appointed regional manager, I believe the first priority is to integrate into the company and team as quickly as possible—this is what's meant by "be a person first, then do things." However, during this integration, you must maintain a proper distance between yourself and employees. In a new area, without sufficient mutual trust, execution is greatly compromised. So when executing a new task, a new regional manager must consider issues rigorously and follow through on promises—this is the time to showcase your charm and decisiveness.

**Stay Low-Key First, Then Speak**
After taking office, try to stay low-key. Unlike many managers who, upon arrival, frequently call people for talks under the guise of understanding the situation, like a work investigation team, causing anxiety, be careful not to overdo such talks. Although as a regional manager you have many professional matters to understand and have the right to be informed, frequent talks often yield poor results. The right approach is to listen more and observe more. Also, don't pry around. If you ask everyone about everything, it not only has little positive effect but also breeds resentment. Furthermore, avoid underhanded tactics. If you use shady methods to gather intelligence, people will look down on you, some may think you have character issues, and you might even be caught off guard, leaving yourself embarrassed.

So, don't voice opinions randomly when you don't know the facts and background. When you do speak, seize the opportunity and be precise and impactful. New regional managers must be careful with their words: First, don't tell lies. Words are the voice of the heart; don't say what you don't mean. An erroneous heartfelt statement is more pleasant than a correct but insincere one. Second, don't engage in high-sounding talk. In this society, there are many talkers but few doers; business is about practical matters. Some managers speak eloquently in meetings but say nothing substantive. Third, don't speak carelessly. Regional managers must remember: You are not an ordinary employee; don't speak casually to please everyone. You must be responsible for your words. So when speaking, think maturely, and be organized, structured, and logical. Also, never casually say things that cannot be executed.

**Communicate First, Then Manage**
How to communicate with subordinates depends on your own efforts. Generally, you should form your unique viewpoints after fully understanding the relevant situation, and create a report after a certain period. This report should be communicated with relevant people (including the boss) before submission. Even for matters within your own purview, when you first take office, you should communicate with key people and obtain basic consensus before publicly exercising your authority. Avoid speaking without prior communication; rushing to state your views can easily offend people and lead to embarrassment. So communicating with subordinates is a serious matter; when you speak, get to the point, and your views should be well-founded, actionable, and immediately effective.

Then, for management purposes, a regional manager can establish new rules, but they must not conflict with old systems. Especially when starting out, even if the old system is unreasonable, don't easily touch it. This is the most basic professional experience for a new regional manager. Not understanding this will not only prevent you from achieving things but also make you the target of opposition. Even if the boss supports you, you'll still suffer. Old systems should only be changed after you've won battles and gained authority; never overturn all old systems upon arrival—that's the worst thing to do.

**Process First, Then System**
After clarifying the above points, the regional manager should inspect subordinates' work. At this time, you must tell subordinates the inspection methods, standards, and operational processes. What is a process for? It's to enhance execution. If the company's process awareness was lacking or training insufficient, you should follow up closely to prevent subordinates from slacking or making mistakes. When business techniques are unfamiliar, someone needs to guide them; early execution failures are not the subordinates' fault but the supervisor's responsibility. At company meetings, you should state that previous errors were due to unclear processes; now that you've explained the processes, if they still can't execute, it's their responsibility. Early on, you need to train subordinates more, supervise their work more, and help them fix issues. Your task is to make subordinates' work techniques proficient and raise their self-check awareness, so later you won't need to spend much effort following up, and they'll do well. Who does these things?

After taking office, require everyone to act according to the system, because the power of the system is great. When there are systems, you need a regional manager with strong execution; when there are no systems, you need a regional manager with flexible thinking and analytical skills to create systems, and a regional manager with good execution to implement them. Systems are signposts that ensure the company operates well; the manager is the strategist in the car, and subordinates are the wheels. If the system is wrong, the strategist must find ways to change it; if there's no system, the strategist must establish one; if there's no strategist, chaos is likely. Good execution requires systems as signposts, a regional manager as strategist, and subordinates as wheels—all indispensable.

**Set an Example First, Then Build Image**
A new regional manager may encounter people who deliberately create difficulties. Don't rush; adjust slowly. For uncooperative subordinates, you can avoid giving them important tasks initially, unless they are indispensable; otherwise, prioritize promoting cooperative subordinates. However, in essence, a regional manager must quickly demonstrate capability, as this authority comes from subordinates' recognition, not just appointment. Legal authority should not be abused; gaining subordinates' recognition is crucial. If someone deliberately makes things difficult, especially a key member, you should target a less important person, make an example of them to warn others, and then present a new image to subordinates to adjust the team's atmosphere. But be careful: the example must be significant, the scope of punishment must be small, and team sacrifice must be minimal—only target a very specific and dispensable person, i.e., a sacrificial lamb. Otherwise, instead of establishing a new image, you'll cause instability and end up being the one to leave.

The above points have a premise: you can indeed lead the team and manage the area company well. As a new regional manager, if you truly lack the ability to manage at present, you must learn to use people with sincerity, virtue, and heavy rewards; be magnanimous, and let capable people accomplish what you want. Or voluntarily resign. In fact, subordinates' execution capability is essentially managers' people-management ability, and more importantly, managing subordinates' thoughts. Especially in team management, without a clear ideology, culture, and goals, team combat effectiveness may be unsatisfactory. Pay attention to the ideological management of employees and the team, and you'll discover new things; execution capability will definitely be very strong.

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