New managers are handed a lot at once, from managing performance and resolving conflict to prioritising work, supporting team members and balancing expectations from above and below.
Many step into the role with plenty of technical skill and very little preparation for the human side of the job. For L&D leaders, this is a familiar problem, but it’s a hard one to size up accurately. Knowing exactly where new managers are struggling is difficult, as without observing every one-to-one or meeting, you can’t capture those gaps with any accuracy.
This is why business simulations are particularly well suited to new management. Rather than assuming what a new manager cohort needs based on a generic leadership framework, they show you precisely where the gaps sit, then give you the basis for a plan built around what’s missing.
How do business simulations work?
Business simulations put people through realistic, role-specific scenarios and surface data on how they respond. For new managers, this could include navigating a dip in team performance, balancing conflicting priorities, deciding when to escalate an issue, or handling a situation where a team member needs support.
It’s a good chance for them to work through these conversations, but the most useful part for organisations is the diagnostic data it produces. Business simulations can uncover specific gaps in judgement, communication, or decision-making that a generic framework wouldn’t catch. That insight then becomes the basis for a plan built around what a cohort needs to grow as new managers.
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Why simulations work well for new managers specifically
New managers are a particularly good fit for this approach, for a few reasons.
First, the leap into management is sometimes not reflected in traditional training. Someone can excel technically and still be underprepared for handling a defensive team member or delivering constructive feedback. A simulation surfaces this gap directly, rather than waiting for it to show up in a real, high-stakes management situation.
Second, new manager cohorts often carry inconsistent gaps. One person might struggle with confidence, another with structure. Someone else might read the room well but fall apart under pushback. A generic leadership programme treats everyone the same, but a simulation shows you where each person, or the cohort as a whole, is lagging, so the plan that follows can be targeted.
Third, the cost of getting it wrong is high. A poorly handled conversation early in someone’s management career can damage trust with their team for months. Spotting the gap before that happens, and addressing it directly, protects both the new manager and the team around them.
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How simulations can help new managers: 5 examples
Managing people is a complex, often messy transition, with a wide range of capabilities needed for the role. Here are five use cases for how simulations can support a new manager’s development:
1. Building confidence
A simulation might reveal that a new manager understands the right process but struggles to apply it when the situation becomes more complex. They may hesitate, over-explain or avoid making a clear decision. A refresher on policy is not the right answer here. They may need coaching, repeated scenario practice and support from an experienced manager to build confidence over time.
2. Managing conflict and de-escalation
A retail business promotes a new batch of team leads ahead of a busy trading period. Run through a simulation which includes a customer escalation, and it becomes clear that most of the cohort default to apologising rather than resolving, offering a refund or discount before addressing what went wrong. It’s a pattern across the group, pointing to a specific addition to the programme (de-escalation and resolution training).
3. Holding a difficult one-to-one
A simulated one-to-one with a disengaged team member highlights two patterns: some managers stick rigidly to a scripted agenda and miss the emotional cues, others let the conversation drift so far off track that nothing gets resolved. Each needs different support; listening skills for one group, structure and process follow-through for the other.
4. Conflict resolution between team members
A disagreement between two team members during a simulation shows a new manager jumping straight to smoothing things over, agreeing with whoever spoke last just to keep the peace, without addressing what caused the tension. What follows is coaching on how to mediate during a disagreement. Rerunning the simulation afterwards shows whether the coaching has changed how they handled it after intervention.
5. Giving feedback on a piece of work
A simulation reveals that, when giving feedback on poor quality work, a manager focuses so much on being encouraging that they avoid addressing what needs to improve. They praise the team member’s effort and soften the issues, but leave them unclear on what went wrong or what they should do differently next time. That points to an eLearning course on giving constructive criticism effectively, along with coaching from their own manager on feedback frameworks to use.
👉 Read next: How to conduct a learning needs analysis
Get new managers ready for what’s ahead
New managers face high-stakes moments early, often before they’re fully ready for them. OL Business Simulations give you a way to see where the capability gaps sit, along with a tailored action plan from our expert consultants.
