Leading a team comes more naturally to some people, but they’re a pretty rare breed. If you wouldn’t consider yourself one of them, know that management and leadership are professional skills that can be learned and improved upon, both through concrete practice and more gradual experience. Brendan Browne, vice president of global talent acquisition at LinkedIn, breaks down the fundamentals of good management that every first-time supervisor should know, the biggest mistakes to avoid, and the best management tips he’s learned over his career.

  1. Not being able to give proper feedback, either at all or in the right manner. “Provide clear feedback (both positive and constructive) to people on your team regularly,” he says. “This way, any feedback can be put in place immediately, and there are no surprises to your team when a more formal review takes place.”
  2. Being unreceptive to feedback. “As a leader, you need to know what you do well, as well as where your weaknesses lie, so you can improve on them. While constructive feedback can be difficult, it’s crucial to ensuring you grow as a professional and a manager,” Browne says.
  3. Micromanaging. No surprise here. It’s tough to let go, and to trust someone other than yourself, but delegating is absolutely essential for the team’s growth and success. Giving up some control also sends a reassuring message to your reports: “It’s important that the team feels you trust them and have their support as needed,” Browne says. “I’ve been going on my own journey of becoming more vulnerable as a leader,” he says. “I share more about my own failures (and what I’ve learned from them), talk more about my passions and what I do when I’m not thinking about recruiting (like making music), and asking for more feedback (not only from my own team members but also from my organization as a whole).” Our weaknesses are often how we relate to others, and acknowledging them and working on them is how they turn into strengths. RELATED: How to Get Ahead in Your Career (Without Stepping on People’s Toes)