The short answer
Every new manager is improvising at first. The move isn't to find a perfect framework — it's to pick one real problem in front of you, decide what you actually think is right, and act on that. Clarity builds from small decisions made on purpose, not from waiting until you feel ready.
You got promoted because you were good at a job. Now you're in a different job, and nobody handed you the manual. Research on talent management and career development shows that the jump into management is genuinely hard — the skills that got you here don't automatically transfer. Most new managers feel exactly like you do. That's not a flaw. That's the terrain.
Marcus Aurelius put it plainly: don't do what isn't right, don't say what isn't true, and keep your choices yours — free from pressure and panic. That's actually a workable frame for management. You don't need a perfect system on day one. You need to make each decision on purpose, based on what you actually believe is correct, rather than scrambling to look like you know more than you do.
This week, pick one real situation you're unsure about — a conversation you've been avoiding, a call you haven't made, a team issue you've been circling. Write down in one sentence what you think the right move is. Then do that. Not because you have a framework, but because you made a clear choice. Do that enough times and the framework builds itself.