There are so many tips on how to manage your new leadership role. Google probably has millions of answers. Many leaders also believe its common sense and they don’t need advice.
But so many times, it’s common sense not commonly used. I can’t tell you how many times I had a new boss or I was starting somewhere new and the leaders just talked about administrative (housekeeping) and technical details and sent me/us on our way.
The leaders were very regimented and cold. They were task focused and never bothered to set the tone. They never even tried to connect with the team. This leaves bad tastes in people’s mouths and everyone wondering what they got themselves in to.
Of course, new leaders have to do all the admin/technical stuff and do it right from the start. But they can’t forget they are dealing with humans and they are human too. So taking a little time to set the right tone is invaluable for you to succeed in your new role.
Here are some ideas on how to set you, and your team, up for success, so it’s a more enjoyable experience for all of you.
Your Team
When you start a new position and you are meeting with your team for the first time…”Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood”.
This basically means, ask questions first. Meet with your team as a group, then 1:1. Learn about them. Learn about the history of your team. Learn about the previous culture. How do they perceive the organization? How do they feel their team is viewed by the organization?
Then try to learn what they truly think about you becoming their leader. You’ll gain important knowledge about possible issues and concerns…and hopefully learn what support or resistance you may have to start. You might also see what personalities jump out at you right away
They also need to learn a little about you. Not too much, but enough to let them know you are driven but human and humble. For example: What drives you. Your leadership philosophy/approach. Your goals & expectations for the team. How you tend to work.
Most importantly they need reassured. The days of scaring your team into submission are long gone. They need to know that politics, insecure competitiveness, finger pointing and throwing teammates under the bus will have no place in your department.
You may think this is trivial and/or too touchy-feely, but smile when talking to your team. It is amazing how a leader smiling all the time can set a positive tone and culture for a team.
Let them know the team will work in a collaborative, supportive, safe environment and any team member who is me-first, disruptive and ruins the chemistry of the team…will not survive.
Let them know you are in this together. That you are confident, you can improve their performance and job satisfaction. But you are also humble and not afraid to make mistakes…and they shouldn’t be as well.
Set the expectations right away that it’s going to be about developing a creative, empowered, and innovative team that becomes high performing because you are all working together.
They need to know that if they follow and support you, you will always go to bat for them. Do not focus on pushing them to perform. Focus on gaining their trust and loyalty. The performance will happen organically.
Give them a clear vision of the department’s objectives that they can hang their hat on. Something they can really get their head around and use as their north star.
When the job becomes stressful and feels like drudgery, you need to have a rallying cry that can remind them why they are working so hard. They need a carrot.
Quick things to start building trust and loyalty:
- Schedule a team meeting ASAP. Ask questions and listen.
- See if there are small changes you can make without a lot of resources or time, that immediately benefit your team. Listen and observe and learn what those things might be.
- Give the team easier access to you and break open those doors of communication.
- Set up 1:1s with each team member
Your Boss
Ask your boss for their goals and expectations of you for the first 90-day, 6 month and 1 year period.
What is their vision for your work and your level of performance, as well as the level of performance of your team? Have absolute certainty what your boss wants out of you and your team.
Learn what expectations their superiors have for them, so you know what keeps them up at night and how you can help them achieve their superior’s goals for them.
It’s not just about what they want from you. Have you ever heard the phrase “You Teach People How to Treat You”? That goes with your boss too. Begin setting the tone of how you want the boss to see you and treat you. You can do it delicately and diplomatically.
For example, do not be afraid to ask your boss for what you need in order to do the job right. For example:
- Clear and defined goals and objectives for you and your team
- Reasonable time to achieve those goals and objectives
- Sufficient resources and tools to achieve those goals and objectives
- The support, patience, and guidance you will need from them
*If you let your new boss gives you unreasonable and irrational requests right off the bat, you set a bad precedent. You’ree teaching them they can do this to you again and again and it will be a lot of long days. It will also be an indication of what type of leader they are.*
Other Departments
Set up meetings with leaders of teams that you will regularly work with, are impacted by your work and/or which you have dependencies. Learn their goals, motivators, pains and their challenges. Learn what keeps them up at night.
No matter how much you want them to care about what you and your team does…they have their own priorities and agendas. Find ways to empathize with them and show them a true desire to help them, so they will be opened to helping you.
Express to them that it’s not about what you want from them, but how you can help each other. It can be a win-win!
Yourself
Ask yourself these questions in order to take care of yourself in the new role:
- What did you learn from your last position that you can use to better your chance for success with this new position?
- How can you have a healthier work-life balance then you did with your previous position/company…and still be able to perform well in this new role? If you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of your team!
- What support mechanisms can you put in place, so you don’t feel isolated in your role?
- What tasks can you begin to delegate asap, so you have time to be strategic and best serve your team?
First impressions are very important in leadership. So start off on the right foot. But being a servant leader who gains their trust and loyalty over time, will make your new role so much easier in the long run as well!
