From Manager to Leader - transition tips!
Posted on July 23, 2017 by Sarah Jones, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
This article briefly explores how you can start to become a leader, rather than a manager and the issues faced by professionals recelty promoted.
Management and leadership are two different disciplines
Very often people are promoted into a role because of their technical experts, and competency in the role, and then are expected to be ‘leaders’ as they are given bigger responsibilities and areas, possibly people, to drive forward.
This can be a very confusing time, as what got us into a leadership role in the first place, may actually form less of the content of our new role. Here are just a few short tips about managing this phase:
Ensure you understand exactly what is required in your new role
Be really clear on the details of objectives, timelines of the goals you are set. If there are no goals – it may be up to you to set them, and write them down. Ensure that there are agreed by the relevant people, and try and get agreement in writing so that you know you are focusing on the right areas, and are delivering what the business wants, and there is no ‘comeback’ a few months down the line.
Get to know your team
Adopt an adult-to-adult approach – treat people as you would like to be treated. Employees can vote with their feet today, and are expensive to replace. But as an ‘authentic’ manager – your goal should be to understand what makes each individual tick, what their goals are, how they feel about where the team is, and the organisation, and what ideas they have. I firmly believe the old ‘command & control’ approach to leadership doesn’t work, people want to be value and included. And we all want to enjoy our time at work right?
What kind of leader do you want to be?
There is no one size fits all – the worse recipe is to pretend to be something you are not. Leaders come in different shapes and sizes – do a SWOT analysis and play to your strengths. Are you a good speaker, are you humorous, organised, directive – a combination. Figure out what makes you, you and harness it
How would you like people to remember you as a leader?
Believe in yourself – belief in your team – and encourage and inspire people – in every interaction you have as a leader.
For more information on how to develop leadership skills, visit sarah-j.com and book a complimentary, no obligation call with me!
Good luck!
