Posts Tagged ‘moving into leadership’

If you are a middle manager it is easy to fall into the trap of believing that as you move into senior management you will be doing a very similar role.

In their excellent book The Time Trap, Alec MacKenzie and Pat Nickerson share some interesting data about the stark difference between how senior and middle managers spend their time. While both are involved in some common areas, the analysis is enlightening.

So what exactly did they highlight in different areas?

Planning

When people are in a senior manager role, they are spending somewhere in the region of 30-40% of their time on planning. Middle managers are typically only spending 5-10% of their time on planning. So if you are the type of manager who likes to be doing a lot of things, perhaps senior management is not for you.

Organising

Senior managers it is claimed spend 20-30% of their time on this compared to the 10-20% spent by middle managers. I have to say that this surprised me a little as when you are on the detail of managing it can feel like you are spending a huge amount of time organising.

Measuring, Controlling And Performing Routines

It is in these areas we see the biggest differences. Middle managers can spend up to 85% of their time on this compared to a maximum of about 30% for senior managers.

What all of this means is that if you are looking to climb the career ladder you need to start get experience and exposure to operating with this very different focus. One way of doing this might be to take a short term secondment or perhaps cover the senior role when a post is vacant.

Don’t fall into the trap of believing that being a senior manager is just more of the same with greater responsibility. As the analysis shows there are some vital differences in focus.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements Ltd helps professional people become great leaders. Sign up for his free 6 part audio e-course.

5 Traps For New Leaders

Trap 1:
• Not stepping into the new role.

Trap 2:

• Not hiring the best deputy that you can.

Trap 3:

• Not letting go of the detail.

Trap 4:

• Not investing the time getting to know your colleagues on the leadership team.

Trap 5:

• Expecting it to be an easy transition.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to achieve success and realize their professional potential through being highly effective leaders and managers. For more information and to sign up for his free audio e-course click here

One of the biggest transitions that you will face in your career is successfully transitioning to a leadership role.

In this short video I will be sharing my tips on successfully transitioning to leadership.

If you have some great tips to add to make the transition successful please go ahead and leave a comment.

Taking your first step into leadership is probably one of the biggest career steps that you make.

While it is vital to learn about the tools and techniques of leading, it is also important to pay attention to making the mindset shift.

So what do I mean by making the mindset shift? I mean mentally making the shift to being a leader, which includes:

1. Recognising that you have to deliver different results.
2. Investing your time on those activities that contribute to the results you are now expected to deliver.
3. Accepting that there is going to be some discomfort as you take on new and bigger challenges.
4. Letting go of the stuff that you should not be doing any more.
5. Being ready and willing to make mistakes and learning from them.

Truth is much of stepping into leadership successfully is as much about attitude of mind as it is about what you do.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to achieve success and realize their professional potential through being highly effective leaders and managers. For more information and to sign up for his free audio e-course click here

You have just heard the good news that you have secured your first leadership role.  You probably feel a combination of elation and possibly even a bit of apprehension.  So what are my 5 quick tips for transitioning to leadership?

 

Quick Tip 1:  Do some research

 

As the new leader you need to quickly get a handle on the organisation or part of the organisation you are going to be leading.  It is vital that you get to understand a bit about the history, the strengths, the opportunities, your peers and your team to name just a few areas.  Make the time to do this as it will be time well invested.

 

Quick Tip 2:  Create a plan

 

You will probably have lots of areas that you could potentially tackle but what you want to try and create a plan of action that gets you some early wins while laying foundations for longer term success.  A scatter gun approach is rarely the most beneficial way to go as the new leader.

 

Quick Tip 3: Make listening the core component of your communication

 

When someone new arrives or is arriving it creates a degree of uncertainty in those that are going to be impacted.  It is tempting to think that you can step into the job with the blueprint to sort out all of the things that are not working so well.  In practice this rarely works.  People, especially those who have been with an organisation for a significant period of time can offer great insights, if you are willing to make the time to listen.

 

Quick Tip 4: Regularly remind yourself that the role is different

 

It is easy and sometimes highly tempting to forget that you are in a different, more senior role with new demands and expectations.  Make a point of reminding yourself of this regularly to avoid the trap of falling into old ways of working and behaving.

 

Quick Tip 5: Expect it to be a struggle

 

It takes time to adjust to any new role and this is even more important to remember when you are stepping into your first leadership role.  Chances are you will have gone from a situation where you are top of the tree at your current level to being at the bottom at the next level.  If there is no challenge or struggle you are either not truly stepping into the new role or you are in a job that you are over qualified.

 

Bottom Line- Your first leadership role will require you to make a major transition.  So what steps are you taking to set yourself up for success?

 

 

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to be successful managers and leaders.  For more information about his Services and Programmes click here