Posts Tagged ‘transitioning to leadership’

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.

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

 

Stepping into a leadership role is often one the most challenging career moves that you have to make.   When making the move into leadership people can often:

• Feel isolated and lonely
 
• De-skilled initially as they were probably a star performer in their previous role

• Uncertain about the way ahead and expectations.

So what 3 common challenges do you need to address to successfully make the move into leadership?

Challenge 1: Making the mental shift

If you are going to succeed as a leader you need to mentally make the shift from manager to leader.  By that I mean recognise that you are doing a different role, where the expectations of you and the results that you deliver are different.

Solution: Create the time and space to get crystal clear on your new role, the priorities and then focus your attention on these priorities.  Don’t look back, just keep looking forward.

Challenge 2: Letting go

The results that you deliver as a leader will be significantly influenced by how effective you are at leading others.  The reason for this is that you can only achieve anything when you have people ready and willing to support you and who are empowered to support you.

Solution: Recognise that you cannot do everything even if you wanted to.  Focus on getting people on board and enthusiastic about the results you want to achieve and then empower them to deliver.

Challenge 3: Integrating into an existing leadership team 

When you step into a leadership role, you are likely to be joining an already established team or group.  As the new guy or gal, it can be challenging to integrate successfully into an established senior management team.

Solution:  Take the time to get to know people in the team, listen a lot and offer your insights and views in a constructive way.

Bottom Line – Moving into leadership will always present challenges.  So what do you need to start working on to successfully make the transition to leadership?