The Workplace Coach

I caught up with my good friend Paul Donohue for coffee the other day, and I mentioned that I had seen this article on LinkedIn talking about the ‘transition from accidental manager to intentional leader’.  Paul is currently running a series of leadership development programs, and he said that the participants often talk about this as one of the bigger challenges they face in moving into their leadership roles.

The usual scenario is that we look for those people who are great at their job and consistently deliver excellent results. Ideally, they would also have a bit of personality and charisma and get on well with clients, colleagues and stakeholders alike. Then we take these high performers and apply a twisted logic that, based on their performance to date, they would be the perfect candidate for a team leader / manager role running a team of people doing what they do.

We offer them the promotion and lured by a fancy title, increased remuneration and the prospect of career progression in the work that they love, they accept the role.  This is where it all starts to go wrong. The new manager quickly discovers that not only are they no longer doing the work they love but they are also completely unprepared for the responsibility, complexity and sleepless nights that come with trying to manage the people rather than the work.

Paul recounted that many of his program participants have acknowledged that they had no idea what they were getting into.  Several even said that had they known, they would have thought twice about accepting the promotion.  The day before your promotion you are responsible for your own work, projects, deadlines and deliverables. The day after your promotion you become responsible for the productivity, performance, safety, wellbeing and engagement of your team.

The International Institute of Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland research suggests that this promotion from individual producer to manager/leader is one of the most significant transitions that a professional will experience in their entire career. It’s a complete transformation, where not only your mindset but also your behaviours must undergo a profound shift.

What are some areas that a newly promoted leader might want to look at?

1. Develop your self-awareness.  This can be challenging and might offer up some uncomfortable truths, but you need to be very clear on how you land with people. Ask for feedback from members of your team who you trust or engage someone to run a 360 feedback process. This is going to give you a fantastic insight into your own leadership style.

2. Develop your resilience and adaptability.  You need to be the calm in the storm.  This is not about faking it until you make it, this is about adopting a confident and competent mindset that whatever happens we (the team) are going to find a way to solve the problem and succeed.

3. Leverage your team.  You don’t need to have all the answers, you just need to ask the right questions.  In terms of problem solving, you now have access to more than just your own experience, you have a whole team.  Use them.

4. Be authentic. Sometimes this means being vulnerable too and admitting that you don’t know the answer. Most people can smell when someone is not being authentic, and they will immediately distrust that person.  You need your team to feel like they know, like and trust you. Just be yourself.

5. Commit to your own development. This transition to being a leader is not one that happens automatically or without effort.  Adopt a discipline of continuous learning. Reflect on your interactions with people and ask yourself honestly whether you could have done something differently for a better result. Read books, listen to podcasts, find a mentor or get a coach.

Take a long-term view and understand that every day is an opportunity to hone your skills, to get better at your craft, and to grow into being something that you have possibly never been before, which is a leader of people. You will make mistakes along the way, we all do.  As long as you learn from them, pick yourself up and dust yourself off, you’ll be fine. 

If you are dealing with some people management challenges and would like some help get in touch with us here at The Workplace Coach.