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Brain Circuits
10 tips for first-time people-leaders
Congratulations – you have just been promoted to team leader. The value you bring to the organization now flows from how your team delivers and partners with others, so your new job is to lead the team, not ‘do’ the work. These tips will help you switch from worker to leader.
1. Learn your craft
Study leadership, read about it, and focus your development on how to take care of your team to enable it to flourish.
2. Hire talent that is smarter than you
Your success is now based on your team’s success, so make sure you have the best talent possible. Remove the blockers by investing in their development and giving constructive feedback.
3. Set direction
Set clear goals, direction, and expectations for the team, communicate often, and share context so that everyone knows what they are doing and why.
4. Prioritize your time
Most of your time should be spent coaching and removing obstacles. Everyone will want a piece of you now, so protect your calendar, ruthlessly prioritize, determine your non-negotiables, and build in focus time for your Big Rocks.
5. Learn to say no
Get used to saying no. Decline meetings that lack a clear agenda, make decisions with clear accountability, and say no to follow-ups that could be handled via email.
6. Get comfortable with risk-taking
While your team will give you input, the decisions are yours. You won’t be right all the time, so it would be a mistake to strive for perfection. Moving the work forward is what matters, so aim simply to do better each day.
7. Create the right environment
Create an environment that permits innovation, creativity, and risk-taking. Psychological safety is crucial, so show up consistently (by managing your emotions and trying to remain on an even keel), be transparent and reliable, reward risk-taking, and thank your team when they give feedback or input.
8. Be the team champion…
You are now the Chief Marketing Officer for your team. Make their impact visible to others and share the value-add they are bringing to the table.
9. … and the first line of defense
Provide air cover for the team when others are critical without warrant.
10. Emulate successful mentors
Look for mentors with high emotional quotient (EQ) and who are talent magnets. How do they communicate with their team and others? How do they spend their time? What do they value most?
Key takeaway
Stepping up from the ranks to lead people for the first time requires you to let go of your “worker” mindset and put yourself at the service of others. Remember: hard skills open the door; soft skills keep you in the room.
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