Recently I was trying to decide which would be the subject of my next blog post. Would it be a ‘Being Bettina’s Dad post ‘One of Us, One of Us’ or my take on supporting and managing a talent management pipeline? Then I received a message from a former colleague, who is part of our leadership network, asking if I could I come up with some tips for his friend who is in another sector and who has just taken on a supervisory leader position for a team.

It reminded me of the positions, and experiences, I have found myself in at different times in both careers (Army and Social Sector). My top 20 tips are based on experience (and a few mistakes along the way).

When you find yourself in a leadership role for people who were on the same grade as you only a few weeks ago:

  1. It is not about you – it is about the results you deliver. This is how you are judged by your team and those above you.
  2. Reinvent yourself. Seek out opportunities; don’t wait for them to come to you. Don’t worry if you don’t have experience with what you want to try, your hard work ethic will get you through. This is what I did: https://leadershipintheraw.org/2015/11/24/the-art-of-reinvention/
  3. You serve your team – this is what is called servant leadership. Work hard at making sure your team members are a success too. Ensure they have all the resources they need to do this.
  4. What is your leadership code? Think about the leadership behaviours you have admired and respected in others. This is a code we put together in our team that we feel is important to us: https://leadershipintheraw.org/2019/07/16/the-dosh-leadership-code/
  5. Show you care. Your team members will trust you when they know you care about them (both within your work and what they do outside). Get to know them as people. What are their aspirations? What is important to them? What might be troubling them which may affect their work performance?
  6. Don’t try to be one of them. I would say don’t change your style or who you are, after all it is what got you the promotion. Have some separation though as there are going to be occasions you are going to have to make difficult and upopular decisions.
  7. Be a role model – you work harder than your team (or at the very least, work as hard as the team).
  8. Who are the bosses you admire? Look at what makes them successful and then mould your own style. I have worked for amazing people in both my careers and have taken something from each one. These are my 3 favourite Bosses: https://leadershipintheraw.org/2016/01/29/the-makings-of-a-good-to-great-boss/
  9. Communicate, keep people informed. Keeping your team members informed about what you are hoping to achieve or what the objective is for your team. This ensures each team member feels they have a stake in the outcome and success of our organisation.

10           Earn your respect every day. Just because your team respected you yesterday doesn’t mean you have their respect today. Earn your respect each day. Remember you give respect before your gain it. Promotion is recognition of your work and potential. It is not a reward. https://leadershipintheraw.org/2015/07/28/being-bettinas-dad-trust-is-a-gift-you-must-earn/

  1. Only be concerned by what you can control – don’t worry about what you can’t control
  2. My first lesson of leadership was not to rush in making lots of changes too quickly as it overwhelms people. Slowly introduce the changes you think need to be made for your team. Look for easy and small wins so they can see what you are hoping to achieve as it will benefit them as individuals and the team as a whole.
  3. Stop thinking or worrying about what team members are thinking about you (they are probably not). Focus on going forward
  4. Surround yourself with talent – ensure the people in your team are the best at what they do. Over a period of time your team will change. People move on for different reasons. So when you recruit, recruit the best. “Find people who make you better” Michelle Obama.
  5. Praise in public – chastise in private
  6. Culture – steadily create a work culture (the way we do things around here). These are my thoughts on creating a team culture: https://leadershipintheraw.org/2016/03/01/the-culture-within-you/
  7. Anticipate – Anticipate.   “There are two ways to face the future. One way is with apprehension; the other is with anticipation” Jim Rohn. I recommend my post on how you can anticipate your way to success https://leadershipintheraw.org/2018/03/06/anticipate-your-way-to-success / especially look out for my ‘Five Questions to ask yourself in anticipation’
  8. Develop yourself – google ‘Institute of Leadership and Management’ (ILM) join. Do their training and qualifications to be a better leader and perhaps a better manager for the future.
  9. Always do what is right over what is easy: https://leadershipintheraw.org/2019/03/07/doing-what-is-right-over-doing-what-is-easy/
  10. And finally here is a post from my colleague Meike Beckford about her first year in management. It has everything you could possibly need in just one post https://leadershipintheraw.org/2017/05/04/what-i-have-learnt-from-my-first-year-in-management/ Meike is an outstanding leader and exceptional manager.

Now I have shared these tips, I need to crack on with the posts I have been planning to do. Please look out for ‘One of Us One of Us’ about Bettina and her family and my take on supporting and managing a Talent Pipeline, hopefully in October’s edition.

Source: Steve Raw www.leadershipintheraw.org