The Economist recently published an article called ‘End of the accidental boss’ which highlighted the mediocre performance of managers in the UK compared to other leading countries. leader
All too often people are promoted into managing a team without having the real capability to do the job well. Most people can think of somebody that this has happened to; indeed, it could relate to you!
We had some great responses to our articles about making the transition from being a team member to being a team leader. Michelle Turner-Davidson asked the following question:
“How do you help that transition from Team member to Team leader to become smoother and what skills do those in Leadership need to develop to retain their values and confidence?”
To get the ball rolling, here are our views on 5 key areas:
- Be aware of your own strengths and weaknesses. Being a leader does not mean you have to be good at everything, or know everything. Your team will have the skills and knowledge between them to get the job done. Being self-aware is a key leadership quality.
- Identify someone who you consider to be a good leader. Watch and listen to them and how they engage, motivate and work with their team.
- Find yourself a role model or mentor to talk to, bounce ideas around, share challenges and support your development. This may be someone that you have identified as a good leader in your current or previous roles.
- Develop the skill of delegation (not abdication!). For some this is very hard to do – ‘it’s so much quicker and easier just to do it myself’. Trouble is if you don’t delegate effectively you will get bogged down into the everyday tasks – and this is not what a leader does.
- Master the skill of coaching. This really is a fundamental skill for all leaders. So often we hear managers say ‘I coach everyday’ when in fact they mean they talk to staff or more likely tell them what to do which they genuinely believe is coaching. Coaching is about helping others to identify and come up with their own solutions to problems and challenges. This can be scary as we like being the one that knows everything don’t we? Plus, it is quicker to just tell them how to do it! However, this does not help others grow and develop – and this is what you should be doing as a leader.
Relationships do change when roles change, particularly if you now have to manage those that you previously worked alongside as a team member and/or a friend. As a new leader, you can no longer have ‘best friends’ – you have to treat everyone equally and fairly. This helps build and earn respect.
We have a saying about what it means to be a leader – here it is:
To be an effective leader you need to be ON it and not IN it.
This means is not being involved in the day to day running but having the ability to take an overview to ensure the business goals are being met – through leading and guiding others.
Over the next few weeks and months we will be elaborating on these key areas – so, watch this space!
