I had lunch with an aspiring people leader recently and it hurt because I knew I’d have to burst her perfect little bubble. It made me smile at first. Here she was, starry eyed and full of excitement. She shared all of the changes she was going to make for the team she was interviewing to supervise with enthusiasm and heart. I listened quietly over our soup and salad while she told me every best case scenario she was going to make come to fruition in her very first leadership role. She must have seen it on my face that there was going to be more to her story. I never have had much of a poker face. So after about 10 minutes straight of telling me everything that was going to go so very well she asked what I thought.
How could I support her in that first leadership role?
In that moment I could have focused solely on supporting her dream of perfection but then, I would have set her up for failure. She was very likely to get the role and she didn’t need to be more excited. She needed to be prepared. I didn’t want her starting her first corporate leadership role the way I did. So I decided to take another approach. Want more detail on my conversation with her and how to use the advice I shared to get a 23% edge in success in your next leadership role? Click here and head to YouTube.
I smiled and said that she was hoping for all the right things but that I was curious how she was going to make it happen. How would she handle surprises, challenges, and monotony to support the vision she had? The leaders before her were intending to do a great job too. So what would she do differently to make it happen?
Wait, even the bad leaders meant to do well?
It was as if it never occurred to her that everyone wanted to do well in their role. Her eyebrows knit together and she sat back in her chair thinking. What would be different about her first leadership role? How would she differ from the stagnant, negative leaders she saw in her organization?
Her first idea, when I come up to a challenge I’ll think of my first boss and how he would have handled it… then I’ll do the opposite. OK, that is one strategy, and there is some truth to that. Considering what the best and worst leaders you’ve worked with would do in your situation can help. It is not a sustainable strategy though. Your memory is biased. Also, you likely didn’t see everything they did at the time to know how or why they made the decision. It’s not a bad filter to put some problems through but basing your leadership on someone else’s actions is shaky ground.
Her next idea was to put that ball in my court. OK Kelly, how do I prepare myself for my first leadership role? We talked for an hour on specifics. I thought, if she needed these three things, you might just need them too.
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The 3 things to focus on for success in your first leadership role
- Know yourself as a leader: If you’ve been around a while you know I do not mean your leadership style. When done well, your style will ebb and flow with the circumstances you’re in and the people you’re working with. Strong leaders are self-aware. That means they understand their strengths, attributes, and values so that they are stronger in challenging times. This allows you to build credibility and trust with your team because they know what to expect from you consistently.
- Develop exceptional communication: Great leaders are always improving their communication. Average leaders expect effective communication, don’t set your sights on average. Set the bar high for yourself and communicate exceptionally. Communicating well requires first listening more than you talk, then sharing succinct, organized thoughts. Listening let’s you know what to share and allows you to prune out what will do more harm than good. Meaning you’ll be able to share the news that you can’t hire the additional staff your team desperately wants in a way that speaks to their specific concerns without overwhelming them or making it about you.
- Intentionally influence others: You are influencing people every single day. You’re like a magnet with varying degrees of strength. You’re either pulling people toward you and your ideas or repelling them by how you influence. Now, if you’re doing the first two steps, you’ll naturally pull people in, but how do we accelerate that? You master influence through intentional consistent action. You can grow your influence with your team and your up line incredibly quickly when you intentionally grow in these areas. Meaning, you can lead your team to hit their best numbers yet and persuade your boss to consider you for that next promotion in weeks, instead of years.
Are you prepared for your first leadership role?
I’ve thought of my first leadership role in corporate a lot lately. While I was excited for the good I’d do and the things I’d learn, I also felt lonely and ill equipped. I wish I could say that experience was just mine but unfortunately it echoes much of what I hear from clients I work with today. Make these 3 focus areas your primary job as you prepare for that next leadership role, whether it’s your first formal one or your next level as you climb that ladder. The work in these 3 areas is never checked off as done, it’s a constant practice to improve at.
With your commitment to developing your personal leadership, communication, and influence, you will see a complete transformation with time. I can just see you now walking into that interview, secure in who you are as a leader and what you bring to the table. You shake the hiring manager’s hand and smile because you know with certainty that you have a dozen or more examples to share of times you influenced change and impacted results. You’re so glad you put in the work and you’re just as excited to to make the same impact in this new role on an even bigger scale. You’ve got this.