New to a leadership role: the first months
Most people become managers because they were good at the craft. On the first day in the new role that is exactly what helps least. The job has changed, the expectations too, and nobody says either out loud.
What changes
From now on your result is produced by others. Delivering the craft yourself feels good and is usually the wrong choice, because it costs the very time needed for conversations, clarity and decisions.
Then there is the shift in your surroundings. Yesterday you were part of the team, today you lead it. The familiarity remains, the role moves, and the group watches closely how you handle it.
What matters at the start
- Speak with every person individually before you change anything
- Ask what is working and what should stay from their point of view
- Say your own expectations out loud, including the uncomfortable ones
- Make one visible decision early and explain it
- Find a place outside the team where you can think out loud
The typical traps
- Leaving everything as it is so as not to upset anyone
- Changing too much in the first weeks to show you can act
- Carrying on with the craft and doing leadership on the side
- Sitting out conflicts that started before your time
- Continuing closeness to individuals from the old days unchanged
Leading without formal authority
Much of this applies equally to roles without line authority, in projects or in technical leadership. One question is added there: where does your effect come from when you cannot instruct anyone. The answer lies in clarity about goals, in reliable agreements and in the ability to negotiate expectations openly.
How we work on this
For new managers either a group training works, where everyone is at the same point, or coaching across the first months. The combination is often the better answer: the training for the craft, the coaching for your own situations.
Does that sound like your situation?
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