I was promoted to my first supervisory job because the last guy didn’t show up that day. The manager said, “You’re in charge here. Don’t muck it up.” (The word he used wasn’t “muck”)
Yeah, I know that no one was there to show you the ropes when you were drafted into your first supervisory role. And yes, instead of sinking, you figured out how to swim. And of course, we’ve all heard the saying, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
Putting all of those experiences and maxims aside, the only right thing to do is to support your first-time leaders by paying attention and offering frequent feedback. I’m not suggesting that you provide the answers and I’m certainly not suggesting you micro-manage. I am however, encouraging you to take on the coaching role that is so often not a part of the confusing universe of our newest supervisors.
“I was told about the new position on Friday, and my boss left for a month-long overseas tour on Sunday. Those first few weeks with the team were uncomfortable to say the least. Fortunately, only one person quit.”
You might have great faith in the ability of your newly promoted leader to figure it out, and that’s good. However, faith in this setting doesn’t replace the need for you to support this person all the way to success. He or she is an extension of you and your brand, and you are not doing anyone any good by releasing a poorly prepared and generally lost new leader on your team.
“I was excited that she saw leadership potential in me. It’s too bad that my inexperienced interpretation of how a leader was supposed to act resembled something between a despot and a dictator. Once my boss finally caught on, it took several months to unwind the damage.”
Few first-time leaders have proper context for their new role and how to effectively carry it out. That should come as no surprise, as the only true way to learn how to lead is to actually gain experience doing it. Good coaching leaders recognize the need to allow people to make mistakes with the reality that proper and timely involvement can shrink the learning curve and in some circumstances, lessen the potential for new-leader fallout.
The Bottom-Line for Now:
Choose your new leaders carefully. Provide ample context for the journey. Serve as a sounding board for ideas while resisting the urge to provide all of the answers. Offer your positive and constructive feedback liberally, and most of all, pay attention.
Your presence as a coach and a stakeholder in the development of the new leader will have a significant impact on the outcome for this emerging leader. And your positive example will be visible to all to learn from and emulate.
I love how your blog is evolving from exploring ideas to offering guidance around them. There’s a refinement that would interest me greatly. What’s the difference between being a leader in a management role versus being a leader in an executive role?
Hi Andy, always love to hear from you. Perhaps some readers have a finer distinction than I do. The core people skills we all know and love translate across levels. From building trust and dealing with feedback and providing guidance and supporting development…those are all present…albeit at varying degrees, at every level.
Beyond the fundamentals, I subscribe to Charan’s perspective that as we climb in responsibility, the level of ambiguity…and our need to deal with it, grows considerably. Strategy under uncertainty, investment selection, resource allocation for execution, high-level talent strategies etc. are all part of the senior leader’s domain. Charan’s “apprentice model” provides a nice way of dealing with this from a developmental perspective, especially as senior teams evaluate people for future senior leadership and CEO roles. The essence…introduce individuals to an increasingly ambiguous set of tasks to support and assess their development and ability to handle more.
Or, in one word: ambiguity.
Not certain if this was the direction you were heading. Please clarify as you see fit. Thanks! -Art
Great post! Completely agree with you!
A good leader will be a ‘constant guide’. And this means that your role as a mentor doesn’t stop when your ‘protégé’ is in a position of power. A little bit of initial guidance can make all the difference between a potential good leader and a great one.
That being said, there is a fine line between guidance and smothering. And too much ‘guidance’ can be a hindrance to growth.
– Sindoora (http://beyondhorizons.in)
Most new bosses receive very little, if any, training in how to master their new role. Most of them don’t receive effective support on the job, either. I think your suggestion that if you’re a good and experienced boss, you may not be able to change the training issue, but you can be the solution to the support issue by coaching new bosses is both sensible and needed.
That’s why I included this post in my weekly selection of top leadership posts from the independent business blogs.
http://blog.threestarleadership.com/2011/06/15/61511-a-midweek-look-at-the-independent-business-blogs.aspx
Wally, thanks so much for including the post in your weekly best! Great company to hang out with! -Art
Just because you’ve received the title, it doesn’t mean you’re prepared the do to the job. Shadowing and mentoring are very helpful. Show me, don’t tell me…
Great post Art! I have included your post in my Rainmaker ‘Fab Five’ blog picks of the week (http://www.maximizepossibility.com/employee_retention/2011/06/the-rainmaker-fab-five-blog-picks-of-the-week-2.html) to remind my readers that it is everyone’s responsible to assimilate and grow the new leaders within their organization.
Be well!
Chris, many thanks for your inclusion in your “Fab Five!” Honored to be in such great company. -Art
Hi Art
I can only agree with you. In my first leadership role I was completely left to my own devices. From the excitement of the promotion to anxiety and sleepless nights it only took a few weeks. Well, yes I’ve learnt a lot and it didn’t kill me but it didn’t help in growing my confidence and it took a while to recover and get back on track.
The question arises why not many more leaders understand the importance of guidance, coaching and mentoring of their new leaders.
Michele