New Leader Tuesday-Sorry, But You Aren’t the Center of Your Team’s Universe

New Leader Tuesday at Management Excellence

The New Leader’s Series here at Management Excellence, is dedicated to the proposition that one of the most valuable things we can do is support the development of the next generation of leaders on our teams and in our organizations.

One of the most common tripping points of first-time leaders is to mistakenly assume that they are the geocentric center of their team’s universe. Adopt the misguided belief in a Ptolemaic view of the galaxy you lead in, and expect your team members to do everything possible to escape your gravitational pull.

The move from individual contributor where it’s all about you as the expert and even star, to a role where you are responsible for the work of others, can be abrupt and awkward, particularly if you don’t have someone coaching or mentoring you. Your natural inclination is to assume that your job is now to be an expert times x…and you set about the noble task of attempting to remake everyone and everyone’s work in your own image. Your natural inclination is wrong.

5 Areas to Focus on When Stepping In To Your First Leadership Role:

1. Context promotes performance. Recognize your crucial role in providing context for the work of your team. People do their best work when they are armed with context for their activities. Work with your manager to ensure clarity around goals and how goal achievement impacts the organization and customers, and then work tirelessly to ensure that this context flows constantly to your team.

2. Emphasize, “How can I help?” versus “Here’s what I need you to do.” While you may very well invoke the latter one from time-to-time, one of your most critical tasks is providing support for your team members. That’s distinctly different from telling them what to do.

3. Give trust to earn trust. I beat the drum on this one fairly often in this series. Too often, our inclination is to assume that people have to earn our trust by proving themselves. I would rather let them “un-prove” themselves. While this might seem counter-intuitive, showcase your trust first by letting people do their jobs, by not micromanaging and by not letting them believe they are on trial and you are the judge and jury. Good professionals respond well to trust. Deal separately with the rare few who take advantage of your offer of trust.

4. Pay attention. As simple as it sounds, paying attention to people is a powerful way to show that you respect them as individuals and as professionals. The “I’m the center of the universe leader” doesn’t understand this, preferring to keep every conversation centered on his/her opinion or what he/she wants from others. The wise leader actively listens, asks questions and strives to understand the input from others.

5. Promote accountability. Accountability is rocket fuel for individual and team performance. Set high but reasonable expectations. Expect people to meet their commitments. If people stumble, challenge them to identify how they will improve going forward. Reward and praise those who meet their commitments. Deal fairly and in a timely fashion with those who don’t.

The Bottom-Line for Now:

Get out of the center of your team’s universe and watch people prosper. While there’s much more to leading than the five items identified above, this is a healthy list of great places to start with on your new journey.

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