The fundamentals of leading and managing aren't incredibly difficult to understand. Applying them daily is darned hard work.
Last chance! I'm wrapping up the 2017 incarnation of my, Succeeding as a First-Time Manager online series! There's still time to register!
Your efforts and teams have to produce or, you won't be in a leadership role. IHowever, we all face a choice on style and approach. I managed to evolve from a results-focused heat-seeking-missile to a coach and sponsor whose teams consistently exceeded my and the firm's lofty expectations.
Moving from individual contributor to manager is a challenging career step. One of the more vexing issues first-time managers encounter is learning to drive results through others. Here are at least 7 ideas you can use immediately to promote great results with your group:
In too many organizations, the absence of a galvanizing vision, meaningful, livable values, and a planning process that engages employees from top to bottom result in a form of zombie apocalypse. Instead of purpose, focus, and continuous improvement, people wander aimlessly searching for professional sustenance. If the leaders at the top won't fix this, you need to spark the revolution from the middle.
As I sat down to write my first leadership post of the week, I found myself staring out the window at my dry, midwestern lawn, and for just a moment, I wished for rain. And then the ridiculousness of that wish clubbed me over the head, given what's happening in Florida and throughout the Caribbean [...]
Tackling the role of First-Time Manager is challenging. Everything is new and in too many cases, there's no one to guide your way. That's why I created my free webinar: How to Overcome the 5 Big Challenges First-Time Managers Face, and my new distance professional learning program: How to Succeed as a First-Time Manager.
We've all been in meetings where the latest ridiculous idea from management is greeted with what I term, aerobic head nodding. In many cases, people are afraid to speak truth to power. As a leader, you own curing this problem in your environment. As an employee, you have to decide whether you are willing to sell your self-esteem or risk ticking off your manager. If the issue is important enough, it's an easy choice.
We all know that change is the only constant, yet when faced with the need for our organizations to change, our first instinct is fight or flight. A better and career-enhancing approach is to jump in, ask questions, and importantly, volunteer to help. It's the only way you can actively shape the change.
Getting started as a first-time manager is one of the more challenging tasks you will ever encounter in your professional life. It's particularly difficult given that almost no one on your new team has any reason to want you as their manager. However, there are some approaches you can take with your new team to quickly begin building your leadership credibility. These include...
