5 Things New Leaders Should Know
by becki on April 7, 2009
A young man who used to report to me was recently promoted to management and he asked me for some advice. I didn’t have a handy list ready for him, so I thought it might be nice to put together a list to share with you.
1. Don’t assume anything This is good advice for everyone, but is even more important for a leader. You will be faced with many, many situations where you do not have all the information. It is easy to go with the first thing you hear, but it is often incomplete or down right false. It is more important to get things right than it is to be fast. You will get burned if you do not take the time to gather the facts.
2. Take a breath In the technology world, we are often hit with outages and last minute, urgent requests from customers. These are the times when we find out how good we are. Take a breath, keep your cool and lead. This may go against your natural inclination, but who would you rather have as your leader, a hovering, nervous Nelly snapping out orders, or someone who calmly asks questions and keeps people focused and on track?
3. Keep your accounts short This means you address trouble right away. Take the time to collect all the facts, but don’t procrastinate. Problems don’t go away on their own and tend to get bigger. The longer you wait the more stress you will experience. Trust me on this. Try it and you will see that if you deal with these situations quickly and fairly, you will have a lot less stress.
4. You are being watched This is another thing that is true for everyone, but more so for leaders. You are always being evaluated by your direct reports, by your bosses, and by your peers. It’s not a cause for paranoia, but you need to be aware that you are setting an example and your people do notice. Set a good example.
5. You are not an email machine You will get hit with more emails, phone calls, IM, Tweets, etc. than you can imagine. Being a diligent employee, you will attempt to promptly respond to all of them. Eventually, you’ll find that you are spending too much time on the wrong tasks. Learn early on how to manage your time and your inbox. I wrote an article on this topic that has some links to good resources for those who are interested in learning more.
I hope this short list helps you on your journey. It is completely different from the technical path you’ve been on to this point, but you will find that it is very rewarding to build teams and help people develop their talents.
What tips would you have for someone new to leadership? How would you have answered my friend?
Tagged as:
leader,
Leadership,
procrastinate,
Stress
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Made my way here via problogger challenge and thought I would add to your list:
#6. Though you will be tempted, don’t change anything major (policy/procedure/comp) for 90 days.
#7. Everyone will blow smoke up your skirt – fair warning
#8. Candor is a valued commodity from direct reports – don’t take it lightly
#9. Communicate in 360 degrees – down, up and sideways
#10. Be direct, succinct, and dish out praise in a 2:1 proportion to criticism.
p.s. – if your liking this Cutline theme you will love Thesis Theme also by Chris Pearson. I updated from Cutline and am more than pleased.
Rob
@shorespeak
Rob, these are great additions, and I can vouch for each one of them.
I especially like #8. I felt like I was in a sensory deprivation chamber for the first six months after I went into management. I didn’t get feedback from anyone, so I listen when I get the slightest feedback. Feedback truly is a gift, and we should all welcome it.
Thanks again for adding these tips.
Becki,
Great Blog. I appreciate you sharing those thoughts. My trainer is always coaching me to “never assume anything.” It’s very difficult to not assume, but can be a costly mistake.
Thank you.
Jerry, thanks for the feedback. I’m glad you are finding the blog useful. So many of us learn these lessons the hard way.
I hope the blog can be a learning tool for all of us, so please feel free to share any lessons learned.
Hi Becki
I’ve added to the list also via a new post on my blog.
I agree with all your points – great stuff.
Also, expect an email from me soon about getting a bunch of bloggers with similar thoughts together