You’ve spent your working life up until this point growing and learning in the hopes you’d achieve a position of leadership. Or maybe you’re the other type of professional, one who’s worked diligently to hone a craft only for purposes of self-improvement, now finding yourself getting a surprise promotion to leadership.
In either case, it’s time to prepare for a new role. And if it’s the first time you’ve been charged with leading a team, there are things you should do to prepare. Don’t just step into the realm of management without a plan. Instead, follow these steps and lean into your new role as an inspirational, impactful, and innovative leader.
1. Self-Assessment First
Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. No one really expects you to be a perfect leader right from the start. But you do need to be self-aware and recognize your leadership weaknesses and strengths. It should be your first step in a new leadership role – self-assessment. Critically consider your motivations and fears in this new position. And assign yourself a score based on your assessment of core competencies. These skills represent the most important for valued and impactful leaders in any organization today:
- Active Listening Skills: Being observant and hyper-sensitive to your teams’ needs and preferences.
- Empathy Skills: Ability to understand others and perspectives unique from your own.
- Communication Skills: Ability to convey clear messages, instructions, and expectations.
- Strategic Planning Skills: Taking a proactive approach to future opportunities and challenges, not a reactive one.
- Foresight: Applying your past expertise for improved perspectives to anticipate future outcomes.
- Creativity: Ability to step out of your comfort zone, color outside the lines, and collectively think outside of the traditional box.
- Inspirational Skills: Sharing your knowledge and expertise with others in a way that motivates them to improve.
- Flexibility: Being comfortable with changing directions, devising new paths, or flying without a safety net.
- Honesty: An ability to share bad news just as freely as good news with an honest approach to all communications.
- Integrity: Committing to yourself, your team, your process, your betterment, and your company, even when no one is watching.
- Collaborative Skills: Being effective in working alongside others, not just in directing others.
- Conflict Resolution & Negotiation Skills: Be able to spot conflict and fiercely negotiate best-results solutions.
2. Establish Leadership Goals
With your weaknesses in mind, start plotting objectives that help you improve those areas. Use verbs, too, not just lofty, hopeful statements you end up ignoring. Put action to those weaknesses that facilitate growth, improvement, and leaning into those not-so-strong areas.
Also, create a timeline of short, mid, and long-game goals, starting with your first day as a new leader through to five years from now leadership objectives. Here are some internal questions to consider that will inspire you to create attainable goals in your new leadership role.
- Why are you great for this position?
- What do you hope to accomplish within the first 30-60-90 days?
- What can you do to improve productivity and company culture simultaneously?
- What departmental problems need to be solved now?
- What did the last person in this position do well? Not so well?
- Does everyone on your team have what they need to perform?
- How can you improve yourself in a way that inspires others to improve?
- Can you train someone on everyone’s job within your department?
- What’s the next leadership step from here?
3. Interview Peers, Colleagues, and New Team Members
Before you start your new role as a leader, reach out to others for insights, advice, and ideas. Depending on your industry, it might mean calling on current customers to ask about their experiences. It might involve connecting with recent retirees from your role or department. Anyone who might have a unique perspective related to your new job requirements as a leader can offer insights you won’t find elsewhere.
Interview your team members to learn more about them and their on-the-job experiences. Find colleagues or peers who’ve been in similar leadership roles for advice. And leaders always surround themselves with more successful people. So, be open to leadership mentors who can help make you great at steering the ship.
4. Managing Expectations – Yours and Theirs
As a new leader, your job is not only to inspire teams and improve production. Your job is also about managing expectations. Start by assessing your own expectations of the role, as well as your senior leadership. Why were you put in this position? What daily, weekly, or annual expectations does your company have of you?
And again, root these expectations in reality. Don’t promise to deliver $1M in revenue if it’s not possible. Devise a support system to help you convey and manage expectations ongoing. Learn more about your company, including its mission and vision. And keep your plans for progress at the top of your goal list.
5. Delegating and Building Alliances
Great leaders recognize that it’s not a solo effort. Leaders are masters at building alliances and delegating responsibilities. This, of course, requires trust. Prepare yourself for your new leadership role by creating lists of tasks and responsibilities that can be delegated. Devise practical solutions that bring value to your colleagues, building alliances with others in and outside of your organization, too.
6. Strategizing Your Methods of Improvement
Of all the leadership planning initiatives, self-improvement might be the most important. Just because you’ve arrived in a management role doesn’t mean you’re done learning. So, create a to-do list and strategy with precise methods to improve ongoing. These might include:
- Taking Leadership Courses Online
- Reading Leadership Guru Books and Blogs
- Partnering with a Leadership Mentor
- Attending Leadership Conferences
- Engaging in Regular Networking
7. Your To-Do List for the First 60 Days As a Leader
With all that critical thinking out of the way, you can start compiling your official list of things to do within the first 60 days of your new leadership role. We’re talking about actual steps you’ll take starting day one. Of course, keep all those strengths, weaknesses, motivations, and critical thinking strategies in mind as you execute. And you may want to add/move/change this list based on your specific duties. But get inspired to lay out a roadmap for what your first two months will look like as a brand-new leader.
Week 1: Check in with everyone
Within your first week, look to make time to meet with everyone. This includes a brief meeting with your direct supervisor. This also includes connecting with your subordinates in one-on-one conversations.
Week 2: Set and share your priorities
By the second week, you’re ready to establish your leadership priorities. What tasks are you tackling together? What actions are you taking first-thing? And when you set your priorities, be transparent in sharing them with your teams.
Week 3: Start perfecting a system
Depending on the nature of your leadership role, you’ll likely have certain processes and procedures to follow or establish. By week three, be looking to perfect these systems. You should be a champ at getting things done, and your teams should be equally versed in following your process-following example.
Week 4: Relationship and trust building
Your teams will need time to adjust to the change in leadership. By the end of the first month, you can start focusing on building trust and working relationships with everyone. By now, the “new” has worn off, and your subordinates will be more comfortable sharing concerns and ideas with you. They’ll also be more open about small talk, which leads to more authentic working relationships.
Week 5: Introducing new ideas
By the start of your second month as a new leader, now’s the time to share big ideas. You don’t want to disrupt the flow too early. But by week five, everyone’s comfortable with you at the helm and will be ready to talk about your changes.
Week 6: Fostering a collaborative environment
When you introduce something new, gain greater opt-in and support from your teams by creating a collaborative environment. Gather them together and be open about sharing concerns and answering questions. Let them be a part of the big idea process without just dictating what you need them to do.
Week 7: Tackling a looming challenge
Show your teams you’re willing to bring solutions by tackling a looming challenge. Choose one common issue or complaint your teams share often, even before you took over the role. And then, find a solution that works for everyone, demonstrating you prioritize their needs.
Week 8: Rewarding 60-day progress
Celebrate the wins and reward your team’s progress, no matter how small. Show your subordinates you value their efforts and recognize their productivity. And use this opportunity to set a precedent for celebrating team wins often.
Key Takeaways for Your First 60 Days
Every new leadership role and company is going to be different. So, be flexible with your 60-day roadmap. The goal for these first two months is to connect, prepare, learn, and establish a precedent for growth. And these are the key takeaways from your first few weeks in charge.
Embrace Failures and Learn
Be forgiving with yourself and your teams. Failures are part of the growth and learning process. Expect certain failures along the way, and don’t let them derail your progress.
Raise Your Hand Often
Don’t hesitate to say you don’t know. Raise your hand often when you need clarification or have questions. This includes learning from those you’re charged with managing.
Follow Great Leader Footsteps
Recognize other great leaders in your organization and look to follow in their footsteps. Don’t reinvent the leadership wheel when others have experienced tremendous success before you.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Leadership is never a one-and-done thing. Be a sponge for learning and improvement. And realize that leadership, just like anything else in life, requires lots of practice.
Be Present and Accountable
Leadership means working with others, not over them. Be available to your teams and present with them in the trenches. Hold yourself accountable as their leader, too – meaning should they fail, you fail.
8. Understanding Your Leadership Style
When you’re researching leadership tips, you’ll often come across insights that outline the different leadership styles. Don’t feel obligated to commit to one particular style right off the bat, especially if you’re a first-time leader. A lot of what plays into the best-fit leadership style for you depends on experiences, personalities, and goals. Once you’ve found your footing, you can explore these styles and see which is your Cinderella leadership style. These are the six most common. You might be one of these or a healthy combination of several.
Participative Leadership
- Focused on collaboration
- Focused on involving others for decisions
- Focused on open communication
Authoritative Leadership
- Focused on inspiring others to follow
- Focused on setting the best example
- Focused on being hands-on
Transformational Leadership
- Focused on future
- Focused on change
- Focus on people and participation
Delegative Leadership
- Focused on sharing responsibility
- Focused on training
- Focused on trust-building
Servant Leadership
- Focused on ethics
- Focused on others’ needs
- Focused on creative problem solving
Transactional Leadership
- Focused on clear rewards
- Focused on solidifying everyone’s roles
- Focused on structure and process
9. Leadership Books and Audiobooks to Consider
Build a stack of the latest leadership books and audiobooks, so you can get inspired in your new position. According to Forbes, here are a few of the best reads to explore in 2023. Keep them handy as reading inspiration for your upcoming leadership journey.
- “Unbreakable,” written by Bradley Kirkman and Adam Stoverink
- “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team,” written by Patrick Lencioni
- “The Fearless Organization,” written by Amy Edmondson
- “The Manager’s Path,” written by Camille Fournier
- “The Power of Positive Leadership,” written by Jon Gordon
10. Become a Thought Leader Yourself
Congratulations on your promotion, and welcome to the leadership table! Keep these insights in mind to help you prepare to do and be your best. And who knows, you might want to become a thought leader in your own rite, sharing your leadership experiences along the way.
When you need help sharing your story and your own insights, let the brilliant writing team at Ghost Blog Writers help bring your vision to life in sharable content!