You’ve just been assigned to a new office or position as a team leader. What team leader skills do you need to successfully introduce yourself and begin the job? If you try to come across as though you’re amazing and you have a whole new system to implement, you’re probably going to de-motivate your new team. Believe it or not, I have experienced that kind of new leader as an employee and our team went from productive to unproductive pretty quickly. Catch this episode of 180 Mentoring to hear best practices for true success as a leader in a new position, regardless of how much experience you may or may not already have.
Don’t confuse leadership philosophy with leadership expectations
The most important idea to convey to your new team is your philosophy of leadership. Leadership philosophy is about who you are and why you do the things that you do. In three or four minutes, you should be able to convey to your team ideas such as what has impacted your life, what your idea of leadership is, and even what you do for fun. The other essential thing you need to convey is your expectations as a leader. Whether general for everyone or specific for individuals, your expectations need to be clear. These basic skills are vital for any team leader. Listen to this episode to hear examples from my own experience.
Rest assured, you can grow in your skills as a new team leader!
As a new leader, determine what are the critical pieces of your program. Two ways to do this are to ask yourself, “What will get me fired if I don’t do this correctly? What aspects of this job have the potential for the biggest problems?” If possible, go through everything about your program with the person to whom you are accountable. Understand from that person what the program is and what needs to change. Then, sit back and listen to people on the team. Here’s a trap to avoid: relying too heavily on how other people view your employees. Your experience with them may be entirely different. Be sure you make your own evaluations.
Now that you’ve laid some groundwork as a new leader of a team, what’s next?
After observing operations at your new office for a week or a couple months, figure out where you can implement some small changes to improve the performance of the team. Establish your vision and goals. And don’t forget about money! What kind of budget do you have? While doing all of this, you can almost automatically evaluate the current morale of your office if you really listen. I have a creative suggestion for building morale that many employees have not experienced. Don’t miss this episode if you want to hear my examples of these team leader skills.
A certain amount of nervousness is actually beneficial when you begin your new role as a team leader.
You’re about to run a new office or join as a new leader of an established office. You’ll be understanding performance standards and how things are going to be done. You’re anticipating communicating your leadership philosophy and expectations. You should be a little nervous! This is a great opportunity that can be very rewarding and fun, but if you’re not a little concerned about how you will pull it off as the one in charge, that could be a red flag. Catch this whole episode to enhance your team leader skills.
Outline of This Episode
- [1:14] Description of the book Rules and Tools for Leaders by Perry M. Smith
- [1:50] Avoid this way of establishing yourself as a leader in a new place!
- [4:40] Two things you need to communicate to your new team
- [6:35] Don’t confuse leadership philosophy with leadership expectations
- [9:10] How do you determine what the critical pieces of your new position are?
- [9:48] Avoid the trap of listening too closely to reports about how others view your employees
- [10:29] Checklist of a few of the next important goals, including how to connect with your team
- [13:46] Avoid being too concerned and negative about what your predecessor did.
- [15:40] Recap and why it’s ok to feel nervous
Resources & People Mentioned
- Rules and Tools for Leaders (Make sure you “look inside” at the comprehensive table of contents!)
Connect With Terry at 180 Mentoring
- www.180Mentoring.com
- 180Mentoring(at)gmail.com
- On Twitter: https://twitter.com/180Mentoring
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More