Management Perspectives

The realities facing today’s ‘new’ leaders are unprecedentedly novel, challenging, and anxietyprovoking. For example, not only must more new leaders lead remote teams across larger geographical distances, but many must also navigate supply chain issues and create new customer engagement models wrought by the pandemic. Added to this plight, most step into their roles with little to no guidance.

Studies1 show that while 83 per cent of organisations say it is important to develop leaders, only 5 per cent have implemented their plans to do so. No one has handed them a playbook that takes them from being an individual contributor to the person responsible for the output and performance of others. New leaders are not spending their time trying to get from good to great—they are just trying to make it to the end of the week!

For starters, once they move into their leadership role, they discover that what they thought a leader’s job would be and what it is are two different things. Before becoming one themselves, they saw that instead of working in a cubicle, leaders had roomy offices. And instead of working alone on a spreadsheet, they were gathered in the conference room making heady decisions. The work of leaders appeared more varied, impactful, and important. But once in the role, they quickly discovered that it comes with pressures from all sides. Leadership is hard. Period.

Yet much of the hardship suffered by new leaders is entirely preventable—often by recognising and addressing shortcomings of their own. New leaders notoriously make things much harder than they need to. They get in their own way—a lot.

Here are a few basic building blocks of being a good leader to get new leaders through the early stages:

• Know yourself. Self-awareness is a key differentiator between successful and unsuccessful leaders. The journey of self-discovery, however, is not just about identifying your strengths and weaknesses. It is also about identifying overuse of your strengths. For example, a person with a creative imagination might spawn too many untethered ideas that have no practical application. Or, a persuasive communicator might hog the limelight and lose sight of when to listen. As a leader, you are much better off embracing all the dimensions of your humanness, including the use, overuse, or misuse of your strengths.
• Master time management. The one thing that effective leaders have in common is mastery over how they use their time. Time ‘mismanagement’ is common during the early parts of one’s leadership career and is often connected to not yet having learned how to delegate. Instead of trying to know everyone’s job, you’re better off investing time in developing people so you can offload substantial tasks. This not only increases their capabilities and the value they add to the company, but also frees you up to spend more time being strategic.
• Model a strong work ethic. If you want to gain the respect of your people, the starting point is your work ethics. It is the most visible way of showing commitment and impressing upon them that you do not take your role for granted. As a new leader, you must care deeply about the quality of your work and your growing reputation. That caring is exemplified by your work ethic and will ultimately determine the degree of success you achieve.
• Preserve personal fidelity. Alongside the increase in responsibilities as a new leader, understand that there is an increased need to prioritise self-care. You will take better care of others when you first take care of yourself. This requires the personal discipline to prioritise your wellbeing. One manager I know took it upon herself to lead an 8 am yoga class three mornings a week. She figured it would be easier to hold herself accountable by forming a supportive network with others.

• Work on your skills— continuously. Leaders never fully graduate. You will never be granted absolution from your obligation to improve. As a leader, you must always care deeply about the quality of your work. When you adopt the mantra of ongoing improvement, you find ways to invest in yourself and add more value to the lives of people and the organisation you serve. To endure as a new leader, you must continuously earn your right to lead as you build the skills, knowledge, mindset, and wherewithal needed for effective and enduring leadership success.