For first-time leaders, the struggle is real

Do you remember your first leadership role? You were probably pretty excited, and why wouldn’t you be? You just got a new title, a bump in pay, and maybe even an office and business cards. You also got a whole new set of responsibilities, a team to manage, and goals to meet.  And, if you were like most new leaders, you also had a ton of questions, some stress, and maybe even the fear that you weren’t up to the task. Let’s face it – in many cases, new leaders move into these positions without the skills, knowledge, or experience needed to be successful.

They spend most of their first year struggling to tackle a very steep learning curve while attempting to establish themselves as trusted, respected members of the leadership team. Overnight, they are expected to know how to lead others, get work done through others, and empower others to do their best work, none of which were aspects of their previous job. 

It’s often even more difficult for those promoted internally since it’s assumed they already know how to get the work done when in reality, their company view just got a lot bigger. And they don’t have a good handle on how business works at this next level.

Fortunately, there are steps every organization can put in place to increase first-time leader success. Here are four to help you get started:

Identify Top Talent

These are the high performers on your teams today who have the skills and the attitude to be considered for leadership roles in the future. Help them establish their leadership brand now by providing training on fundamental leadership skills such as communication, resolving conflict, and emotional intelligence. 

Providing this training now, before they move into supervisory roles, allows them to practice these skills and establish themselves as leaders before the big promotion comes. Provide honest feedback on their existing skills, and the skills they’ll need to be successful in the following position, and address any gaps between them, providing support, training, and coaching as part of their development. Increasing first-time leader success comes from preparing your emerging leaders today. 

Develop Transition Plans

Making the shift from employee to supervisor isn’t as simple as a title change. As an employee’s responsibilities change, providing a comprehensive, documented, transition plan provides a sense of security so they know what they’ll be learning, and taking on, each week in their first six months on the job. From approving time to leading project meetings, this plan helps to set up candidates for tackling the steep learning curve that comes with a new leadership role. 

This plan should include meet and greets with leaders from other departments, encouraging conversations about how they impact one another, and, a mentor from outside their division, who can provide an additional layer of support and feedback from a different perspective. And don’t forget the basics, such as more frequent one-on-ones throughout their first 90 days, to provide time to discuss performance, training needs, team challenges, answer questions, provide feedback, and offer support.

Provide Clear Expectations

The best way to increase a new leader’s confidence is to provide clear expectations for their first 30-60-90 days in their new role. Why? Because so many new leaders are overwhelmed by all the changes taking place, they lose sight of what’s most important. Ensure that they understand your expectations for their own performance, as well as the team’s so that they fully understand what you’re expecting them to deliver. 

This also includes clearly defining the scope of their authority, providing examples of situations where they have full autonomy for decision making and where they should include you for feedback or approvals. 

Help them have quick wins to build their confidence, and the confidence others have in them, by giving them smaller, more manageable goals in their first few weeks. And by continuing your regular one-on-ones, they’ll always have a place to ask questions, share updates, and discuss their thoughts on how things are going.

Help Them To Avoid Burnout

New leaders are full of enthusiasm and are eager to prove themselves to you, their teams, and their new peers. You can help your new leaders find a balance by discussing what tasks and projects they should own, which ones they should delegate, and reassessing over time as they get more comfortable in the position. 

Look and listen for signs of frustration and exhaustion, and proactively provide support by asking for their ideas, brainstorming options together, and guiding rather than telling them the best approach or next steps. Particularly in the early days, open communication about their success and struggles is key in coaching them to manage priorities and resources to meet business needs while making the best use of the talents on the team.

While the struggle is real for first-time leaders, it doesn’t have to be. These critical moments in the employee lifecycle are opportunities to model exceptional leadership. Invest the time to train and prepare your emerging leaders, provide a detailed transition plan once they are promoted, set clear expectations for their first few months on the job, and offer support to help them avoid burnout. 

When you do, you’ll build trust, demonstrate empathy, and positively impact your new leader’s success.