Starting a new leadership position

Starting a new job can be nerve wracking, even for the most experienced person, but when you are embarking on a new leadership position you don’t just have yourself to worry about, there is a new team of people who are depending on you to get it right too.

Getting started

Starting a new role can be tough. There are so many new things to learn, from the structure of your organisation if it is new, to how the coffee machine works, and these considerations only grow when you are leading a new team of people. If your role is an internal one, you are also dealing with the challenge of being recognised in your new role. 

It can be easy to go into a new role focusing on your goals and desires for how you approach the task ahead, and whilst this is important, I think it is also crucial to consider things from your new team’s perspective, because whilst their jobs haven’t changed, having a new leader means they are going through a change too.

Whilst you will want to consider what you want to do, your strategy and plan your approach for how you get to know people etc., I also think it is important to give consideration to the idea of who you want to be as a leader. 

It’s do as I say not do as I do

My little brother and I could be irritating as children, and if we pointed out our parents doing something they had said that we couldn’t do we were met with the phrase “it’s do as I say not do as I do!” Whilst this phrase is appropriate for pedantic, annoying children, the opposite is true when it comes to leadership. How you show up every day is how you will be perceived.

It’s great to have your strategy and 100-day plan, but you will also be judged on how you behave in all the unplanned moments. How do you react when you are faced with bad news, when a crisis flares or someone is underperforming? How you respond to those moments that are outside of your control show who you really are.

I encourage my clients to think about their strengths and their watch outs. Your strengths are the skills you have that show up even when you are under pressure. When you are faced with a tough situation, what do you thrive in?  Your watch outs are the ways in which you behave that are less than ideal that often come out when you are tired, stressed or under pressure. They are those moments that you look back on and wince at how you responded as it doesn’t reflect your best self. This is where one of my favourite coaching tools comes in, awareness. If you know what your watch outs are, and you think about how you would like to respond in those moments you can, hopefully, catch yourself when you are about to respond in a way that you won’t be proud of.

Making time to think about who you want to be as a leader, and what that looks like day to day, during great times and more challenging ones, is just as important as the work you plan to lead.

If you are about to start a new role and would like some support in thinking about what you want to do and how you want to be, take a look at my coaching programmes which can support you. And if you are stuck in a job you don’t like, wishing you had a new role to go to, my A Day in the Life Coaching session might be just what you need to start the process of creating a career you love.

Whether you are starting a new role or simply starting a new week, you get to decide how you show up at work. Take a moment this week to reflect on what kind of leader you want to be and see how you can make that happen over the few days.