Stepping into a leadership role is a significant achievement, and it marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in your career. However, it's crucial to understand that moving from a technical expert to a leader involves more than just a change in title. Transitioning from a technical role to a leadership position is a significant change that requires a shift in mindset, skillset, and behaviour.
- Acknowledge the Change: Understand that you are no longer in the role to do the work but to lead those who do. This shift requires a change in mindset. Your success is now measured by the success of your team.
- Learn and Adapt: Be open to learning leadership skills. Invest time in leadership training, coaching, and mentorship. Resources like books, online courses, coaches and workshops can be incredibly beneficial.
- Move Beyond "Being Nice": Transitioning to leadership means letting go of the need to be friends with everyone. While maintaining good relationships is important, your role now involves making tough decisions and sometimes delivering difficult feedback. Create great relationships based on kindness and respect not based on being nice.
- Overcome Fears and Doubts: Leadership often brings up fears and doubts, especially when you don't see tangible work results immediately. Understand that leading people, changing cultures, and creating strong team dynamics takes time and persistence.
- Focus on Team Results: Shift your focus from your individual achievements to the collective success of your team. Your primary goal now is to facilitate and celebrate their accomplishments. So you become a facilitator of growth and progress in the first place.
- Trust Your Team: Build trust with your team members. Empower them to take ownership of their tasks. This not only frees up your time but also fosters a sense of responsibility and engagement among your team. Remember when you do an actual task instead of them with a thought of helping them, you are doing the opposite. You are disempowering them.
- Delegate, Don’t Abdicate: Delegation doesn’t mean abandoning tasks. Provide clear instructions, set expectations, and follow up as needed. Offer support without micromanaging. Help your team to learn and provide resources.
4. Develop Emotional Intelligence:
- Self-Awareness & Awareness: Understand your strengths and areas for improvement. Reflect on how your actions and decisions impact others. Work on yourself, your personal and spiritual growth. Learn to understand people’s emotions and triggers to facilitate their emotional evolution.
- Empathy: Take the time to understand your team’s perspectives, needs, and concerns. Show that you value their contributions and care about their well-being. Implement new programs and initiatives that support not only professional growth but also personal needs and personal growth.
5. Shift from Pleasing to Inspiring:
- Set Clear Vision and Goals: Articulate a clear vision and set achievable goals for your team. Inspire them by communicating the bigger picture and how their work contributes to it.
- Lead by Example: Demonstrate the behaviours and attitudes you expect from your team. Integrity, transparency, and a strong work ethic are contagious.
- Provide Constructive Feedback: Offer regular, honest, and constructive feedback. Encourage open communication and create a safe space for your team to express their ideas and concerns. Analyse and diagnose current systems and see if structure and processes provide support for feedback culture and transparent communication.
6. Balance Authority and Approachability:
- Set Boundaries: While it’s important to be approachable, it’s equally important to set boundaries. Your team should respect your authority while feeling comfortable coming to you with issues or ideas.
- Be Decisive: Make decisions confidently and take responsibility for them. Show your team that you are capable of leading through both good times and challenges.
Embrace the new role with confidence, and focus on growing as a leader who inspires and empowers others. Your focus now shifted from your day to day task list to people. Think about how to help your team members through coaching, mentoring, guiding or facilitating.
Stay happy, authentic, and future-forward.
If you are looking for leadership programs to help your managers transition from technician to leaders role please send me email on alex@thementoringeffect.com
Director Coastal Facilities Management at Department of Transport Double Ds Discovery Diaries Podcast
6moAn upcoming episode of our podcast Double Ds Discovery Diaries talks about this exact topic!