Developing Leadership Skills While Working Full-Time

Want to get into leadership? It's a VERY different job than you do now. I've promoted dozens of people into leadership and here are the 5️⃣ things I make sure they agree to before I offer them the job. 1️⃣ Acknowledge the jobs are different → what made you a successful rep or IC (individual contributor) will NOT make you a successful leader. 💡 A great headstart into leadership is to begin to explore what those differences are. How can you begin to develop leadership skills before you need them? 2️⃣ Reverse where you index → most people index on either relationship or process. Leaders need to be proficient in both. Process people can be rough and short. Those strong in relationships can lack the teachable "how to" process provides bc of their magic people skills. 💡 Identify where your strength is and begin to understand your weakness. Where can you lean into your weakness in your current role? If you need more process, study the ones you have and start to manage yourself in them first. If you lean to process already, how can you take that extra beat to build deeper relationships now? 3️⃣ Don't super rep → the most common mistake of new leaders is making their team admins that "bring their manager" on a call to do the real work. This leads to reps reliant on their manager to get results, rather than developing self-sufficiency. 💡 You can start to "manage" now by leveraging your current resources better, e.g. more effective syncs with your SDR, better prep for you SE, more guided responses for support pros. Be a leader with the team you already have as an IC! 4️⃣ Choose good ideas over "my" ideas → new leaders are ready to change the world...even if it means repeating mistakes unnecessarily. When your idea always wins or you have strong inner conflict accepting someone else's idea bc you are worried about getting credit, you kill the momentum of your new role. 💡 When's the last time you sought out feedback on an idea you had? I'm sure you are like "ALWAYS!," but when did you change what you were doing? Try that. Get used to choosing good ideas that aren't yours! 5️⃣ Be a learner → Just bc you are leader doesn't mean you know it all or are expected to have every answer. Instead, find your wells of knowledge and draw from them daily. 💡 The best way to learn is to teach. Find something the team you are on needs, go learn it, then give it as a gift to your teammates. There's nothing better than helping someone be successful - that's leadership...and something you can do right now.

When I started leading a high-powered recruiting team, I had the traits of the TYRANT leaders I now call out. Here's why: Despite my degrees, certificates, and ongoing professional development, nothing prepared me to transition into leading. I still had an individual contributor (IC) mindset, which unintentionally led me to compete with my very capable team. At the time, I engaged in behaviors like: Taking over projects instead of developing my team. Working long hours, thinking it showed commitment. Making unilateral decisions vs collaborating. Giving orders instead of providing clarity and context. Hoarding information instead of communicating transparently. Prioritizing my metrics over team goals. A month in, my boss at the time sat down with me and told me to own my transition and to stop taking over work when someone asked for help. (she's one of the best Leader's I've ever had) To transform my mindset, I sought out a few internal sponsors and observed how they managed their teams. I also asked my team for feedback on where I could do better. Once I made the changes: mindset and action, I began demonstrating new leadership behaviors: Coaching my team and developing their problem-solving skills. ↳Created an authorization matrix to empower them to make decisions. Promoting work-life balance through prioritization and delegation. ↳I stopped working on vacation to set a better example. Making collaborative decisions to increase buy-in. ↳They worked on the reqs, so I asked for their ideas and where I could implement them. Painting a vision and equipping the team to get there themselves. ↳I translated the organization's vision down to how it affected our team goals. Openly communicating to build trust and transparency. ↳I promoted democratic decision-making and explained when it needed to be autocratic. Aligning on and championing team goals over my individual metrics. ↳I held weekly reviews where I celebrated their success because it was OUR success. Here's what I want you to take from this: 1. Develop your team's skills rather than trying to be the expert. 2. Delegate decisions to increase buy-in and leverage diverse perspectives. 3. Openly share information rather than hoarding knowledge and insight. 4. Recognize and elevate your team's contributions rather than taking individual credit. #aLITTLEadvice #leadership

When I was selected to lead my first squadron of 150 military and civilian personnel, I was excited for the opportunity, but I was also nervous because I wanted to set the example and live up to expectations. A few years later, when I was selected to be a group commander for more than 1,000 military and civilian personnel, I definitely felt the weight of what I was being asked to do and I wanted to be good at it. The reality is that we can all face doubts or feel nervous about taking on a new leadership role. Whether we're leading a small team or a large team, we can encounter a variety of challenges as we transition into new roles. It’s all about how we respond to those challenges -- that's what matters the most. So, here are eight familiar challenges and some ideas to overcome them: 1️⃣ Managing Expectations: New leaders may face pressure to immediately deliver results and meet high expectations from senior management, team members, and clients. Take the time to listen and learn from others on your team before you jump right in. 2️⃣ Taking Charge and Making Decisions: While seeking input and feedback is crucial, there are also times when decisive action is necessary. Trust your instincts, rely on your expertise, and have the courage to make tough decisions that align with your vision and values. 3️⃣ Building Trust: Even though it might feel a little uncomfortable or like there's not enough time in the day, it's important to get out of the office and walk around to connect with your team. Follow through on your commitments and promises. 4️⃣ Navigating Organizational Culture: Spend time understanding the existing culture and dynamics. Prioritize building relationships with a wide range of individuals across different levels and departments to gain insights and establish credibility. 5️⃣ Managing Conflict and Resolving Issues: Conflict is inevitable in any workplace, and new leaders may encounter conflicts among team members, departments, or stakeholders. Facilitating open communication and addressing issues promptly and effectively is critical for maintaining a positive environment and fostering collaboration. 6️⃣ Delegating and Asking for Help: Leadership is not about doing everything yourself. Delegate tasks and responsibilities to capable team members, and trust them to deliver results. Don't hesitate to ask for help or seek support from mentors, colleagues, or other leaders when needed. 7️⃣ Prioritizing What Matters Most: It's easy to get overwhelmed by competing priorities and distractions. Focus your time, energy, and resources on what matters most. Say no to those things that don't align with your mission, vision, and values. 8️⃣ Being Yourself: Be true to who you are, your values, and your leadership style. Authentic leaders inspire trust, build stronger connections, and foster a culture of openness and honesty. #leadership #LeadWithCourage #LeadershipDevelopment

I'm delighted to share my newest piece for Newsweek-out today-on how to successfully navigate the transition from individual contributor to people leader. Too often, stellar individual contributors are promoted into people leadership roles without adequate training, development, support, or recognition that the skills that make people talented individual contributors are distinct from those that make them successful people leaders. Here, I share high-impact strategies that dramatically accelerate success for new people leaders: 🎯Recognize that you're moving into a new professional role and identity. Understanding the differences between successful individual contributor and people leadership skills is an important first step, as is learning to work on a more strategic versus tactical level. 🎯Develop your leadership values, voice, and vision. Understanding what guides you as a leader will help you better prioritize the day-to-day actions and ways of working that help you embody the kind of leader you aspire to be. 🎯Prioritize relationship building within and beyond your team. New people leaders often make the mistake of prioritizing day-to-day work over building relationships. But relationship building and creating alignment is central to success as a leader. 🎯Be strategic about how you and your team invest your time, energy, and resources. Learning to move from time management to priority management is a high-impact investment. Setting aside a weekly planning meeting to prioritize your and your team's work and defaulting to 85% rather than 100% effort will help you and your team deliver the highest impact results while protecting against burnout. 🎯Invest in and prioritize your own professional development and growth. Carving out regular time to deepen your skills as a people leader on an on-going basis will help you continue to develop your leadership skills and support your success as you grow into your new role. Recognizing that your own ongoing professional development is foundational to your success rather than taking a when-I-can-squeeze-it-in approach is critical. And, whether you're feeling confident, excited, overwhelmed, uncertain, anxious, or any of the other very common and normal mix of emotions, don't forget to make time to celebrate this significant career milestone! #LeadershipDevelopment #LeadershipCoaching #NewManager #NewManagers #WorkSmarterNotHarder #CareerAdvice