In a New Leadership Role? Review These 4 Tactics for Success.

If you’re starting your year in a new position or enhanced leadership role, there is a lot to think about. From gaining clarity on new responsibilities to effectively managing a remote team, new leaders have a lot to juggle, especially as they strive to surmount the challenges of leading during a global health pandemic.

It’s time to set yourself up for success. Here are four tips for employees in new leadership positions:

1. Make a Plan

Every great leader needs an agenda. Having a 30-, 60- and 90-day plan has been shown to increase your chances of succeeding in leadership. If you’re already the organized type, this might sound redundant, but it’s extremely helpful for new and inexperienced leaders. Based on your team size, goals and experience level, your plan can be extremely detailed or relatively basic. Whatever helps you stay on the right path is the correct choice.

Having a prepared strategy and vision for the foreseeable future makes the transition into your new position much easier. Stepping into a new leadership role is challenging, but there are fewer uncertainties and better peace of mind with a detailed plan in place. Proposing new ideas and making changes are also less stressful when you can strategically implement them.

2. Build Around Your Team’s Strengths

Seems obvious, right? While it sounds simple, it’s common to see teams stagnate even after a leadership change. This is where your strong judgment comes into play. Identify your team members’ strengths—their superpowers—and weaknesses, and understand their areas of opportunity, and build from there. Work with your new team to understand pain points and improvements that can be made. Once you understand the ins and outs of the team, it’s much simpler to build to your strengths and avoid any unnecessary pitfalls that slow things down.

3. Create an Inclusive Environment

Creating a workplace culture of inclusion not only improves the working environment and makes your organization more enticing during hiring, but it also creates stronger team dynamics and a more successful workforce. A truly inclusive workplace environment starts with individual leadership, and the example you set for your team can be instrumental in contributing to an overall inclusive workplace culture.

Having an inclusive team allows more members to have their voices heard, while also improving collaboration. Inclusive businesses also create better opportunities for women leaders, a group being disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s been proven time and time again that a business’s diversity and inclusion efforts deliver better results, both financially and personally. As Carla Harris shared with us at Linkage’s 2020 Virtual Women in Leadership Institute, leaders are responsible for innovating, and we cannot innovate if we don’t have multiple perspectives at the table to inform our strategy.

There’s no better time than now to focus on how you as a leader can create and support a culture of inclusion.

4. Support and Coach Your Employees

The biggest mistake new leaders can make is not properly coaching their employees. To create and maintain a successful team, your employees need guidance and instruction. Providing assistance in helping your team develop to meet company goals is important for short- and long-term success. No matter the size, makeup, or experience level, investing in your team is always a smart idea.

Hold frequent meetings with your team to check on any issues they’re having and help provide possible solutions. The more support and coaching you offer, the less uncertainty your team will experience. Plus, this extra effort goes a long way in building team chemistry and overall job satisfaction.

Linkage offers expert consulting and coaching to transform your business’s leadership. Interested in developing the next generation of leaders? Contact Linkage today!