Stepping into a new leadership role can be overwhelming, especially when transitioning from peer to supervisor.
However, there are essential habits you can establish early to help your team adjust to your leadership style, trust you, and stay motivated.
With high turnover and limited time to build relationships, leaders often struggle to balance team goals and training. But by focusing on these seven habits, you’ll grow into your role and foster a productive, engaged team.
1️⃣ Learn to delegate: You can't do everything, and things you used to do are no longer your responsibility. If you can learn to delegate tasks to others, you'll accomplish much more and move the team toward big goals.
2️⃣ Have tough conversations early. The fastest way to lose good employees is to tolerate bad behavior from difficult employees. Take time to observe the team's dynamics, but then deal with any issues promptly.
3️⃣ Welcome feedback: ask your team regularly for feedback on you and the team. You can do this during or after team meetings, in the employee evaluation process, or after finishing a big project. Earn their trust by proactively seeking their feedback, not getting defensive when they give it, and operationalizing their suggestions.
4️⃣ Understand each person's style: Ask your new team members many questions to discover who they are. How do they like to be recognized? How often would they want to meet with you? How do they handle conflict? What goals do they have that they're working toward? Then, tailor your leadership style to each person's work style.
5️⃣ Learn to actively listen: One critical leadership skill is learning to listen more than you talk. Whether it's an idea, frustration, or personal struggle they are bringing to you, be present, engaged, and interested in what they have to say.
6️⃣ Make time for strategizing: yes, the day-to-day work is essential, but you need to be able to take a step back often and make a plan for moving forward. Then, adjust the day-to-day work to accomplish the strategy you've set.
7️⃣ Remember, you're not perfect: as a perfectionist in recovery, I know how easy it is to get into the perfection trap. But no one expects you to be perfect. They expect you to be accountable and trustworthy and make good decisions for the team. If you screw up, admit it, fix it, forgive yourself, and move on.
No matter how long you've been in a leadership position, these habits will help you be a better leader.
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