NEW TO A LEADERSHIP DUTIES?

Here are some of the tips I had given and will give anyone embarking into a leadership role post coronavirus pandemic, although there is no one rule fits all, you can choose to be unique in your own easy and convenient ways.

Taking on a leadership role for the first time is tough. There is always the pressure to do things, the right things, and be seen to be doing them, and a lot of this pressure is in your own head. But unless there is something obvious that needs sorting out, your first months in the role will be better spent in understanding the people and the situation rather than doing much.

One easy mistake is to think that, as leader, you have to solve all the problems, and it is convenient for others to aid you in this delusion, since it takes the pressure off them. Try using existing resources to identify the current position and the ways to change it for the better.

Start by consulting widely, beginning with people who now report to you. A series of one to one meetings, though time consuming, will be worthwhile, especially if they are structured to provide you with information you need to make subsequent decisions.

There are two useful preparation questions you should ask as below:

• What do you see as the biggest problem facing the department now?

And what one change would make the most difference to success?

From their answers you will begin to build up a picture of your people, as well as issues. Some will have taken on challenge of considering the needs of the department or team, while others may be stuck on their concerns. You will also have had personal contact with each person and will be able to judge who can work with most fruitfully in the future.

If there is overlap in their response, this will be a useful power to the priorities for your attention. If there is no duplication in problem’s or solutions, it will be clear to you that you have inherited a disunited group, which will need some team – building and perhaps restricting. If no clear picture emerges, it will be evident that your people are part of the problem; you will need to do something to bring to their attentions the common threats they face.

At the same time, consult with customers, external and internal, to gather their views. Be open to criticism, and to praises. Comparing the views of the group or department with this external perspective and weighing where the biggest gaps are will help pinpoint areas for action.

While you are data gathering, have a good hard looks at the figures possibly applying measures that differ from the standard ones. There is the difficulty of deciding on priorities. Your asking and research will have turn up several areas for action. Some of them will take time, money and additional resources.

One thing to understand is that you will not able to handle them all personally. You will need to harness such resources as are available in department to make progress on them.

It is suggested buying your senior management team together and debriefing them on your findings of the research, discussing both the problem and suggesting solutions. Then together plot the solutions on a big graph, with one area relating to the amount of difference the action would make the other to the ease of implementation.

This will prompt useful discussion on the issues and means of resolving them, which will give opportunity for shared understanding of what needs to change.

In selecting priorities, you might will gain volunteers to tackle some of the identified tasks. Agree actions, assign responsibility and establish tasks, assign responsibility and establish dates for completion and for the group to review progress.

Once you have got the department identifying and solving its own problem, you will have more time to thinking about your own issues and how you can manage upwards and sideways successfully, as you will need to do if you are going to exceed in your leadership role.

I have more to share on this area for those who would find them useful into their existing and their new roles.

#keephealthy