FIRST-TIME LEADERSHIP Are You A First-Time Leader? Rajiv Krishnan (MD, DDI India) on why a transition at the workplace is considered even more stressful than going through a divorce |
 In the 2007-2008 DDI survey on ‘Global Leadership Forecast’, a surprising fact came to the fore. Over 50 per cent of leaders mentioned that they were not prepared for leadership transitions. An earlier study by us had also highlighted that a transition at work was the most stressful event in a person’s life, even more stressful than a divorce or the loss of a loved one. It is a point worth noting – that for the most stressful event in a person’s life, viz., a transition at work, which is something certainly more predictable than things like death, we are most ill-prepared.Since the subject is pretty extensive, we will restrict ourselves to the transition from an individual contributor to a first-time leader. We will also look at a few themes rather than attempting to cover the topic completely. When we discuss leadership, we hear a lot of people talking about the C-suite or the CXOs, and there are libraries of books written about how they determine the success or failure of the company. In this mêlée, the ‘humble’ team leader can sometimes be forgotten. This level is at times referred to as the ‘see-level’, the level that is ‘seen’ by individual contributors and external customers. Let me take an example to explain this point. Managing former peers: Kumar works with a leading BPO organisation and was recently moved up from the post of team member to team leader. He says that he is facing a problem due to the fact that his team now consists of people who were formerly his peers. The reality is that drawing new boundaries with them would require skill and sensitivity. A few tips that could help Kumar are: 1. Acknowledge the new reality, and that not everyone will be overly happy with your promotion. 2. Address the change openly and state that you are eager to earn the team’s respect. 3. Focus on earning people’s respect and not on becoming everybody’s best friend. 4. Be willing to listen and be honest about what you know and what you do not know. Seeking feedback and being receptive to it: It is easy to lose perspective once you are promoted. Kumar recognised this early. People expect you to ‘change’ and recognise precisely how you have changed, while the fact is that it is not always possible to peep into the looking glass and look at yourself honestly. Hence, the importance of feedback which is nothing but information on how you and your work are perceived. Several DDI studies have determined that the single most important predictor of leadership potential is receptivity to feedback. In oriental cultures, feedback may not always be understood and may be mistaken for criticism. Remember that it is almost as difficult to give feedback as it is to receive it. So, blessed is he who gives feedback as he could always say, “I have better things to do”. That said, record feedback carefully and ask the giver what constitutes correct action or behaviour so that you get clear direction on how to improve. Also, the giver should note that good feedback needs to be timely, balanced, owned and specific. |
Being authentic: Authentic is a big word to define and involves acting with integrity, being honest, promoting trust and being confident instead of arrogant. Kumar could have got away with inconsistent behaviour as a team member, but as a team leader, his every move and fumble will be recorded and filed away. Kumar now has to be sure that he does not share confidential information with his team. He must learn to share credit, and eschew gossip, rumours and sarcasm. No more snide remarks about senior people in the company. He must also be careful of non-verbal gestures like eye contact and body language. Bringing out the best in people: Kumar may have been great as an individual contributor, while being competitive enough to ensure that his good performance did not go unnoticed by his managers. As a team leader, he will need to study his team members carefully and become aware of their strengths and development areas. He cannot play favourites or compete with them. When a team member struggles with something, it would be inadvisable to say, “Hey, give it to me, I will do it in a jiffy”. Rather, he will have to coach and help the person do it himself, so that he is confident about the task the next time around. Kumar will have to work out a systematic plan to create a positive work environment. This could be done by celebrating successes, updating his team about latest developments and helping his team members learn about their roles in the overall strategic organisational objectives. Kumar’s boss, in the meantime, will need coaching to understand the difficulties in Kumar’s transition, even though he may have gone through the same experience some time back. |
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