In a 2016 survey of managers, Entrepreneur Magazine uncovered some astonishing data; 44% of new managers felt they were unprepared for their new roles and on reflection, over 80% said they wished they had more training to support them in the early years.
Forbes magazine found a very similar sentiment with 2 out of 5 managers feeling unprepared for their new roles as leaders, over 90% citing that they needed more training to succeed in their new role.
Globally we are seeing increasing levels of employee disengagement, burn-out and turn over, largely as a result of poor leadership and training. The age-old practice of promoting the person with the highest technical competence into a leadership role ‘to see if they sink or swim’ has been debunked. The above and other statistics are saying loud and clear, that more new and early leadership programs are required to support new managers to succeed.
And when I say training – I’m referring to training and development of soft skills such as collaboration, communication and influence; and importantly emotional intelligence. It’s when the marriage of technical expertise meets human skills or emotional intelligence that we see great leadership begin. And that’s the driver behind why I developed Rising Leader.
Developing a leadership mindset
When I first started coaching, several of my clients were experienced leaders. They demonstrated technical know-how and expertise yet lacked the confidence to be themselves when they were in the work place, often second guessing their decisions, processes and strategies and didn’t know how to genuinely connect with their teams to influence better outcomes.I created the program with this in mind, to help new and emerging leaders, women in particular, develop a leadership mindset to empower themselves from the outset.
A leadership mindset is the beliefs and opinions that you hold of yourself about who you are; and who you are as leader. In Rising Leader, we also work on and how to become the leader you want to be. This is pivotal work to build a strong foundation to set yourself up for and manage your success.
The early years as a new manager
I remember in my early 20’s, my first management role in a Brisbane restaurant – I was filled with gratitude, excitement and eagerness and at the same overwhelmed by the workload of both restaurant service and back-of-house administration – on top of managing a team of very capable floor staff, the relationships and service flow between the kitchen and floor, relationships with suppliers, with my immediate manager and also the restaurant owner himself. It was a lot. And it wasn’t until several years later that I reflected and realised just how much responsibility and expectation I had put on myself.
This is common in new leaders who are eager to prove themselves and their capability – and don’t necessarily have someone in their corner who is guiding them along their way. The latter is more the norm than most people probably realise.
There is a lot of nervous energy required to keep those candles burning at both ends as a new leader. There is also a huge amount of self-doubt, vulnerability in terms of not always having the answers and feeling as though you are barely keeping your head above water whiles trying to set something of a good example for those around you.
I made all the mistakes…starting with wanting to be liked; rather than respected, over functioning to prove my capability; taking on way too much to show everyone that I not only deserved the role, I’d earned it…..And my favourite – getting in over my head and being too scared to admit that I was out of my depth and ask for help and guidance and so impacting everything and everyone around me.
I learned a lot though – not only about leadership and being a leader. I learned a lot about the person that I was and who I wanted to become.
The transition to new leader is often one of the most difficult in your career
The transition to leadership is difficult in most people’s experience. Going from individual high performer to a similar type of role but with additional (and often important) responsibilities, not to mention performance expectations. Mentally, emotionally and physically, there are lot of subtle internal adjustments that need to be made, so many more details to be across, dots to join, connections to make, slips to catch, meetings to be visible in and projects to lead….and then if you’re a parent; there’s the kids and your partner as well.
At some point – if you want to succeed and do it on your terms, you will need to invest your energy and intention into developing the strength of character, level of self-trust and sense of self-compassion to back yourself and how you lead every single day.
Calling out the elephants in the room
Starting your shiny new role as a manager is an exciting time. It’s a time of recognition, reward and an opportunity to make your mark and show the people around you exactly what you’re capable of. And sometimes, you also show them what you’re not capable of too.
There is no comfort zone in leadership. Every day is a school day and every day you’re potentially faced with:
- an awkward conversation
- differences in communication style
- delegating effectively (and that’s an art in itself)
- managing your own triggers
- managing the competing demands of your workload against team leadership, mentoring and resource planning
- and sometimes resolving conflict.
Any single one of these is challenging and difficult and probably not the first thing that springs to mind when you take on your first management role.
But outside the halo of your elevated role and visibility there is now a requirement to participate in meetings with other team and project leaders, manage your own portfolio of projects and responsibilities, and carve out time for ongoing personal and professional development.
Leadership is not a title and it doesn’t immediately provide you with authority
While researching how I was going to develop this course and what I would include, I came across an article by Linda A. Hill ‘Becoming the Boss’. She had undertaken research over several years of the triumphs, trials and failures of multiple high-performers as they transitioned into leadership roles.
She found that new managers quickly realised one of the greatest myths of leadership is the new title providing you with authority. Today, in modern leadership roles, where power is often distributed, leaders are fast learning that if they want to have anything like influence either with their team, their senior leaders or both, collaboration, negotiation and communication are the necessary skills that will enable them to build trusted relationships and contextualise them in their working environment.
What is Rising Leader and how will aspiring and new leaders benefit from the program?
Rising Leading is a customised group training and coaching program designed especially for new and aspiring female leaders. It’s holistic personal and professional approach was created to develop each participants’ personalised leadership style and support wellbeing; Rising Leader’s singular mission is to support women to thrive in their everyday lives, curate a career they love; and show up confidently as authentic leaders making a difference.
As a new leader, the first few months and oftentimes years, can be filled with a myriad of feelings such as frustration, confusion and self-doubt; the endless internal struggle to find balance; and the self-defeating self-talk as to whether you have the capability and grit necessary for the complexities of leadership.
Creating a life and career you’re not only proud of but you love takes clarity, confidence and self-trust. Often, when the guidance and tools are not provided in the early stages of your transition, the process can feel overwhelming and difficult leaving you to wonder whether progress will always be this hard.
With evidence-based content, expert training and coaching – the Rising Leader program is segmented into two halves of one whole: Stage 1, Rising, comprises 12 weeks of group personal development and training followed by Stage 2, Leader, 12 weeks of small group leadership coaching.
Rising Leader’s tested roadmap can accelerate your success in both your life and career saving you from unnecessary stress and levelling up your impact.
The next intake for Rising Leader is closing on Monday 27 March 2023. If you’re interested in finding out more about the program – take a look at the Rising Leader page.
If you’d like to join the wait list – you can do so here