Blog Archives
The Key to Your Organization’s Successful Future
With a number of the talks I have been giving at companies and universities, I recently reconnected with my alma mater. Feeling a bit nostalgic, I searched to see if some of the on-campus activities that I was involved in were still around.
Some extra curricular organizations I was involved in had been around for over 100 years prior to my joining, so it was no surprise that they were thriving as always. Yet what was more affirming was the success attained by a couple organizations that I was at the ground floor of.
One was the course I taught on Leadership through the undergraduate business school and the other was the Freshman Sophomore Business Club.
In both cases, I was not the official “founder” but was the second to have the top “executive” spot. With the Freshman Sophomore Business Club, an organization only open to lower classmen (mostly “pre-business” majors), I was Treasurer my Freshman year and then was elected President the next. My executive team and I took on a club with 10 members (mainly officers) and grew it by over 1000%. My focus at the end of my year as President was to ensure that the next executive committee didn’t face the same problem I had; having to run a young organization with no guidance or mentoring (given that the organization’s founders left office, barely providing a thumb drive with documents they had made over the first year). I worked with my executive team to elect the next set of officers early, pair them with their predecessor and begin to operate the club with the outgoing officers actively present, providing advice and best practices.
The result has been amazing. Besides the growth of the organization, it has continued to operate even though there is almost complete turn over of officers and members every 1-2 years.
For the leadership course (that operated through a program that allows students to gain sponsorship for and teach courses to other students), I took the class as a student the first semester it was offered. One semester later when the course founder graduated, I was selected as someone to take over the course. When my graduation neared a couple years later, I enacted a plan to ensure the course would continue on long after I was gone.
Throughout the semesters I taught the course, I had other students serve as teaching assistants to me. During my 2nd to last semester in college I beefed up the number of teaching assistants and watched them closely, as I planned to choose my successor. Then finally, my last semester in college I selected a successor (who I closely mentored) and monitored how the class was doing to ensure that no issues arose. This was a recipe for success and the course is now the longest running special interest course in the entire undergraduate business school, having run continuously for the last 20+ semesters while most other courses of its kind dissolve when the creator graduates.
The reason I describe these experiences is to offer an example of why building a legacy is important to the future of an organization (or anything you are involved in), but also to point out it is something that takes focus and effort to see through.
In both cases, I made a concerted effort to look toward the future. Being a big believer that good leaders can foster success while they are present but great leaders foster success in those that follow long after they are gone, I didn’t look at the organization’s success within the context of the limited time I led it. I saw that there were certain things that needed to be done with the future in mind.
As managers, or individual contributors within any team or organization there are a number of things you can do to increase the likelihood of future success. Here are a few:
- Share best practices, don’t hoard them. Don’t let the next cycle of leaders make the same mistakes you did. Share with them your failures, why they happened and how you would have done things differently if you could do it all over again. This will give future leaders perspective.
- Allow the next generation of organization leaders to sink or swim, but provide a safety net. Don’t hand-hold your successors too much. Give them clear guidance but then let them run small parts of things to start. When they succeed it helps build confidence in them; when they fail, be there to help them learn how to do better. Your exit shouldn’t be an abrupt stop, it should be a gradual fading out.
- Don’t make it about yourself, let the up-and-comers shine. Confident leaders know they don’t need to take all the credit to feel they have made a different. Let others around you (especially the future of the organization) share in the success and even be at the forefront of who gets the credit. This will inspire people to follow the lead you set while empowering them to strive to reach your vision.
It was really energizing and affirming to see that something I dedicated myself to years ago was still around and thriving. It also made me realize that the effort I put in before I exited stage-left from the organization was worth it.
Make something that is built to last; be purposeful in succession planning.
BE AWESOME!
-MR. BIZ
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How to Speak to an Executive
Most of us have been asked the old cliché, scenario. “what would you say if you were in the elevator with the CEO of your company and you had to pitch him/her an idea but only had the time from when the elevator left the lobby to when it reached their floor?”
The ability to get your point across concisely and artfully to executives can mean the difference between moving up in your career or getting stalled where you are at. While oversimplified, the situation described above correctly characterizes the approach you should take when talking with an executive.
Despite the influence and responsibility they have, it is important to remember that often executives revert to almost being child-like when they reach that top level of corporations. Attention spans almost completely disappear and it is hard for them to focus on doing anything administrative without the help and support of an assistant. Every day they are bombarded with information and have to shift focus in the blink of an eye, as they have a number of areas of responsibility and lead organizations that working on many projects. When you have the opportunity to present a powerpoint deck to them or speak with them about an idea you have, you must consider their frame of mind.
That said, here are some keys things you must keep in mind in order to be successful speaking with top executives:
- Be Brief- When speaking with an executive, get to the point. Don’t plan on going through a lot of detail on every little part of the process you went through to arrive at your recommendation. Work under the assumption that if they want to know, they will ask you. Think of it like a funnel. What you communicate to an exec is analogous of the small funnel opening. Only communicate what is essential and be able to have background information and logic on why you reached certain conclusions. The process of presenting is not about you sharing every detail, but is about you getting your main points across and getting their buy-in and support. Additionally, at meeting scheduled for 1 hour may end up being 15 minutes if the executive is late leaving another meeting and may have other commits that have come up last minute that cut the time even shorter. This happens regularly to me.
- Be Insightful- Don’t tell an executive something they already know. Be unique and share something new. They don’t have the time to go over the same topic and details over and over. Teach them something new. When you consistently do this, then execs will know you are a go-to person and will come to you for guidance in the future. Using stories and analogies are good as well. I remember one presentation where I compared our companies operational complexities to ordering a steak at a restaurant but being expected to tell the waiter the internal temperature of the steak you wanted, the amount of salt, pepper and other spices you wanted along with the angle you wanted the grill lines to be at. It seemed to get the message across.
- Be Prepared to Go Off-Track- I do not think I have ever talked through a presentation without being interrupted. More accurately, I don’t think I have ever gotten more than 30 seconds into a presentation without being stopped by an executive to ask a question, say on opinion or move ahead to a more specific part of my presentation. It happens. Be familiar with your presentation and able to start and stop anywhere while being able to seamlessly go back to important areas that were skipped as you follow-along the executive’s thought process. Executives see things in a unique way and may not learn a concept the same way you did.
- Be Ready to Answer Questions- Be prepared to answer any question. While you want to keep presentations short and to the point, make sure to have a ton of back-up information. You will undoubtedly be asked something unique and need to have reference-able evidence to back-up what you are saying. Just as important, if you don’t know the answer, admit that you don’t, commit to finding an answer and then follow-up with the executive with the answer you find.
- Be Sure to Follow-up- While it would be ideal to get a direct and clear answer from an executive after presenting, this is often not the case. Execs need time to process what you recommended and tie it in with the other dozen priorities they are juggling. Ensure that you follow-up to confirm buy-in and get approval on the best path forward. Often you will have to drive this because if you wait around for them to get back to you, you may be waiting forever.
I regularly present to executives at my company about new and exciting technologies and strategies to build revenue. While at first I was very concerned with getting my point the way I wanted to explain it, I soon learned that I had to build my analyze specifically for the executive I was reading out to, almost like I had to write in a different language I knew they understood. Being flexible is so important.
A good way to learn how to effectively communicate to executives is to treat all your interactions with co-workers like they are with an executive. They will appreciate how you value their time and you will get much better at getting your point across.
Now the next time you are in an elevator with an executive you know what to do: be brief, be insightful, be prepared to go off-track, be ready to answer questions and be sure to follow-up. And even if you are not limited to an elevator ride’s amount of time, take ownership of your communication and treat everyone with the respect that you would give an executive from your company. It will help you go far in your career, not matter what your chosen field is.
Does Anyone have any stories about interactions they have had with an executive or tips of their own?
BE AWESOME!
-MR. BIZ
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The Best Way to Lead is to Follow
Many people have this misconception about leadership.
They think leading others is directing the troops. Setting a vision , telling people what to do, and keeping everyone on track .While leadership is all of these, the real difference between good and great leadership is empowerment.
If the CEO of a company maintains complete control on all aspects of the business, he creates a legion of followers. People who will listen to direction but often do not leverage (or even exercise) their creativity and ambition. Then your people will have less confidence in their decisions and are less likely to take healthy risks that would help the overall organization. While there are a few examples of this working effectively (think Steve Jobs at Apple, or Larry Ellison at Oracle), many times the organization takes a turn for the worse when that leader is no longer in the picture (the verdict on Apple is still out).
Truly great leaders leverage the skills and talents of the group of smart people they build around them, but do so without needing to keep a tight grip on how goals are pursued and ultimately reached.
As a manager, empowering your people helps them grow (even when making mistakes, they ultimately will learn valuable lessons in the process).
The most effective way to empower your people is to follow their lead. As a leader, when someone is passionate about an idea of initiative, give them the opportunity to pursue it.
Doing this builds trust and loyalty. As a leader, if you are constantly saying “it’s my way or the highway,” you will eventually surround yourself with mindless drones, as top talent will feel restricted and frustrated, eventually finding a place that offers them freedom. Yet when you empower your people and give them the chance to shine, they will work harder for you. That, mixed with the passion they have will create outstanding results.
When you consistently do this, your employees will become loyal to you and when the time comes when you need something to be accomplished they will come through in the clutch, even when the task seems impossible.
There is an “old school” mentality that fear and respect is what leads to results, but this is simply no longer true (if it ever was). Case and point, when building a team vision and goals, do you think that your employees will be more likely to strive for a vision they create, or one that you push down upon them?
Clearly you would be more motivated and invested if you had a say. A great leader facilitates and directs the creation of goals and vision, she doesn’t just demand adoption of it. She knows when to let her people take the lead and supports them when they do.
She backs them up, even when they fail; and builds them back up if they do. She knows when to push forward at the front of the pack, and when to push from behind.
Ultimately, the ability to empower those you lead, through following their lead will lead to ideas you never could have thought of on your own and results that you never could have accomplished on your own.
The true difference between a good leader and a great leader is not the results when she is leading the top, but the results that they continue to achieve long after she has gone. The main ingredient to fostering this greatness is empowerment, and the best way to empower is to know when to follow.
Remember: the greatest leaders don’t just lead, they follow.
BE AWESOME!
-MR. BIZ
This article was originally published in the Personal Branding Blog
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The best question a manager can answer: “Why?”
Here is an article that was recently published on the Personal Branding Blog of which I am a contributor to… http://www.personalbrandingblog.com/the-best-question-a-manager-can-answer-why/
Let me lay out a situation that most of those that work at almost any company are familiar with: Company management undergoes a reorganization and change is coming. The change can be vast including entire groups or functions going-away, leaving hundreds or thousands without a job) or could be something slight, like people have to work on an upcoming Saturday.
Corporate leaders are (rightfully so) worried about big things like, will this new strategy and organization structure cause the company to lose momentum? Or, will this change cause us to lose profit or become vulnerable to our competitors? Yet one thing that does not receive as much thought is how to “break the news” to all the employees. For most, it’s as cold and calculated as sending out a company announcement via email, and then letting the chips fall where they will. This lack of thought about communicating change can be disaster because (quite simply) people talk.
When people talk two things happen, (1) they get distracted and no longer focus on their work, and (2) they come up with some of the most creative conclusions as to why things changed and the rationale behind the new system. Most of the time these self-crafted answers are based on wrong assumptions or are just completely rationalized and made up by someone who is ill-informed.
In managing people, I have found that the best way to deal with change (and basically the changing of any policy or rule that is set) is to answer the question that is often disregarded by managers; the question “Why?”
Managers can wrongfully think, “I’m the boss and I know why I needed to make this change. My employees just need to focus on the new way we are doing things so we can reach the new goals I set for them.” Instead, effective managers don’t just tell their people that a change has been made, but they offer rationale behind why the change was made.
For example, a friend of mine’s company had an entire team that was focused on making products for and selling to a certain industry. One day, it was announced that the team would no longer be focused on this industry but instead would be targeting international customers. Along with the announcement, some people’s job would be eliminated and some would have to move to Europe and Asia. Unfortunately, that was the extent of the announcement. There was no why.
Left to their own devices people spent a great deal of time and energy speculating whether the change came because of something going on in the industry (which appeared to be growing) or a new opportunity that came about internationally, and beyond. The company did not share that this industry focus was not profitable or that the cost of paying experienced people on the team was causing the company to lose market share in other product lines because there was less money for marketing. The reasoning could have been anything, but the bottom-line is that it was not shared.
The beauty about sharing why with your employees is because it allows them to move on. It’s like ripping off a band-aid. It may hurt, and they may disagree with the rationale that you used in making your decision, but at least they understand your reasoning.
Telling the why behind a decision allows people to feel like they are important and deserve to know. Instead of de-motivating them, it allows people to focus more on their work and can even empower them to work better and smarter because they will naturally look for new ways to support your rationale for making the decision in the first place. If you talk to the team about the purpose behind a cost cutting measure you are instating, they will begin to uncover additional ways to cut costs in other areas (often times without you even asking them to). They will work smarter and in a way that is mindful of why the decision was made, while you will get better results.
While it is important to use tact and put the right “spin” on the reasoning behind your decision, make sure to share the why with your people and not just what the change is. It can mean the difference between achieving the result that you are hoping the change would create and total failure and low morale. Remember the answer the question, “Why?” even if you aren’t directly asked.
BE AWESOME!
-MR. BIZ
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More From the Movies
Continuing a post from a few weeks ago, here is the next set of business related movie quotes that offer some great lessons applicable to our careers.
The list of quotes originally came from a Forbes.com article.
- Coming to America: “I started out mopping the floor just like you guys. But now…now I’m washing lettuce. Soon I’ll be on fries; then the grill. And pretty soon, I’ll make assistant manager, and that’s when the big bucks start rolling in.” — Maurice (Louie Anderson) says to Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) and Semmi (Arsenio Hall). I am not sure I would be that ecstatic about making my way “up” to the grill, but there is a solid reminder here. Said philosophically you want to savor the journey and not just reaching the end. Put more practically, value each experience you have and realize that it is a process. There are times when you may skip a step or two, but ultimately it is good not to move up the chain too fast in your career. There are certain experiences that you want to get in lower level positions before the stakes get too high (mistakes are forgiven less when you are in higher up positions).
- Big Night: “I am a businessman. I am anything I need to be at any time.” — said Pascal (Ian Holm), owner of a competing restaurant. This quote brings to mind the concept of work/life integration. The term “work/life balance” doesn’t really apply anymore. It seems that our jobs take over so much of our time and focus and even at odd times. This means that we need to be “on” and must be able to adapt at any given moment (no matter the day or time). We have to carry around multiple hats and find a way to shift between work and play instead of partitioning them as separate.
- Up in the Air: “There’s nothing cheap about loyalty.” – Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) says to his traveling companion Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga). As time goes by loyalty diminishes more and more. In sports there used to be players that would stay with one team their entire career. Now most will have played with at least 2-3 teams by the time they retire. The same thing happened at work where some of our parents worked at one company for 40 years. Now staying with one for 4 is a long time. Loyalty is analogous to reputation. It takes a long time to craft your brand and it often takes sacrifice and hard work to build it right (hence it not being “cheap”).
- Thank You for Smoking: Kid #3: “My Mommy says smoking kills.” Naylor: “Oh, is your Mommy a doctor?” Kid #3: “No.” Naylor: “A scientific researcher of some kind?” Kid #3: “No.” Naylor: “Well, then she’s hardly a credible expert, is she?” — Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) said to a middle-school student during a career-day speech. Bosses will challenge you and you need to be able to back your viewpoints and recommendations with evidence. When your “evidence” comes from your gut (based on previous experience or your intuition about a situation) you have to be able verbalize it and support it.
- Goodfellas: “And when the cops, when they assigned a whole army to stop Jimmy, what’d he do? He made ‘em partners.” — Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) said narrating. Sometimes in our careers we need to make partners out of enemies. The best thing to do is make sure to answer the question on your enemy/partner’s mind- WIIFM (what’s in it for me?). To turn an enemy to a partner ask their advice on something and then implement what they recommended, thanking them later. Or give them something they want. If you focus on helping them, there is a higher likelihood they will help you.
Among other things, patience, work/life integration, reputation building, supporting evidence and winning over your enemies will give you a turbo boost to make your way from washing lettuce to the grill and if you don’t make it all the way there, at least you can move up to fries.
BE AWESOME!
-MR. BIZ
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5 Things To Do That Will Make You a Successful Young Manager
The idea of being a young manager can be an absolutely amazing thing (think about all the fun that Kevin had when his family went away in Home Alone). Yet in reality being a manager is not all about telling everyone what to do and always getting our way.
First off, no matter how many people we have working under us, we always have a boss too. Heck, even when you are CEO you have a boss (aka the Board of Directors). Then there also is all the paperwork, documentation and “cleaning up” behind your direct reports when they do not complete 100% of their jobs.
Regardless of the hassles, managing others can be a rewarding experience. Moreover, as a young professional it can be a very valuable experience that will reap endless benefits as our career develops. I am of the belief that your ultimate success is business is not what you do but what you can get others to do, so managing people early in your career will put you leaps and bounds ahead of others as your climb the corporate ladder.
In my corporate experience I have managed a diverse cross section of people; some older, some younger, some the same age. No matter what the age of your employees, your business function (from accounting to sales and everything in between) or the size of your company and industry, there are some key things to keep in mind in order to be make your people forget that you are a young leader with little management experience and focus on the fact that you are just a leader that bring extraordinary value to the table.
Here are 5 important rules that when not followed can derail your ability to manage your team to its full potential:
- Look the part: As a young person you want to dress like you are a manager. It is ok to dress up a little more than others in the office. While most people in my office wore khakis and a dress shirt, I wore suit or sports coat (no tie). This communicates a sense of formality and will make people take you more seriously than if you were under-dressed. Moreover, if you can change your hair or overall look to appear older it will help. I can look fairly young for my age so I grew a goatee which made me look 7 years older.
- Don’t mention your age… at least not right away: It is not a good idea to go around broadcasting that you are young and inexperienced, especially when you are managing people. Once someone knows your age, it tends to create resentment. Employees older than you will think you don’t deserve to be a manager and those the same age will think that they can be your friend, eventually taking advantage of you to get special treatment. I made an effort not to let anyone know my age, however in one position my peer announced to the group a few days before I changed jobs that I didn’t have much experience and was a recent college grad. This ended up creating an obstacle I had to overcome in order to be seen as credible. We don’t need to hide your age forever, though. In fact, once you have proven yourself and have a track record of doing amazing work, telling your age can be a good thing. Once you are accomplished people are impressed and admire you for getting so far at a young age.
- Make it seem like you are more experienced than you are: Talk abstractly about your experiences. When speaking to my employees in my first management job right out of college I would refer to experiences I had at different companies through internships. I wouldn’t, however, explicitly say that I was an intern. I would say that in a “marketing position in a previous I did xyz…” I also played with vaguery even more, since I traveled for a few months between graduation and starting my job. So when my people asked if I came from right school to this job I mentioned that I did not, instead saying that I traveled between school and work (I did not mention it was only for 6 months though). Don’t say you had this other position 2 years ago after your junior year, instead refer to the passing of time as “a few years ago.” The same is true for interacting with your boss or peers; it is generally best to keep your age to yourself.
- Don’t talk about college all the time: I have seen many recent college grad colleagues consistently reference college experiences like they were yesterday. This is great to do when you are amongst other recent grads but it can lead co-workers older than you to look down on you or focus on your lack of experience.
- Help your people, don’t command them: As a young manager the most important piece of advice I can give is not to power trip. Being boss does not mean your first job is to tell people what to do an exert your authority. Job #1 is to support your people and help them do their job better. If you view your role from the point of view of a servant then you will motivate your people to listen to you and support your vision.
It can be great to be the boss, especially when you are young because it forces you to teach others how to be successful in their jobs (and the old saying says that you retain the highest % of something when you are teaching someone else how to do it), i.e. teaching makes you learn. But remember to “teach” (or coach) in the right way without committing any of the blunders above that will create a wall between you and your employees.
BE AWESOME!
-MR. BIZ
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Mandela’s 7th rule and “thinking gray”
Recently I wrote a blog entry about a Time article that outlined 8 lessons on leadership from Nelson Mandela. Besides the 3rd lesson, “Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front,” another key lesson was his 7th, “Nothing is black or white.” The author astutely explains, “life is never either/or.” He continued, “Mandela is comfortable with contradiction… Every problem has many causes.” There is rarely one cause to a problem and only one way to look at things.
This reminds me of a principle that Steven Samples, former President of University of Southern California, in his book “The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership.” Samples coins a mantra he calls, thinking gray. To summarize, he professes that people spend a great deal of energy classifying things and determining their opinion on various matters, figuring out what the “right” answer is in their mind. What is your favorite color? How do you feel about abortion? What is the best way to complete a certain task? Endless questions… As Samples states, there is no need to come up with all of these opinions until it is absolutely necessary. This can (1) free up energy to do other things and (2) keeps you more open to different possibilities.
Tying this in to Mandela’s leadership principle, you don’t have to rush into simplifying decisions and classify something as the one root cause. A problem, like almost any decision is “not as straightforward as it appears.” All this said, we are forced at different times (in our careers and otherwise) to determine the cause of problems. But we must remember that it is important to remember that there are often numerous (and conflicting) answers to the question at hand. When we view things this way, we are less likely to alienate someone and make them feel like they are wrong. On the contrary, when there are multiple people with multiple ideas on the cause to a problem there is a possibility everyone is right. Recognizing this expands the pie and brings the group together.
So be like Mandela, be comfortable with ambiguity, complexity and contradiction. Be open to the fact that there may be more than one answer. In return you will be a better leader, and will most likely have more people that will follow.
Mr. Biz, OUT.
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The keys to leadership, from one of the best sources
Nelson Mandela is one of the most inspirational leaders of our time. Besides enduring 27 years in prison, he brought his country into a new era of democracy through savvy tactics (including leveraging his country’s rugby team to unite all people, ala the movie Invictus). In a recent article by the author of Mandela’s biography from a few years ago (Richard Stengel) reflected on some lessons in leadership he had gleaned through his interactions with South Africa’s ex-president. In reading the 8 rules outlined, I was struck by their simplicity but also their effectiveness.
One of Mandela’s rules on leadership that stuck out was number 3, “Lead from the back – and let others believe they are in front.” This quality was rooted in Mandela’s youth herding cattle and having to control a large group of livestock while the wavered in front of you, wanting to roam off in every direction. It has been said that true influence is when you get someone to agree with your thinking or act in a way you want them to with the other person thinking it was his idea. The same is true for leadership. It is not about standing in front of everyone and telling them how to think. It is about inspiring them to think for themselves and to think for the betterment of everyone. When you get someone to believe in what you believe and you motivate them to act in support of the common goal, you are truly exhibiting effective leadership. The other core to this lesson was in building consensus. It isn’t just about you getting your way. It is about finding ways to “expand the pie” so that everyone wins and feels like their voice is heard. The idea of not coming into a debate too early, also referenced, is an interesting thought as well. Mandela was able to extract everyone’s viewpoints and then look for a mutually beneficial solution (negotiation at its best).
Stengel mentioned that, “Mandela would simply listen. When he finally did speak at those meetings, he slowly and methodically summarized everyone’s points of view and then unfurled his own thoughts, subtly steering the decision in the direction he wanted without imposing it.” This is where the artistic portion of leadership seeps through. Injecting his own ideas and influencing others to buy into his slant on things/additions, genius. The more I learn the move I am inspired and in awe of this leader who just celebrated his 90th birthday. This leadership lesson also builds on a core concept that I teach to others. Just because you are not the president of a group does not mean you cannot be a leader within. You can be a leader no matter what role you take on. Being a leader is understanding where your talents are needed and helping the team reach the common goals at hand. Being a leader is letting others take the lead where necessary and influencing thoughts on what you are most passionate about. Being a leader is standing up for the things you believe in. And when you have the “head role” in the group it is about letting others contribute and bringing out the best in others, from the back of the herd.
I challenge all of us to remember this third rule. Lead from behind and let others take a major role in achieving your goals.
Check out the rest of the Time article: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1821659,00.html?xid=tweetbut
Mr. Biz, OUT.
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I Got Promoted, No What?
Check out an article I wrote that was just published on the website SplashLife.com
http://www.splashlife.com/article/i-got-promoted-now-what
Splashlife is a resource and advocacy group for the rising generation of 75 million young Americans, offering focused content, membership benefits, opportunities, and tools necessary to improve their lives and the lives of others.
From peer to boss: How to manage a team you used to be a part of
Mar 21
Posted by Young Professional's Edge (YP Edge)
Going from peer to manager can be a difficult process. It is a challenge for you, taking on a management role where you used to be an individual contributor, and it is challenging for your team members, as they have to take orders from someone who used to be their peer.
A STAR manager (someone who is Savvy, Tenacious, Adaptive and Resourceful… for those not familiar with the archetype discussed in my book) is able to leverage the benefit of knowing what it takes to be successful at what her team does while being sensitive to the fact that it may be difficult for their old peers to see them an authority figure.
To start, STAR managers are conscious of the fact that this situation may happen, so they are sensitive about the reputation they create for themselves among their peers. It is much harder to get a team to believe in you as a manager if you were thought of as selfish, scheming or dishonest.
When transitioning from peer to manager, STARs do the following:
When taking on a management role in these types of situations, be mindful of not only being tested by your new employees but also of any resentment that exists. In many cases, one of your other ex-peers interviewed for the position you received or possibly thinks they are more deserving of the position than you are. This may cause them to hold a grudge and act in certain ways to make you look like an incompetent leader. This can manifest itself in many ways, like them purposely making mistakes on things that you ask for their help on that they know you won’t catch because of a time crunch or because you trust them with it.
One way to deal with this resentment and animosity is to address the issue head on, speaking to individuals on your team and acknowledging how they feel . When doing this make sure not to come off as if you have an “I won and you didn’t” attitude.
Another way to handle this kind of situation is to be nice to these employees and show them that you value and support them in their own career progression. Specifically seek out their advice and find ways to make them look good. This will calm the resentment and focus them on reaching the team’s goals.
STAR managers see situations to manage where she used to be part of the team as a unique opportunity to help the team be even more successful. She successfully leverages her past experience to remove obstacles, empower her employees and create a culture that the entire team believes will help the team achieve even more.
BE AWESOME!
-MR. BIZ
No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent.
-Abraham Lincoln
Every time I appoint someone to a vacant position, I make a hundred unhappy and one ungrateful.
- Louis XIV
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Tags: Best Practices, Careers, Leadership, Management, Millennials, Young Professionals