Your First Leadership Role
I’m a relatively new leader, and as such, I have a soft spot in my heart for others who are new to leadership. It’s a challenging and exciting time. I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by amazing leaders in my life and work. Several of them have taken the time to invest in my development as a leader, and in this post I’m going to share some of their advice that I’ve found especially helpful.
Be yourself: You’ve been selected for a leadership role for a reason. It could be your education, your knowledge, or your previous work experience that caught the eye of the team that hired you. But what made you stand out from any other candidate is your personality, your gifts, your ways of interacting with others. Part of becoming a great leader is becoming very knowledgeable about who you are and who God created you to be. So be yourself as you grow into leadership. Learn what makes you tick. Learn where you’re gifted and where you’re not. God created you just the way you are for a purpose, and he wants you to live into that person and that purpose in every facet of your life.
Don’t try to have all the answers: One of the things I admire the most about the great leaders I know is that they don’t pretend to have all the answers. No one has all the answers. I’ve seen too many people new to leadership, myself included, get anxious when they don’t know what to do. The temptation to pretend that we have all the answers can be strong, especially when others are looking to us for those answers. But a truly great leader knows when he or she doesn’t know, and isn’t afraid to share that. As Socrates said:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
If you don’t know what to do, referring back to the mission and vision of your organization can be a beacon to help you and your team figure out the best path. Does it help you fulfill your mission? Is it in line with your vision? If yes, then move ahead. If not, then it’s time to look for answers elsewhere.
Be quick to listen and slow to speak: In any leadership role, the first task on a new leader’s plate is to learn. Spend time learning about the mission and vision of the organization, the people who you’ll be working with, and the culture you’re now a part of. I didn’t realize this when I first stepped into a leadership role in the RCA. Instead, I rushed ahead to do things the way I thought they should be done. In doing so, I created more stress, anxiety, and problems for myself and my colleagues than I ever would have if I had been wise enough to take the time to learn about the systems already in place and the people I was trying to help. The benefit of this experience is that it taught me to slow down a bit, shut my mouth, and learn before plowing ahead with a new idea. I’m still quicker to speak than I’d like to be, but I’m working on it, and God is certainly giving me plenty of opportunities to learn from my mistakes.
Be confident: Insecurity can be the worst enemy of a new leader. It’s a big step to move from middle management to leadership, or seminarian to lead pastor, or college student to entrepreneur. Being confident in your new position will allow you to really be yourself, to admit that you don’t have the answers, and to listen instead of speaking. A new leadership position generally pushes us outside our comfort zones. When we’re feeling insecure we often fall back into our comfort zones by default, so an introvert might not take the time to get to know his or her team, and an extrovert might take charge in a conversation or speak up whenever there is silence instead of letting others speak and learning from them. Be aware of your comfort zones and how your insecurity might be pushing you into behavior that might not help you as a leader. And claim confidence for yourself. God has put you where you are for a reason. Be confident that he is working through you.
Be courageous: Leaders have to do hard stuff: difficult conversations, painful decisions, taking the blame for the team when something goes wrong. It can be very scary the first time you have to talk to someone about performance problems or argue for a change in programming or direction. Poor leaders avoid dealing with these painful realities, and their organizations suffer as a result. A strong leader knows that the truth sets us free, and that the truth is often painful. Be courageous as a leader to face reality and deal with problems as they arise. The first time I ever had to have a very difficult conversation in a work setting I spent hours getting mentored around it because I was so anxious. I spent a lot of time in prayer, mapped out what I was going to say, and scheduled the meeting. And you know what? The conversation went great. It was the last thing I wanted to do going into the meeting, but in the end it was the right thing to do and I was proud of myself for being courageous in that situation.
Have integrity: As a leader, it’s important that you are someone others want to follow. After all, a leader is only a leader when there are those willing to follow. I think integrity goes a long way toward inspiring others to follow you. One definition of integrity is to do what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it. I think another huge part of integrity is being able to admit when you’ve made a mistake and to apologize when you’ve been wrong. The leaders I admire most are those who are quick to accept responsibility for their mistakes and who are willing to own up to that to their team. We’re all human, after all. It’s practically a guarantee that you’ll make mistakes in your first leadership role. You can demonstrate great integrity to your team by owning up to your mistakes. That goes an incredibly long way toward building trust in you as a leader.
So there you have it. My top tips for surviving your first leadership role. I hope that you continue to grow in God’s grace and love as you fulfill his purpose for your life.
Post by Meredith.
Image by slopjop.
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