EP246: Leadership Shift - What's Different Now?
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(The notes below are only a brief bullet point summary of what is discussed in the podcast. Be sure to listen to get all of the goodness! If you would like a full transcription of the episode, please send an email to angie@angie-robinson.com.)
There's a first time for everyone who becomes a leader. The first time you're in a role that carries leadership responsibilities. That's the timeframe I want to talk about, and over the next few episodes I'm breaking it into four stages of making that shift, from being promoted into a leadership role to owning it, believing it, and understanding what it really means to you.
We start today with the first stage: understanding what is actually different now.
Last week I talked with Dr. Cindra Kamphoff about her new book, The Confidence Habit. This timeframe in a leader's trajectory is where confidence really gets tested for the first time. I think about this timeframe a lot, and I think about confidence a lot. No wonder I get so passionate about these topics. They deserve some real attention.
Why People Get Promoted (and What Comes With It)
There are a lot of reasons someone gets promoted into a role with leadership responsibilities. One of the most common is that you're a high performer. You're good at your job, you're dependable, you get results. And because you're a high performer, it can seem like the next "natural step" is a next-level role. Supervisor, manager, director, lead, some flavor of that.
Operationally, that might make sense. But when you step into a role with leadership responsibility, that is a whole new layer. It often goes beyond being able to do the function of the job well.
That extra layer brings things like:
The ability to inspire and create vision
Giving feedback, from the simple feedback to the hard conversations
A new level of time management, with more administrative and people-related duties
Creating psychological safety and cultivating a culture people want to be part of
More responsibility for communication
Leading through change effectively
And all of the people stuff. We know there's a whole lot under the people stuff.
But you've been promoted. You've got the new title, hopefully some more money, maybe a team you're responsible for. And here you go. Good luck. We know you can do it. Off with you now.
The Thing That Got You Here
It's an interesting shift. You're promoted because you were great at the work, and that work was typically measured by your own output. Now your success comes through other people.
Sometimes the thing you got promoted for is the exact thing that gets in your way to the next level of success. I've heard it and seen it many times.
What's Actually Different Now
One of the most critical things you can do is simply identify what is different. This isn't all-inclusive, but here are some of the most common shifts from individual contributor to leader:
From doing to inspiring and enabling. You're not not doing, but you're doing less. Now you're enabling and empowering others to do the doing.
From peer to leader. Picture an org chart. Your square used to sit alongside a group of peers. Now it's moved up a bit, and you're no longer part of that same peer group.
From having the answers to asking the questions. You may have been the one people came to for answers. Now you're the one asking the questions.
From individual wins to team wins. You still have individual wins as a leader. But what gets more attention now is the results of your team.
My First Leadership Shift
When this happened for me, I was really young, and honestly, I didn't know what any of it meant. I was probably 19.
My first job was at McDonald's. I started at 16 and worked there about seven years, through high school and all of college. My first two years of college I lived at home and went to community college, so I kept working pretty much full time. Somewhere in there, I was promoted to shift leader or shift manager. I don't even remember the exact title.
And those shifts I just described? They all happened. I was still doing, but I was also responsible for delegating and developing and helping others do the bulk of the doing. I went from peer to leader. My friends worked there too, and all of a sudden, on certain shifts, I was the one in charge. I was managing people older than me, and I was still a teenager, for crying out loud. That felt intimidating. The focus moved from my individual results to the team's wins for that shift.
I had no idea what was going on, and I didn't really know how to navigate it. I had good managers above me who were very helpful, but I was kind of on my own trying to figure it out.
"I Wasn't Given the Tools"
I still hear this from clients today: "I became a leader and I wasn't really given the tools. I don't know how to be a leader."
Often it's because they went through these exact shifts without recognizing what was happening, and without the time, investment, or resources to navigate it.
This isn't me saying organizations do a poor job of training leaders. That is not it at all. But when there's a shift in identity, changes not only to the job and what you're responsible for, but to who you are, who you want to be, and how you need to be different, that part is typically not part of the plan.
I'm thinking of a client I'm coaching right now. It's been helpful, and a little painful, to recognize these shifts. She's been a very high performer, very dependable, an expert in her work. One of her strengths is getting things done, and done really well. Now she has to help others do the work she loves and has owned. There's a component of control, and it's hard to let go. She's also recognizing that worrying about what others think has gone from "I want to impress my boss" to "I have all these people I'm leading, and I'm worried about what they think of me, and all the levels up as well."
She said she wasn't given the tools. I happen to know there is leadership development training available. But I interpret "not given the tools" to mean: What does this mean for me as an individual? That's the part I love to focus on, because it's the difference maker.
The Challenges New Leaders Face Most
If you're in that spot, promoted but still feeling a little wobbly, or if this happened to you years ago, think about the challenges you're navigating now or remember navigating. And if you lead other leaders, put yourself in their shoes for a moment.
The challenges I hear most from new leaders:
Delegating
Giving feedback, especially to former peers or people who are (or used to be) senior to them
Being visible
Feeling like they have to have all the answers, and figuring it out as they go
Worrying about what people think and really wanting to be liked
Not understanding how to connect with others, because everyone is unique and it's not a one-size-fits-all approach to communication
Which one bubbles up for you? Identifying and acknowledging them is the first step. You know what I say: awareness is the pixie dust.
What to Let Go Of and What to Lean Into
Another part of navigating this shift is getting clarity on what to let go of and what to lean into.
Letting go isn't just about duties, although that's part of it. If you created a report every Friday and now need to delegate it, you let go of that duty. But what else?
Maybe letting go of being the expert on everything. Letting go of doing it yourself because it's faster. Letting go of needing every answer. Maybe letting go of some people-pleasing tendencies.
And what would help you to lean into more? Maybe asking better questions. Learning how to coach and develop people. Really listening, being observant, reading between the lines. Owning this new identity.
Right now, I'm only talking about identifying these things. This is uncomfortable work, and awareness is the first step. Actually doing them isn't a snap of the fingers. There are limiting beliefs to address, new habits to form, and skills to develop. But first, we identify.
Three Questions to Start
Jot down your answers quickly:
What am I still doing that no longer needs to be me?
Where do I feel the weight of leading most right now?
What do I want to lean into first?
Let's just start there.
In the next episode, I'll move to the next part of this shift journey: the foundation, which is about understanding yourself.
What Do You Think?
Can you identify what has (or did) actually changed?
Links
The Leadership Shift Interest Call
Discover Your Personality Style Quiz [download]
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