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Right out of college, I worked in the IT department as a help desk representative for an insurance company in upstate New York where I grew up. I was the person you called if you had a computer problem, forgot your password, or couldn’t get the printer to work. I didn’t really know much about leadership or managing, but from the outside, it looked pretty great!
Better pay, better title, a nice office, and more authority. It seemed pretty straight forward, and a nice reward for hard work. I thought when you became a manager, you had finally “made it”. But I'm not sure I was prepared for leadership.
One day my boss told me he was going to hire another customer service representative to help me, and that this new employee would report to me. Four weeks later, I became a supervisor for the first time. I had no idea what I was doing. I received no training, and no one sat me down to guide me or set expectations for how to manage. I thought my job was to answer my employee’s questions and assign tasks. I wasn’t the worst supervisor in the world, but I certainly wasn’t the most influential and engaging either.
I quickly figured out that management wasn’t so straight forward after all, and frankly, not as fun as I had imagined. I wish my manager would’ve given me some insight about leadership and what being a manager actually meant.
The reality is that many leaders don’t receive any training or direction about how to effectively manage and lead a team. What is required to be successful as a leader continues to evolve and become more complex over time, which leaves many managers unprepared for leading and engaging a team effectively.
As leaders, we need to guide and coach potential supervisors and managers about what leadership really entails before they become leaders.
Perhaps then we will begin to fill leadership positions with people who want the job for the right reasons: to serve others and make an impact.
Before you promote an employee to a leadership role, give them a peek behind the curtain so they can see the reality of what leadership is really like before they make the leap.
Some examples of the realities of leadership:
- You are the one held responsible when your employee fails
- Your days will be a series of meetings, employee complaints, and upward delegating
- You will rarely have a minute to yourself
- Your role will completely change: you will be responsible for mentoring, coaching, and facilitating results (not the technical job you once held)
- It’s often a thankless job
- People won’t always like or agree with your decisions
- All problems will make their way to you
- You will spend significant time training an employee to do something you can do in five minutes
- You will often work long hours
- You will leave the office many days wondering what you actually accomplished
- Meetings and more meetings…did I mention meetings?
In short, effective leadership is not easy; it requires skills in planning, strategizing, facilitating, dealing with challenging situations, and adjusting your leadership style. Your focus is people, not things, and people can be complicated.
Of course, leadership can also be very rewarding and fulfilling, but it also takes a lot of energy and effort.
Employees are motivated differently, they all have different personalities, and not everyone will share your work ethic. As a leader, your job will be to bring out the best performance in each individual employee to reach the strategic goals of the organization. This may not sound complicated, but many days it can feel like trying to run an uphill marathon when you haven’t eaten or slept in days.
True leadership is about service:
- it’s serving your employees by developing them and helping them reach their highest potential and personal goals.
- It's serving the organization by contributing your best to achieve long-term goals.
- It’s serving members and / or customers by having their best interest in mind and helping them achieve their financial dreams or reach the outcomes your company promises.
As organizations, we need to stop the practice of promoting employees based on technical proficiency or tenure.
Before you promote an employee to a leadership role, have multiple discussions about the realities of leadership and the skills and competencies required to be successful.
Conduct a true assessment of an employee’s skills and start developing those skills before you promote an employee so you can give them an opportunity to be prepared for their new role.
Leadership is a privilege and a huge responsibility.
Companies and organizations need to let people know what to expect - what their days will really be like - when they become a leader.
Who are you moving into Leadership and how will you ensure they are prepared for the journey and what will be involved?
Reach out if we can help you in the process! support@lauriemaddalena.com
Learn more about The Future Leaders training which is perfect for your upcoming leaders!
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Note: This post refreshed the 2017 blog “a day in the life of a leader” post.
I really love and enjoy this reading. Reading this I learned that when you speak out clearly you thoughts and ideas people see you as winner, because you are not afraid to go straight to the point.
Great article.....And happy belated birthday! Welcome to my world, young lady!
Whenever I have a work project that I keep putting off - I think about delegating that project to someone else - which accomplishes 2 things- it gets the project done and frees us my brain space thinking about it.
Good morning. I loved this read. Thank you so much for sharing. Sincerely, Melissa :)
Thank you for this blog Laurie. I liked most part and specially "As organizations have become more complex, there is a tendency to require employees to do more with less. This is a slippery slope, and often can result in employees feeling overwhelmed and burnt out. One of the biggest contributors to this is not evaluating resources during the strategic planning process." I will use this practice "A best practice is to do what I call Priority Planning—putting important practices on your calendar ahead of time so they become a priority in your day. Examples of activities to Priority Plan include scheduling recurring coaching sessions with each team member, time for strategic thinking and planning, vacations, doctor appointments, important children’s events, and blocks of time for focused work on projects." To be more effective, I will get a good rest so I can have enough energy in the morning. I will read the blog again along with the other links on employee evaluation. Thank you so much Laurie. Best wishes to you and your family.
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I love the feedback on the more than 50 hours of work. AND filling time. So true. Unfortunately, showing that you work longer hours is still seen as being a "hard worker" - not sure how to change that though.
I enjoyed the read. I concur that transitioning from technical skills to delegating results was a task within itself. I did not realize I was almost trying to do the same thing from my previous position, and it was not working. However, I am seeing the results of how delegating daily tasks makes my job and workload easier. Thank you, Laurie.
Thank you for sharing information about your trip Laurie! All 3 things resonate with me - probably #1 being the biggest. I know when I'm gone for a week, I'm still thinking about work and need a vacation when I get back because I did not relax enough. I think your idea of a longer vacation is definitely in my future!!
Hey Laurie, My take on your list - 1 - everyone has a story - listen 2- social media causes interpersonal problems 5- generational differences create hurdles / earn it you aren't entitled / we should help them get there not give it to them 6 AMEN some leaders I would have followed thru Hell, some I wish - well, you know 7- true BUT be as good as your word and 14- Hopefully we leave some good from our efforts, I know the good leaders I have had have. Seen a lot in my career but it really comes down to treat others the way you want to be treated, fair, honest, and straight forward. Good read. Take care
I love this so much and thank you so much for sharing! I really just love realizing that enjoying the simple things sometimes is the best! Also recognizing that what is important and fun to you may not be everyone else's fun on the on the trip. “Do we get to keep these toiletries?” was my favorite!!!! :):) Glad you had a great time and got to spend it with your family!
I very much resonate with lesson no 3! Thank you Laurie
I think the part that you might have missed in their top 5 things, some of which were not "Italian" or even different from home, all of them happened with you, both of you. And i think that is what they will remember too. And you've got tons of photos that will remind them of what the Sistine Chapel looked like - then they might remember what it sounded like or smelled like. Oh- and i agree with you 100% about sleep!
LOTS of great take-aways from this post! Thank you for posting! I especially love "slow down to speed up". That's a keeper!
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the not getting enough rest to be at my best. definitely need to get more quality sleep and make that a priority
It really is hard to narrow down the 3 lessons into one because they are all so interconnected. You need to give your mind and body THE TIME to relax SO THAT you can enjoy the SIMPLE THINGS, including REST. I enjoyed that lesson as a whole. I will take that lesson with me on my next vacation (or staycation). As always, thank you Laurie for your candor and for sharing your own lessons with others so that we too can benefit.
Great information and reminders
Laurie, Thank you for sharing your trip and these nuggets. The lessons that resonate most with me are it does take time to relax and getting proper rest. When you devote 15 plus hours of your day for work, taking care of home and others; the 6-7 hours you lay down does not cut it! For me during this time I'm trying to unwind and find myself thinking fighting not to think about what I have to do tomorrow. Even after I create a to do list for the next day...I find things I need to add. Taking a day off here and there doesn't cut it as well because of all the plans you have for that day. I try to make sure my Mental Health Days remains just that.... time for me to laugh, cry, scream.... whatever I need to release the cares and stress!
Really enjoyed the article... and all very true!
Since I was already well aware of #1 (I'm in the same boat with taking a long time to relax), I think I'm resonating most with #3. I'm learning to prioritize sleep / rest and it's been wonderful. Love that you said "I love sleep.". :)
Welcome back from vacation. Well deserve! Action is the key to success. Shoulder to shoulder, coaching and delegating task to help other employees grow are very important. It is a sacrifice that one must do. Forget about yourself and be with your team day in and out to help them grow, is not always easy. On the long run, your team is stronger, and you can depend on them for the success of the organization. Thank you so much!
So many great tips here, thank you!
I am so impressed you're able to disconnect and these are great tips I'll be sure to try on my next trip!
Such a great post - so inspiring!