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After coaching so many leaders across a wide variety of industries, it’s striking to me how new leaders feel stuck when it comes to their development. Feeling stuck, lacking confidence in their ability to lead or just generally struggling adapting to their new roles but so overwhelmed you don't even know where to start can add to the stress and feelings of unsettledness.
Misery loves company, right? So they say...
No matter the industry you work in, you can seek some comfort in knowing that every new leader face most of the exact same challenges.
Regardless of the industry you find yourself in, if you want to succeed as a people leader but don’t have formal leadership training, there are still so many little actions you can take to increase your leadership skills to become the leader you aspire to be or to be the leader you always imagined you would be. The key is to just start doing something.
Here are a few options new leaders (or anyone, really) can explore to improve their leadership skills or re-invigorate your level of engagement:
Mentorship: Seeking out a mentor who has experience in the same field can provide valuable guidance and advice on how to be an effective leader. While it may be logistically easier to find a mentor within your organization, I’m also a huge proponent of constantly growing your network. If you can’t find someone where you work, ask around. You also don’t have to keep meeting with the same person. Why not have a coffee with someone different each month? Stay in touch with these folks and continue building the relationship.
Training and workshops: Many organizations offer leadership training programs and workshops that can help new leaders develop skills such as communication, decision-making, and team building. With such an overwhelming array of options, I would encourage you to start by choosing something that you feel you make the most impact in the least amount of time. Identify where your biggest skills gap is. Hint: Most new leaders struggle big time with time management. Fitting all their new leadership priorities into their schedule while learning their new role, team and everything else about getting to know a new team and their work – it's a lot. But, once your time management skills are set (you’ll know if you don’t feel like you’re just barely treading water), then you’ll be better able to consistently incorporate space in your schedule for deeper earning and leadership development.
Professional associations: Joining a professional association in your field can provide access to networking opportunities, industry insights, and leadership development resources. Unfortunately, this resource is usually highly under-utilized. Professional associations tend to send newsletters and other communications loaded with valuable information and resources, that remain unseen and untapped. If you belong to a professional association, get in touch with them and see what’s available to you. Even if a resource doesn’t appear on their current list of services, ask for recommendations.
Books and podcasts: A popular choice because of how accessible these are. Reading books and listening to podcasts on leadership can provide you with new insights and strategies to improve your skills. The issue with using these as the sole source of learning is that they don’t hold you accountable. If looking to shape your mindset or inspiration, read as many books and listen to as many podcasts as possible, but if you actually want to make a change to your leadership, take the time to implement the strategies that resonate most with you and practice them. Don’t stay stuck in the learning loop!
Practice and feedback: The most effective way to develop leadership skills is through practice and feedback. Unfortunately, few new and emergent leaders do it. Solicit feedback from your direct reports, peers and superiors. Reflect on it and create an action plan to incorporate their feedback. When choosing this option, you can be assured that the growth will always be relevant to where you are in the moment and will evolve with you. *I strongly recommend simply thanking your feedback providers for their feedback rather than “investigate” the why. Let the past go and commit to improving next time. If feedback providers feel like their words will be dissected, they will be reluctant to take part in the future.
Ultimately, the best approach to improving leadership skills is that you will execute. This will depend on your specific goals and needs. I would suggest not making any assumptions about what you think you know. Rather, truly explore each development option to see what’s feasible and possible for you or not, then commit to choosing a path or 2 and create a plan to implement these tools in your schedule. This will ensure that you take the step out of the passive learning loop and begin the “real” learning by doing.
Whenever you are ready, there are 2 other ways I can help you:
1. If you are still looking to further improve your leadership skills, let me recommend starting with an affordable course:
→ The New Leader’s Survival Guide: Time Management
→ Stand Out From The Rest: Communicate Like An Effective Leader
2. If you are looking for a more customized leadership development experience, leadership coaching may be the better option to get you to your professional development goals faster. Book a complimentary “Discovery Call” to discuss your goals and see if working with a leadership coach might be the way to go.