Promoting successful individuals into leadership roles is seen as a just reward for their performance and commitment. However, without training or coaching, the transition from peer to leader can take its toll on the employee, team and company.
Is Promotion into Leadership Natural Progression?
You want to recognise the company’s highest performing salesperson, most experienced engineer or most competent analyst, so what’s the next step? In many instances, success is rewarded with promotion into a leadership role, which brings higher status and remuneration.
This sounds like a natural progression, yet there are two major issues with this opportunity. Firstly, you move strong contributors away from activities in which they excel. Secondly, they may have little or no experience in managing others.
The transition from peer to leader requires a completely fresh set of skills, as well as a different mindset. The individual knows how to motivate themselves to contribute, but this approach may not work with others in the team. They are a skilled team member, but are they ready to take on responsibility for the actions, behaviours, productivity and outcomes of others?
The more you think about it, the greater the surprise that the vast majority of newly promoted managers receive no leadership training or coaching.
How New Leaders Make an Impact
A common experience is for new leaders to come into the role asserting their position. They want to prove that they deserve the promotion, and they want to evidence this by making an impact. It’s common for them to feel the need to make all the decisions, solve every issue and instigate some element of change. The intention is good; however, this speaks of leadership inexperience.
The most effective way to make an impact as a leader is to get to know your team and listen to them.
It is to:
- Recognise the team’s skills, experience and contribution
- Understand their perspectives, working styles and ambitions
- Build mutual trust and respect
- Set boundaries and expectations
- Be approachable and open to different ways of thinking
- Avoid unnecessary change, which can be unsettling
- Empower the team to make decisions and suggest solutions
This approach reassures the team that they are valued, and it reduces the potential of bottlenecks and manager burnout when every action is micromanaged. The immediate impact is less than a radical change, yet it sets the foundations for strong working relationships.
This all takes high levels of emotional intelligence, which is defined by five core competencies:
- Self awareness
- Self management
- Social skills
- Empathy
- Motivation
While emotional intelligence is still regarded as a soft skill, research indicates it is a predictor of 67% of a leader’s success. How are you developing the emotional intelligence of your new leaders?
Key Challenges for New Leaders
Developing emotional intelligence is not the only steep learning curve in the transition from peer to leader. As an inclusive leadership trainer and coach, I see five other key challenges that impact new leaders:
Avoiding favouritism or detriment
In a peer role, there are people that we get on well with and others that we might steer clear of. We form friendships and choose who we prefer to work with or join for lunch. Stepping into a management role means setting aside these opinions. We need to spend time with everyone, be non-judgemental, ensure fair treatment and set clear expectations for all.
Handling performance management and disputes
One of the trickiest tasks for any manager is addressing people management issues. These include tackling under-performing employees and the reasons why they are not fully contributing. Equally, resolving workplace disputes and reports of harassment are a challenge for which protocol has to be followed to avoid escalation. This leads to the next point.
Understanding employee rights and legislation
Managers need to be clued up on current employment law. These include the right to reasonable adjustments that aid productivity, along with legislation governing pay, leave and working conditions. Failure to comply can lead to higher workplace safety risks and time-consuming tribunals.
Delegation
When managers are promoted from success in a ‘doing’ role, it is hard to step away from their experience. If they are struggling to adapt to leadership, they want to hold onto tasks in which they are competent and confident. Therefore, they can find it hard to delegate, especially if they believe no one else can do it as well as them.
Learning to coach rather than micro-manage
A strong leader trusts their team to deliver. In knowing the skills and strengths in their team, they allocate tasks appropriately, motivate, upskill, and support. They see themselves as a coach who is working to optimise the performance of the team. This requires relinquishing control over every action. It means setting goals, focusing on outcomes, and being open to different approaches.
In addition, every new leader will face specific challenges based on the skills, experience, personality and team dynamics. This is where leadership coaching is effective in developing tailored approaches, understanding alternative perspectives and increasing accountability.
How to Equip New Leaders to Perform Well
Poor leadership impacts team performance, workplace relationships and the company culture. Studies have shown that poor management is the reason why nearly 50% of employees leave their jobs. Therefore, leadership training and coaching don’t just upskill your new leaders; they have a positive ripple effect across the team and company.
In addition to training and coaching, I recommend that you don’t set targets for the first few months. Make it clear that your expectations are for them to get to know the team, understand employee rights and develop a fresh mindset as they transition from peer to leader.
As an award-winning trainer and coach, call me on 07775 624724 to discuss my tailored 1:1, group and online leadership development solutions.
In addition to training and coaching, I recommend that you don’t set targets for the first few months. Make it clear that your expectations are for them to get to know the team, understand employee rights and develop a fresh mindset as they transition from peer to leader.