From Employee to Leader: Navigating the transition
Stepping up from employee to leader, can be filled with a mix of emotions. It’s an achievement to be celebrated and a step to look forward to.
It's exciting to navigate this transition with hope, optimism, and motivation to help enhance and build teams that thrive.
But it’s also a transition that can make us feel a little uncertain, unsettled and question our skills and capabilities.
So, what can we do to embrace this transition positively and proactively?
First, we can reflect on the qualities and skills you want in your ideal leader:
What values do they embody?
How do they show up in their relationships? Are they supportive, reliable, consistent and honest?
Do they have a clear vision for the future and an actionable plan to bring it to fruition?
Do they extend and guide you in ways that show their belief in your skills, strengths, abilities and potential?
When transitioning from employee to leader, it helps to reflect on good leadership models and aim to emulate them. However it is also important to look for the positive leader within.
Leadership is a skill-set that can be developed. With the right resources and tools, we can become the ideal leader for ourselves and those around us.
4 steps to support the transition
There are many ways to do this, and you might have started to explore what works for you, but here are four ways I support others navigating this transition:
1. Focus on self-leadership: Every time we talk to ourselves, we build an internal relationship that can support or undermine us in the world. If we constantly criticise ourselves, we may unconsciously externalise this. We can boost our self-trust and self-belief by speaking to ourselves in positive, constructive ways.
2. Navigate changes to relationships: It’s natural when we make this transition that our relationships with others will shift. Some might support our journey; others might question our authority and capability. Be prepared for these shifts and explore how to lead these conversations from the start.
3. Find your leadership style: As mentioned above, a great way to do this is by exploring ideas for our ideal leader. Reflect on your answers to the questions above to clarify your own leadership values. I explore this in depth in chapters three and four in my book.
4. Provide feedback: As leaders it is important to consider how we influence how others experience their work. Giving them feedback about their skills and strengths, the value they bring to their work, their potential as well as their learning opportunities is very helpful. When thinking of colleagues as ‘human first’, there’s a lot we can utilise to help us as leaders ensure we’re providing feedback that supports the humans we work with.
This transition might be one of the biggest steps up some of us take in our careers.
If we ensure we give the process the dedication it needs and seek out the right resources to support us on our way, it can also be one of the best.
Further insight
Click the buttons below to read my blog: Consider your ideal leader, and read the article: How to navigate leadership positions.