OWN your role

Don't bow out too soon. It's time to create your own legacy!

- Koketso Mashika

So, you're taking over a new role, and your predecessor comes highly recommended in your field. Anxious about whether or not you'll do a great job, and be accepted by your newly formed team, your mind begins to race. Don't worry. It's just not you who's in this dilemma. New leaders barely ever get to start on a fresh, clean slate.

The first thing you need to remember is that this is not a popularity contest. Whether your predecessor has passed away, or the organisation you're joining is undergoing restructuring, you need to see this as an opportunity to build upon the foundation that the organisation has already laid with the help of your predecessor. It takes a whole team - not just one leader - to make positive changes towards growth and expansion.

After years of working with CEOs and their successors, Sanyin Siang, CEO coach, author, and the Executive Director of the Fuqua/ Coach K Center on Leadership & Ethics (COLE) at Duke University, has found that "leaders who transition effectively are able to resist the urge to overprove themselves by trying to show that they are the smartest person in the room."

Approach your newly appointed leadership position as going entering into the next phase rather than 'taking over from the star employee'. Envision yourself as a changemaker; understand that you have been hired because you have a specific set of skills needed for the organisation to grow.

GET TO KNOW YOUR TEAM