Open minds

Leaders must focus on the self before trying to manage others.

- NATASHA WALLACE, AUTHOR, THE CONSCIOUS EFFECT

I was promoted to a management position at the age of 23, largely due to the fact that I was a good salesperson. I have no doubt that there were other contributing factors. But was I ready for management? Probably not. I did not know how to motivate people; I did not know how to lead without being in control; and I was far too focused on what people were doing wrong than what they were doing right. I did one management training course that was mainly focused on what to do when people underperformed, and then offI went, operating as an individual contributor, looking after a team.

Sound familiar? I have coached many new managers who were promoted for being great at delivering. But in front of a team, they flounder. The jump from getting my work done to getting our work done is huge, and normally, we are unprepared for it. We go on a steep learning curve as new leaders (that is, if we are prepared to learn) and we take a whole team of people on the journey with us. That journey can last 40 years. We do not know how to behave as leaders because we have never been taught and have little to no experience. It is no real surprise that a lot goes wrong before it goes right.

What we need from work and what we do not

What is the difference between being someone who has to deliver their own work and someone who has to deliver through others? It is the ability to guide and support—to coach others to success. Yet, how many of us have experienced truly great leadership; a leadership style where you are coached and supported to be at your best? In a world where we grow up being told what to do (not asked what we think), who have we learned from?