Dear Dan: How Can I Prepare for a Larger Leadership Role
Dear Dan,
I always enjoy your posts. Very insightful content without all the usual self-help fluff.
I transitioned to a new career track in the last year where I am now an individual contributor rather than a manager.
There is huge potential for growth and upward trajectory on this new path, but I was wondering if you could post/or pass on advice for people in my situation.
I was thinking specifically as it relates to managing upward, leading when you don’t manage, and preparing yourself for a larger leadership role later in your career.
Thanks again for all your work!
Have a great weekend,
Moving Up
Dear Up,
Thanks for your encouraging words and for some great questions.
Your questions are insightful and forward looking. This leads me to believe you have a lot to offer.
I notice three questions in your email. I’ll take them in order. I’m spending more time on the last question, “… preparing yourself for a larger leadership role …”
4 ways to manage up:
#1. Be likeable.
We like people who like us.
#2. Make life easy for those over you.
Adapt to your manager’s preferences.
Some managers like daily contact. Others show up once a week. In addition, if your manager hates rocking the boat, don’t go over her head.
Actively invite a hands-on manager to participate. Don’t wait for them to come to you. Seek their input. Ask for suggestions.
#3. Know your manager’s career goals. Help them get where they want to go.
#4. Finish stuff.
Be the go-to person.
3 ways to lead when you don’t manage:
Do things leaders do, even if you don’t’ have the title.
- Notice how your behaviors and attitude impact others. Adopt practices that reflect your intention to have positive impact on environments, relationships, and individuals.
- Earn the reputation of being forward-looking. Most are governed by the past. Leaders turn toward the future.
- Engage in positive practices every day. Put them on your calendar. Avoid getting sucked into negativity.
- Notice people’s effort and results. “Wow! You worked hard on that.”
- Say thank you. “I’m thankful for (insert their contribution/character/behavior).
5 ways to prepare for larger leadership roles:
#1. Adopt end-of-day habits.
Never just walk out the door and go home.
Daniel Kahneman and others developed the Peak-End rule. We judge experiences by the peak and the end.
The end of the day is a moment for memorable impact and positive impression.
- Ask team members what they accomplished. (Not as a critic, but so you can celebrate.)
- Plan tomorrow morning.
- Record learnings. Ask others what they learned?
- Circle the office saying thank you.
- Ask what people are planning for the evening or weekend.
#2. Practice humility.
- See yourself as connected to colleagues, leaders, teams, and the organization as a whole. You cannot lead in isolation and disconnection. Successful leaders build and strengthen connections.
- Know, respect, and develop your strengths as they contribute to the greater good. Any strength that doesn’t add value to your organization is irrelevant. It’s humble to understand and accept your strengths and weaknesses.
- Show interest in others. Avoid making conversations all about you.
- Celebrate and honor the strengths and talents of others.
#3. Practice kind candor.
- Speak hard truths gently. But know that it’s unkind to allow bad to go unnoticed.
- Have two kinds of courage. First, courageously bring up issues and concerns. Second, have enough courage to explore options, rather than defending positions.
#4. Move conversations from ideas to action.
Talk is important in leadership only as it moves from exploration to execution.
- Generate a list of questions that move conversations toward action.
- What do you/we want to do about this?
- What’s next?
- If we succeed, what will be different tomorrow?
- What needs to change?
- Reconnect people with the big picture.
- Set deadlines. Could we talk about this next Tuesday? (I use the question form because you aren’t currently in a position to establish a deadline on your own.)
Leaders have a bias for action.
#5. Fuel, monitor, and manage your energy.
Low energy people earn low-level opportunities.
- Be serious about rest, diet, and exercise. These are the foundations to long-term success. Small things have big impact over time.
- Notice what you’re doing when your energy goes up. Do more of that.
- Fill your own cup so you can pour out for others.
- Habitually spend time reflecting on yourself, others, and your organization.
- Generate an impression of the big picture.
- Notice patterns.
What suggestions do you have for Moving Up?
How might you modify or adapt the quote in the image on this post?
*I relax my 300 word limit on weekends.
Love the “finish stuff” point, looking back those who finished their assignments and came to discussions prepared were so valuable, to not do so disrupts the cadence of the group.
It also challenged me to not be group slacker! 🙂
To: Moving Up
Dan Makes a lot of great points you should consider implementing.
Another focus of your attention should be alignment. High performing teams and organizations have strong alignment of all the parts.
Consider deliberately synchronized actions like singing, swimming, rowing, marching, and dancing. Everybody is on the same page. Goals, plans, roles and responsibilities are aligned The degree of alignment greatly influences the end product.
How about your department or team? Does everyone understand and are they committed to the goals, plans, values etc. Are the goals and values shared by all team members? Where are the misalignments? What recommendations can you offer your boss to increase overall alignment?
Leaders see the big picture. They work with the team and on the team.
Learn from mistakes quickly and move on.
There is a saying I read once that says “when you move up the ladder of success be careful who you step on because they may be the same people you meet on your way down”.
#3. Practice kind candor.
By far one of my favorite things to talk about as well as one of the most persistent problems I see in leaders I not only work for but with. Being in any profession there will always come a time where things are done that need to be corrected, addressed, or punished. But I have seen it handled completely unprofessionally (emotionally mostly) or I have seen it just shrugged off and swept under the rug. Both of those ways, when I see them, I immediately have a 1 on 1 with the person and explain what is going on and what I witnessed, calm them down if they are slightly emotional or give suggestions for ways to handle it (paperwork, sit-downs, individual professional development for the employee that needs to be corrected).
To: Moving Up
One of the biggest things I talk to people about is not only knowing who they are working with and for but knowing your own weaknesses. If you know your own weaknesses you can either find ways to improve them or look into your team members to find the person that has what you are missing and have them assist you when needed.
Other things I have discussions about are internal sessions that bring a team together, where they explain difficulties they are having with not only their work environments but leadership as well. If at the end of the day it is easier for employees to do this anonymously, I make that happen as well. It allows them the confidence to speak up about issues that they may not bring up when in a group environment.
We are not perfect, but we can work together as a team to get there.
Appreciate this post and the direct clear thoughtful advice Dan. For me, it’s a great checklist. I am doing most of these things….. it just took me awhile to work it all out!!!! The field of Positive Psychology (which I have been learning more about over the past few years) really provides the great-science behind these actions. As always, thank you for your time and effort to help up all be happier and more resilient people.
Great questions – great answers. Loved this one. Thanks!
How might you modify or adapt the quote in the image on this post?
Leaders don’t just see the apple. They see the orchid, the community, and the world.
Contribute with the intentions your building a better place for all! Learning to be kind if you aren’t already. Learning to accept and respect everyone, sometimes can be a challenge in a negative environment, the key is “staying positive” as Dan addressed.
Ask yourself what you can do better? How can you enhance the group? What do you bring to the table that others don’t?
Hi Dan, good post as always, one idea I’d like to put forward,. you wrote;
“Set deadlines. Could we talk about this next Tuesday? (I use the question form because you aren’t currently in a position to establish a deadline on your own.)”
I don’t think it hurts to phrase the question this way even you are in the leadership position, your authority is known, it doesn’t hurt to keep it sounding like a request, minimize the times where you have to “pull rank”
Thanks Dan. I just moved to a larger leadership role. So very timely discussion. Thanks!
“How might you modify or adapt the quote in the image on this post?” Funny you should ask. I’ve saved quite a few (with credit). This one caused me to look, ponder, and think WTH. It really bugged me and I don’t know why. Maybe “Be the leader you want to follow? Be a leader you would follow? Be the manager you wish you’d had?’ I don’t know either, Dan. I think in my mind, my problem with it is I keep reading it as “Be the leader you wish you had (been).” I hope it helps.
Real leadership takes vision, a calm and peaceful mind that can handle different challenging situations. Evolution of mind (not necessarily connected with Faith) brings peace & clarity of thinking, essential for success. This involves clearing the weeds in the mind, a process not different from maintaining a healthy lawn. Churning the consciousness helps one to understand himself better – SwacchDevalaya.org/spiritual/