Filed under: Employee Communication, Employee Development, Employee Engagement, Employee Retention, Executive Leadership, Uncategorized
New jobs require new skills. And it’s through new challenges that we build those skills. So it should come as no surprise that the way most leaders learn to lead is by jumping in the deep end.
One of my stories related to this is from a client I worked with years ago. The main character in this story is an up and coming young executive – we’ll call her Sarah (not her real name). Sarah was a go getter, recognized by corporate leadership for her achievements, her performance and her potential. She was just 33 years old when she got her first chance to truly lead. She was named president of a small division within the large global corporation for which she worked. And boy was she ready – this was her chance to really prove herself.
This part of the business was new to her. But Sarah was a quick study and knew just what to do. She wasted no time evaluating the competitive landscape and identified some “quick hits” to gain market share. She worked hard developing plans, securing resources, contacting clients, and informing key stakeholders. She found places to cut costs, introduced efficiencies, and pushed ahead with some innovative product development.
There was just one problem. Morale on her team was very low. Sarah could sense it, but she couldn’t name it. Something was amiss in the work environment. Silos were strong. Conflict was high. She had lost one of her most experienced managers. She knew she had to get people working as a team or all her hard work was for naught.
The news – and the solution – was not at all what Sarah expected. You see Sarah had forgotten to lead. She worked hard – early in the morning, late into the evening, weekends – she was always at work. Her strategies were sound. Her solutions were practical. But she wasn’t leveraging her team. Her team could see how hard she worked – alone – which left them feeling less than valued.
It was then that Sarah learned to let go. She had been promoted for being a doer, but that wasn’t going to cut it anymore. She had to learn to trust, to delegate, to empower. Were her team’s ideas as good as hers? Often no. But Sarah learned to take some risks. At times there were failures. There’s learning in that as well. And now her leadership team was learning together. They would dust themselves off. They would try again. And they would accomplish much more as a team than Sarah ever could have imagined.
Today Sarah is a much better leader. She’s still a brilliant, innovative, and hard working. But she’s learned to forget how smart she is, let go, and let her team carry the torch. As every good leader does, she learned the story was never really about her.
Anna Erickson, Ph.D. | Director, Consulting Services
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