The leader who is unstoppable. The leader who is on the “fast track.” The leader who surpasses every goal and target with ease…and then is promoted into a larger role, only to struggle mightily with mobilizing a larger team.

What happened? And what can you do to set yourself up for success?

The transition from leading a small team to leading a larger team can be tricky. Often, the exact behaviors that led to success with a small team are the exact behaviors that won’t work with a larger team.

3 pitfalls to avoid, and some tips to help you are:

PITFALL 1: Continuing to reference anecdotes that leave new team members out.
TIP 1: Of course you should reference relevant examples and these likely will come from your past experiences. However, your new role offers you the opportunity to have valuable new experiences with your new team members. Make an effort to create fresh narratives. This will help create a greater sense of community and increase engagement.

PITFALL 2: Spending most of your time with the people who you already know well instead of new team members.
TIP 2: It’s easy to be around people you enjoy working with. And you certainly don’t want to lose the strong bonds you already have. However, it’s probable that the results your new role requires you to deliver won’t happen without the mobilization of a larger group of people – and there’s no better way to get strong forward momentum than through building trust with your new team members. Take the time to build authentic relationships and you will reap the rewards.

PITFALL 3: Assuming new team members should and can emulate your previous team’s behavioral norms.
TIP 3: You may not even be aware of what norms your old team had and it’s likely that these norms have helped you move pretty quickly in the past. Pausing to consciously consider how your team should operate given what it has deliver, where people are located, timelines, resource constraints, etc. is invaluable. Even better, take the time to develop these new operating norms with your team (an external facilitator may help). Moving a little slowly at the start will pay off in long run.

You may also consider working with an executive coach who can be your confidential thought partner as you think about how you can take your leadership to the next level (for tips on how to select an executive coach, click here).

Cheers to your leadership success!

Swati
HR Strategy | Executive Coach | Leadership Development

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Swati Bharteey-Buck is a Principal at LeaderStages, a firm focused on human resources strategy, executive coaching, and leadership development programs.  Swati has over 25 years of experience in connecting company strategy and people strategy, simplifying it so people can understand it, and in executing programs in complex business environments. Swati has held executive level positions at globally recognized companies such as Deloitte and The William Wrigley Jr., Company and has an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, The Booth School. She can be reached at swati@leaderstages.com.

For example, I had one manager who was superb at offering a sympathetic ear to challenges I was facing in getting decisions made via a cross-functional steering committee. As therapeutic as his sympathy was in the moment, it did absolutely nothing to help me move forward, get my work done, or meet my urgent deadlines. One or two choiceful interventions by my manager would have made all the difference. As you may have guessed, I left that organization (actually, as data shows us time and again, what I really left was that people manager).

Here are 3 ways you can ensure you set your team members up for success – and retain key talent.

1) Provide Role Clarity: Ensure people know what to do, how to do it, by when, and why it is important. Role clarity also reduces anxiety, which can be a major distractor to getting things done. Having role clarity means there is no ambiguity as to what should be accomplished or produced, by when. If your team member doesn’t have the skills to do the job at hand, help them get the skills. If your team member needs hands on support to get started, ensure you or someone else is there to provide it. And when that team member is ready to take flight, remember to get out of the way.

2) Get Resources and Remove Obstacles: Ensure your people have the tools they need to perform well. If they don’t, make a ruckus until you can get them what they need to fulfill the expectations you have put on them– or make sure you change your expectations. Nothing demotivates people faster than aggressive goals with a lack of tools or skills or resources to get the job done. The same goes for obstacles – if something is in their way, help them remove it so they can focus on their work. Stay in frequent contact with your team members on this topic – you never know when the landscape may change. (If the manager I referred to in my anecdote above did this well, I may still be at that organization).

3) Empower Them: Assuming you have qualified team members, make sure you are letting them make decisions and you step in only when needed. This one can be tricky when people are learning; sometimes it means letting them make mistakes and then helping them get back on track in a supportive manner. Still, it’s worth it in the long run. Empowerment gives people ownership and frees up your time for other activities.

Cheers to your leadership success!
Swati
HR Strategy | Executive Coach | Leadership Development

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