As an Executive Coach I am often engaged to support an individual’s role transition when they have just been promoted or are about to be promoted, leading a team. Coaching, which by its nature is tailored to the individual, is a great option for giving the individual a safe and confidential space to work out how to be successful in their new role. If this is you, or someone who works for you, here are 6 things to consider.

1. Get clarity, as quickly as possible, on the priorities of your new role

When you step into a new, more senior role there are bound to be multiple demands upon your time, several of which may require you to get up a learning curve. It is natural to feel a little overwhelmed and to find it hard to work out how to prioritise this new workload. A sound first step is to have a good quality conversation with your line manager to establish what she believes are the priorities for the role-holder. If there are other important stakeholders, have the same conversation with them. Not only will these conversations give you clarity on what to prioritise within your workload, they will also help you have those difficult conversations around things you do not have time to do currently “I’m sorry, I do not have capacity for abc right now as xy and z are my top priorities” sounds more professional than a generic “I’m sorry, I’m too busy.”

2. Reflect upon your personal priorities in this more senior position

Whether this is your first leadership position or a further step up the leadership ladder this is a great time to reflect upon what you want to be known for as a leader and what behaviours you want to role model to create a positive team culture. As examples: if inclusivity is important to you, consider how you will ensure that every team member is comfortable bringing forward suggestions and voicing their opinion; if you believe that feedback is essential to continuous improvement, reflect on how you will create an environment in which thoughtful and constructive feedback is regularly sought and given.

3. Gather your team to speak to them all together

Your new team will be experiencing a range of emotions from curiosity (“what’s the new boss like?”), concern (“what if I don’t get on with the new boss?”), perhaps envy (“why did she get the promotion, not me?”) or hopefully excitement (“I’ve heard great things about the new boss”). A team meeting is the ideal opportunity to indirectly address some of those emotions.  Whilst what you say will be tailored to the situation you should likely include: give the team an insight into you (particularly those personal priorities you have reflected upon: eg “I want to everyone in the team to feel valued and included”; or “feedback is really important to me and I shall be asking for it regularly”); set out clearly the priorities for the team (which you have already established with your line manager and stakeholders); explain your vision for the development and success of the team so that they can envisage how your plans will benefit them as well as the organisation.

4. Meet each of the team one-to-one

Take the time to meet each member of your team individually. Make it clear that you are in listening mode and not looking to make any changes until you better understand the whole picture. This is a great opportunity to enable them to feel listened to and valued. Ask each person how they see their role within the team and how it contributes to the aims of the team and the wider organisation. Ask them what are their strengths and what do they enjoy doing; in what ways can they bring more of these strengths and interests to the team. Ask them if there are areas in which they struggle and what support they would like to tackle these. In short, show that you want to support them and help them to be successful. Don’t be afraid to let them know that you do not have all the answers; instead role-model that it is good to be curious and ask questions, to want to learn and even to ask for help.

5. Tackle the difficult stuff head on

Dependent upon the situation you might well face some tensions: for example if one or more of the team applied for the role unsuccessfully and resent your promotion; or if you have been promoted from within the team and now line manage your former peers with whom you had close relationships. Reflect carefully upon how you wish to address the particular tension and do not let it fester. Talk early doors to any unsuccessful candidate(s) to make it clear that you understand their disappointment, that you value their strengths and contributions to the team, and that you want to support their development to be ready for the next promotion opportunity. With former peers re-set boundaries to what is now appropriate to your professional relationship, potentially socialising with them less and making it clear you will have no ‘favourites’ yet retaining the trusting working dynamic which will be valuable to the team and your leadership.

6. Turn this strong start into good habits for you and the team

If you have followed the 5 suggestions above you have made it clear from the get-go that open and honest communication is going to be at the heart of the your leadership and the way that the team operates. One way to embed this is to put in place appropriate opportunities for quality discussion: schedule regular one-to-ones with your team members (and for you with your line manager) to create a safe space to share your thoughts, find out theirs and exchange feedback; encourage each team member to craft a Personal Development Plan to plan their own growth (and do the same for yourself) and follow through on any commitments you make to support this; initiate regular whole-team meetings, with a meaningful agenda, and ensure that everyone contributes to the discussions – ideas to help foster this include rotating the Chair, asking a different team member to lead a 10-minute learning session, or simply prompting a quiet team member to speak up by asking them a question on a topic where you know they have strong value to add.

Where else you can get guidance

There is a myriad of advice available on this key career step and it is great to keep learning and honing your leadership approach. For easy, relevant reads here are my pieces on

Culture: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/irenegrant_culturecounts-leadership-coachingandmentoring-activity-6943200858159382528-R7Kn?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

Confidence: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6851091283100889088?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

Growing as a leader as your team grows: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/growing-your-team-grows-3-areas-consider-irene-grant

I would recommend “The New One Minute Manager” by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson as it quickly and simply gets to the nub of the importance of clarity of goals, regular and authentic praise, and prompt and specific feedback. My personal favourite is L. David Marquet’s “Turn the Ship Around” – a lengthier but inspirational read about leadership.

Of course Coaching is a great investment by giving the individual a safe and confidential space to work out how to be successful in their new role. If this is you, or someone who works with you, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me at irene@craigelachie.org.uk or on +44 7803 848884 to discuss how my coaching can help you realise your potential and be the best leader that you can be.

Posted in Four common themes from my coaching work