The 5 essentials of a first-time people leader

How do you transition from being one of the team, to leading the team?  One thing’s for sure: what got you here, won’t get you there!  But if you focus on these five essential elements of people leadership, you will be off to a fantastic start.

1. Connecting with your team
   Connection is the precursor to trust. And whilst there is no one-size-fits-all recipe for building connection, there are some golden rules:

   # Meet your team members with an open mind and look for what’s good about them.
   # Greet and farewell your team members every day, in a way that’s appropriate for you and for them.
   # Seek common ground with each of your team members. Ask curious questions.
   # Develop excellent listening skills. Give people your full attention. Remember what your team members tell you about themselves.
   # When you make a mistake, own it. Apologise, and avoid making the same mistake twice.
   # Ask your team members for help. Working through a challenge together is a great way to build connection.
   # Be friendly but polite. No-one connects with someone who is rude.

   # Genuinely care for your team members. Make sure they’re okay. And when they need more help than you are qualified or able to provide, refer them to someone with the professional skills they need.

2. Communicating with your team
   Effective communication is simply the transfer of understanding from one person to another, and the responsibility lies with the sender.

   When your message isn’t landing, adapt your style to better match theirs. If you are not sure how to go about this, consider using a quality profiling tool like DiSC or HBDI with your team to get some useful insights. Ask your HR team for support.

   Importantly, irrespective of style, everyone wants to understand the ‘why’. If you are communicating a change and for some reason you can’t share the ‘why’, explain why not.

   Saying ‘my door is always open’ is not an effective communication strategy. Schedule regular one-on-one time with each of your team members.

   Hold regular team meetings that focus on the team itself – not just what’s on the to-do list or what’s happening across the business. Avoid long, rambling, unfocused meetings. And if you are working virtually, have a short daily ‘check in’ to maintain connection within the team.

3. Focusing your team
   Create clarity around why your team exists. This enables your team to prioritise effectively and deliver on its purpose. A lack of clear priorities dilutes focus, erodes cohesion, and can lead to your team becoming overwhelmed.

4. Developing your team
   Train and develop your team members. Both are important, but they’re not the same.

   Training relates to the specific knowledge, skills and competencies that your team member needs to perform effectively in their current role.

   Development is focused on the person’s potential for growth and their future aspirations. Development will look very different for different team members; make it personal.

   Training and development engage your team members and help retain them in your team. Establish a cycle of regular ‘development discussions’ with your team members, discuss their needs, provide positive feedback and feedback for improvement, make a plan and follow up.

5. Resolving problems with your team
   Rather than you solving team member’s problems for them, now is the time to stop being the expert and start being their coach. Switch from providing answers to asking curious questions and empower your team to make good decisions

Whether you are a new leader or an experienced one, focusing on these five essentials will set you up for success in creating a healthy, committed team and enable you to become the best leader you can be.

For more on the essentials of a first-time people leader, grab a copy of my book, ‘on your marks, get set… LEAD! A beginner’s guide to people leadership’.

Check it out here.