From Technical Expert to Leader Learning Management Skills (Mind Tools) shares the following.
- Taking a leadership role can leave you feeling out of your depth.
- So, you finally earned the promotion you dreamed about. Because of your technical expertise and your ability to reach performance goals consistently, your organization made you a leader
- You're thrilled with the idea of advancing your career... until reality hits you. After a few weeks, you start to realize that you're spending very little time doing what you used to do best – that is, using your technical skills. Instead, you're spending a lot of your time dealing with "people problems," navigating office politics, and coordinating projects and team members.
- Not taking into account that you had friends who now report to you which you are going now have to treat everyone the same ie no special deals for friends
- Best approach is to always do things with groups of staff not your individual friends to avoid the impression of favoritism.
- You knew things would be different, but it's exhausting compared with your previous role. Have you made a mistake in accepting the promotion? What can you do to improve your new situation?
- Any leadership promotion can be a challenge, but it's especially hard on people with strong technical skills, but who have little or no leadership experience. In this article, we'll explore how to make the transition, and what you can do to excel in your new role.
- Leadership Challenges
- Technical experts are often promoted because they have recognized knowledge and skills in their field. After all, that's what got them noticed
- The problem is that organizations often promote people based on these technical skills, not on their leadership skills. And many organizations offer very little support to new leaders. This is why it's up to you to teach yourself the skills you need. Or utilize programs like the ASHP Foundation’s Pharmacy Leadership Academy.
- You first need to recognize that your technical knowledge may not help much in your new role. Why? Because instead of just focusing on your own skills and successes, you now have to focus on the skills and successes of your team. Your mindset has to change.
- This is where many technical leaders make their biggest mistakes. Instead of paying attention to the "people aspect" of their new role, they continue to do what they've always done: work on their own projects and technical skills. But if you ignore your team and their needs, you're going to alienate them quickly.
- Another challenge is that your identity in the organization changes. You may have been a superstar in your previous role, but now you're starting at the beginning again. It can be difficult for new leaders to cope with this "identity demotion."
- To fight this, focus on gaining some early wins – small victories that you can achieve quickly – in your new position. This will give you, and your new team, a great sense of accomplishment, as well as the motivation to keep moving forward.
- Skills You Need The good news is that you can succeed – and succeed spectacularly – in your leader role. To do so, however, you must learn a new set of skills, including:
- Delegation – As a manager, you must know how to delegate tasks to your team effectively. This will keep you from spending time doing things that should no longer be your responsibility.
- Briefing – You need to keep your team up to date on their progress, what you expect from them, and what will happen in the future.
- Motivation – Your team is now your responsibility. This means that you must keep them motivated and moving forward
- Communication – In your previous role, good communication might have been helpful, but not vital. But now, as a leader, the ability to communicate well is essential to your success.
- Discipline – At some point, you'll probably have to discipline someone on your team. Whether a team member is breaking rules, under-performing, or upsetting others, it's up to you to restore peace. Knowing how to discipline effectively and diplomatically is key to keeping your team's trust and respect.
- Recruitment – If your team is changing or expanding, then you'll have to hire new people but finding the right new people can be difficult.
- Tips for Making the Transition to Leader
- Do a personal SWOT analysis– Make a list of what you must improve to be a better leader for your team. Many leaders let others assess their skills, and then wait until their performance review to discover what skills they lack. Don't make this mistake – spend time now identifying your weaknesses, so that you can start improving on them immediately.
- Stay away from technical work – Resist the temptation to get involved with technical projects that aren't your responsibility. Yes, you probably enjoy this type of work and want to feel successful doing something you know well, but it's now your team's responsibility. Spending too much time doing technical work will only hold you back as a leader. Sure, it's good to pitch in when you can, but make sure that you do the managing part of your role first.
- Find a mentor – Look for someone in or outside your organization who has made a transition similar to yours. A mentor can offer you some great advice on succeeding in your new role, and help you avoid some of the mistakes that he or she has made.
- Meet with every team member – Make it a priority to meet with everyone on your team personally. Find out what interests and motivates them, and check that they have everything they need to be happy and successful in their role. This shows that you're taking an interest in them, and it helps you get to know the people you're managing.
- Find out what your team expects from you – These expectations are often unspoken.
- Learn one skill at a time – Acquiring a whole new set of skills for your new management position can be overwhelming. Don't try to learn everything at once. Focus on one skill at a time, so that you can learn each skill well.
- See if your organization has leadership development programs and enroll and or use the ASHP Foundation’s Pharmacy Leadership Academy, which is accepting applications now.
Comments always welcome.