Do you know any accidental manager? How many line managers have you met over the span of your career that had formal line management training? People, that actually understood what the expectations were and who had a rough idea on the new challenge they were about to take on?
I guess not too many, right? I have not.
Oftentimes people are promoted into leadership or given the role suddenly. Thanks to their good performance, a desire to step up etc. And many times this goes along with lack of proper guidance or even expectation settings.
What leadership is about
You step into a role that requires you to lead, not manage. We call it line management, but the better description really is in leadership. It’s not a technical job, it is one that requires empathy and a vision.
In addition to your previous role you now also have to take care of people management, because your previous tasks remain the same. Because, well, you are a good performer and maybe you also received a (small) bump in your salary.
So manage two proper jobs at once.
What I see as a problem is, that the people who report into a new leader, or an accidental manager, are often left unhappy. They experience a new manager, who, despite their best effort, may not be up to the game at that very moment. Because they don’t know any better and because they lack a support system.
The new managers has tasks, goals, expectations, peers, pressure, status to take care of and may not understand the importance and time it takes to properly manage people also. They may not even be given the time to get into leadership.
Value the people most
People should not be a commodity.
The people are the most valuable aspect of any business. Regardless of size. And most businesses understand that replacing an employee will take somewhere up to 6 months to get the new person up to speed. Yet .. oh well.
I, being biased in my profession also, wish that every leader, every new leader would either get proper training or at least get to work with a coach. Though coaching is not a teacher-student situation, it can provide invaluable guidance and eye-openers for anyone willing to go the extra mile.
I’m writing this as I’m currently working on a workshop for upcoming leaders. To go live in 2024. Meant as a a fun interactive session (respectively sessions) that aims to get future leaders up to speed in their new role.
I will keep you posted on this. More to come.
Connect with me on LinkedIn.
