Get a Good Start in a New Leadership Position

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Prioritize to Meet with Your People

Starting in a new leadership position can be overwhelming. Everything and everybody fight for your attention, so what should you prioritize first? As a leader your success depends on the success of your team, so meeting with them and clarifying expectations must be your top priority.

Communicate What Your Employees Can Expect from You

Your employees will be wondering how you are going to support them in succeeding with their jobs. They will have very different expectations. Some may not see much value in your leadership role, whereas others may have unrealistic expectations of what you should deliver. Therefore, it is important that you manage your people’s expectation to you as their leader. Make sure to communicate this clearly at your very first meeting with them, which should take place as soon as possible.

When your Employees Succeed you Succeed

Your job as the leader of your team, is to help them meet their obligations as employees. When your people do that, you will be successful as a leader. So, let’s have a look at the 7 generic employee responsibilities.

Employees should:

• Perform in sync with the organisations mission, vision and values
• Understand their own and other people’s work processes
• Acquire and share relevant knowledge
• Demonstrate positive collaborative behavior
• Use and grow their competencies
• Make sound decisions. Be responsible and accountable
• Perform in agreed time and quality

When your leadership aims at the generic employee obligations, you will help your people to succeed and in the process be a successful leader yourself.

A Leadership Method Designed to Strengthen Employee Engagement and Performance

Direct Leadership® is a model, a mindset and a method designed to help you deliver what your employees need, in order to fulfil their obligations. Direct Leadership® is very operational and gives you a clear overview of the leadership deliverables that are required for you to succeed in engaging and supporting your staff. To use it in your day-to-day interaction with people you simply follow this 3-step method:

1. Catch the Leadership Opportunities
2. Assess which area of employee responsibility is relevant and contribute the corresponding leadership perspective
3. Choose the leadership style that fits with your intended outcome

Use Direct Leadership® to Embark on Your New Leadership Challenge

In a new leadership position your employees don’t know what to expect from you as a leader. So, use your first meeting with your people to manage their expectations. Let them know, that you are there to help them succeed as employees and what they can expect from you.

• That your wish is to help them shine in their duties
• That you will try to be like a radar that reacts positively when they signal to you
• That they need your contribution
• That you will adapt your perspective to their job responsibility
• That you will vary your way of communicating between intiating, coaching and giving them feedback. 

Enjoy Engaged and Productive Employees

When you follow the Direct Leadership® method in leading your people, you may expect to enjoy engaged and productive employees. Your employees will praise you, because you help them to be successful. Your boss will praise you, because your employees perform well and are engaged in their job. You will have an easy 3-step method that you may apply to any day-to-day leadership challenge. As you grow in your ability to catch and deal with leadership opportunities as they occur, you will find joy and satisfaction in your job … and you will be recognised as a leader who engages people through your presence and clear speech.

Learn to Master the Direct Leadership® Method

Direct Leadership® is available in many learning formats. We recommend that you to start right away by taking the  online course Direct Leadership® - The Essential Leadership Deliverables which can be completed in 3-4 hours. Module 6 in the online program elaborates on how to implement the method.   

Keep Developing your Leadership

When you have taken the Direct Leadership®  - The Essential Leadership Deliverables and begun to implement the method, you may want to assess your skills by taking the Direct Leadership® Mastery Test and/or get a certified Direct Leadership® Facilitator to coach you. 

Get access to Direct Leadership® - The Essential Leadership Deliverables here.