Essential Leadership Skills for the New Manager

When any new leader arrives on the scene, the other members of the group want to know if this is someone they are willing to follow.  This module explores several methods and techniques a new leader can use to establish an open connection with his team, improve competence, and take key actions that will confirm him as the leader in the eyes of the group.

This story has a humorous ending, but illustrates several key points about the importance of competence, and the dangers of trying to act like a “Leader” they way they are so often protrayed in the media, instead being the kind of real leader the company needed.

The group is much more willing to follow the lead of someone who clearly knows what he is doing.  This video explores the importance of competence, and helps you adapt your mindset to leading a team where you don't know everything.

• Identify personal job skill weaknesses and develop a plan to counteract

• Use a technique to learn from your experts while earning their trust  

• Improve your confidence to lead in unfamiliar areas  

• Adopt a mind-set that enables you to learn while also building the confidence of your team   

• Use the Four Fs to quickly identify areas for improvement in your business or work place  

• Download and use the Building Competence Worksheet to build your own competence plan

The moment a new leader encounters his team for the first time is critical, and can set a positive or negative tone for the future.  Learn how to approach this critical event, what goals to set for the meeting, and how to get what you need at the end.

• Know what to say when you meet your team for the first time  

• Set your new teammates at ease and build trust with a proven approach  

• Help the team warm up to you while earning their support  

• Manage your team’s expectations by setting the right tone as the new leader  

• Download the Initial Team Meeting Guide and use as a script to keep your meeting on track

After meeting the team, you need to get to know the people on it on an individual basis to understand their strengths, weaknesses, skills, and frustrations. Learn how to approach interviews with your teammates in a way that sets them at ease, forms a personal connection, and quickly builds your knowledge of the team.

• Choose the right people on your team to meet with first, and earn their trust  

• Use three techniques to make the right impression on your teammates  

• Build rapport in your first meeting with your teammates with three key techniques  

• Download the Teammate Interview Guide and use it to learn about your teammates

Nothing succeeds like success, and a new leader who can score an important early success will earn the trust and confidence of his teammates.  This lesson explains the importance of getting a "Quick Win" and how to find the right project to tackle for the best chance of success.

• Gain the confidence of your team with a quick win  

• Choose the right quick win project using four key criteria  

• Avoid these four dangers when tackling your quick win project  

• Use the Quick Win Planning Guide download to focus your efforts on the most effective tasks

Often the new leader comes from among a group of peers.  Without any training or preparation, he is now expected to not only lead others, but even those who call him friend.  In this lesson you will find several ways to overcome this difficult challenge in order to lead effectively.

• Transition from peer to leader using nine proven techniques  

• Employ a powerful personal technique to ease your break out of the peer group  

• Engage the support of your friends even as you establish yourself in a leadership role

Leadership is influence, and to influence, one must be able to communicate.  This module explores methods and techniques for establishing a communications network for the leader, and opening and improving connections with teammates and with the boss.

Leaders don't have to have all the answers, but they definitely need to know how to get them.  For that reason and several more, having a leadership network is essential for your success as a new leader

• Get connected with the right people to strengthen your leadership position  

• Use a technique that will rapidly increase your leadership effectiveness on a new team  

• Build your leadership network BEFORE you have a problem to solve  

• Use the Networking Checklist to ensure you have the right people in your leadership circle

This real-world story illustrates how reaching out to customers can help you form a Leadership Network that will help you make smart decisions.  The 15-minute visit helped the leader understand what he needed to know to lead effectively.  But notice also the impact his actions had on the customer (me).

Good leaders know their people and understand what makes them tick.  This video gives several useful ways to build an atmosphere in which teammates can form genuine connections that enhance trust and productivity.

• Use three passive approaches to open up communications with your team  

• Really connect with your teammates using nine active techniques  

• Employ this tip to improve the mood of meetings and encourage positive action in others

Your relationship with the boss is critical, since you represent them to your team and you represent your team to the boss.  This lesson takes a playful look at nine ways new leaders often invite the displeasure of their boss without knowing it, and for each, it offers a better way to communicate and lead.

• Improve your working relationship with your boss using nine effective approaches  

• Communicate with the boss in a way that helps them be more effective  

• Use the Golden Rule of Leadership to stay on your boss' good side

• Turn common mistakes into personal advantages using the Working with the Boss download

Once you have a grasp of the key elements of communication and trust building, it is time to start moving forward.  This module gives you tools to help you set the direction of your team, including developing a vision, establishing concrete goals, building plans to accomplish those goals, and delegating effectively to get them done.

A good vision statement serves as a guide to the future.  This video looks at what makes a vision statement good and gives you some tools to help you build your own.

• Understand the five qualities of a good vision statement and see examples of each
• Use two simple techniques to help you craft a great vision statement that works
• Put your vision statement to work for you as a guide for your decision-making
• Download the Establishing the Vision guide and use it to craft your own

Many people have desires, but until they turn them into a well-crafted, concrete goal, they may never achieve what they want.  Learn the qualities of a good goal and understand why one that is well built can be so powerful.

• Distinguish a good goal from a poor one  

• Establish powerful, achievable goals using five criteria  

• Download the Goals Guide and use it to develop concrete goals for your team

With a clear target in mind, the next step is to develop a path to get you from here to there.  When you start with the end in mind and work backwards from there, you have a much better chance of getting in the end what you hoped for in the beginning.

• Use a simple technique to develop an effective plan to accomplish your goal
• Take the outputs of this approach and plug them directly into your plans for delegating 
• Learn about three tools you can use to make the process more visual and flexible

Once you have a plan, somebody has to do the work - it's time to delegate.  Experts agree that the art of delegation is a systemic weakness across the business world.  Learn why you should delegate, what tasks to delegate, and how to do it effectively.

• Focus on your leadership responsibilities by understanding the three Whys of delegation
• Choose the right tasks to delegate using five specific criteria
• Delegate tasks quickly and effectively using a simple memory aid
• Make your delegating crystal clear using the Delegation Tracker download

With a plan in place, it's time to get to work.  Now is a good time to look at the working environment.  In this module we'll look at what motivates people, how to use that knowledge to increase productivity both on an individual basis and as a way to help teams advance through the stages of their life cycle.

Humans have many needs, but some of them are more important than others.  Learn what they are, how they rank in priority, and you can use that knowledge to help your teammates become more productive.

• Assess anyone’s motivational state based on five criteria
• Build strong bonds of loyalty using a proven approach
• Establish a welcoming workplace
• Increase team performance by using the 18 Action Ideas on the Hierarchy of Needs download

Often, new leaders manifest their insecurities by playing the tyrant.  But coercive leadership styles can be very counter-productive, especially when compared with a positive leadership approach.  Explore the difference and see the distinct advantages of the latter.

• Understand the shortcomings of a coercive approach to leadership

• Learn to lead in a way that gets the task done and results in a motivated teammate   

• Apply positive reinforcement techniques to keep your teammates motivated and engaged

• Save yourself time, effort and frustration by employing a positive leadership approach

When we think of the idea of reward, often we picture money.  But there are other options out there that are even more powerful (and yet cost less).  Learn why they can be so powerful and how you can incorporate them into your positive leadership approach.

• Avoid three shortcomings associated with monetary reward and how it weakens your leadership
• Add eight reward tools to your leadership kit that can have a greater impact than money
• Stimulate greater effort from your team using a six-step verbal praise technique
• Leverage the Hierarchy of Needs to motivate your teammates to greater achievement
• Use the 32 reward ideas on the Rewarding Without Cash Guide to get results for your team

Groups of people go through cycles as they come together to accomplish tasks.  Understanding this is important for the leader because the most effective leadership style is different for each stage of the cycle.  Learn the four stages and how to lead effectively no matter which stage your team is in.

• Recognize the four stages of team development and match your leadership style for best effect
• Understand the challenges inherent in each team development step and how to respond
• Lead in a way that accelerates your team through the developmental stages using four steps
• Identify your team’s developmental stage using the Team Development download

Teams go through a life cycle, from first Forming as a new group, Storming as they sort out roles and processes, Norming as members begin to understand how they contribute, and Performing, when the team is functioning efficiently.  Determining what life stage the team is in helps us decide how to focus our energies to be the most effective.

We've covered a lot of ground, yet it is only the tip of the iceberg.  Find access to additional resources here, as well as three final takeaways to help you maintain the right focus to be a successful leader.