Leading from Within: 3 Unconventional Strategies for Self-Management

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change.” — Brené Brown

The Question

Are you starting out or still feeling fresh as a manager? Here's what you should know.

Starting a leadership role can be exciting. You might imagine how you can finally start leading the way you've always wanted to be led.

Or maybe you've been in your leadership position for a few months or even a year, but you still feel like you're just getting started.

Yet you've only felt that you've just kept your head above water.

It's a common experience. Many find themselves thrust into leadership positions after excelling as individual contributors, only to feel tossed into the deep end without a clear roadmap.

If I were to start anew as a manager today, here's what I wish I had known.

The Research

Recognizing burnout is a common challenge, especially for managers. You're likely actively involved in helping your team avoid it.

But as managers, when we're so often focused on our team and goals, we forego taking inventory of our own relationship with work.

Microsoft's Work Trend Index has previously reported on their global survey of 20,000 workers in 11 countries and found that more than half of managers (53%) are feeling burned out.

If your team's success depends on your own ability to show up as your best self, then we have to go beyond a mere reshuffling of tasks. The Work Trend Index puts it well: you have to consistently discern what doesn't matter as aggressively as what does.

Otherwise, you'll quickly see diminishing returns from overwork and being overwhelmed; without intervention, productivity falters, and its impact is felt well beyond you.

Some Advice

As a leader, it's crucial to develop a habit of self-check-ins, regardless of whether you're nearing burnout or not. Failing to do so leaves you vulnerable to early signs of burnout and hampers your team's potential.

With Q1 drawing to a close next month, now is an ideal moment for self-reflection. If recognizing burnout has felt elusive before, we've included an image below from HBR's Two-Minute Burnout Checkup. It breaks down burnout into manageable factors, offering you a chance to reflect and identify any emerging issues in your work.

Your Hack

In this week's hack, I'm sharing my top 3 pieces of advice that I wish I had received a lot sooner when I first stepped into the manager role. These insights are aimed at helping navigate the intricate nuances of leadership without feeling like you're constantly spinning your wheels.

1. Prioritize Your Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence goes beyond mere self-awareness; it encompasses four essential pillars: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and social management. Mastering these pillars enables you to forge deeper connections, understand your strengths as a leader, and navigate interpersonal dynamics effectively. From resolving conflicts to preempting them, emotional intelligence serves as the bedrock that elevates you from being just an individual contributor to becoming a leader for your team.

2. Cultivate Adaptive Resilience

Leadership often carries an aura of unattainability, perpetuating an idealized image that stifles our growth mindset. When we fall short of this ideal, we tend to feel overwhelmed. However, true leadership is not about conforming to a fixed standard; it's rooted in personalization. Personalized to your team, your goals, and even yourself. Challenges and setbacks are inevitable, but rather than adhering to the notion of bouncing back effortlessly, strive to cultivate adaptive resilience. View every change as an opportunity for growth, and learn to pivot your mindset and strategies in turbulent times.

3. Perform a Job Crafting Exercise*

If you've been in your managerial role for some time, conducting a job crafting exercise might be beneficial. Developed by Amy Wrzesniewski and Jane Dutton, this exercise aims to enhance role clarity by reflecting on your responsibilities and identifying ways to align them with your strengths and passions. Dive into task, relational, and cognitive crafting components within your daily routine. Then, adjust to reshape your role, fostering greater fulfillment and effectiveness.

*Drop a comment with 'Job Crafting', and we'll send the exercise over to you!

Parting Thoughts

Everyone's leadership journey is unique to them.

As you explore yours, remember that growth is ongoing and comes from many places. Whether it's learning about leadership tricks, nuances or even our emotions, it's all a continual process.

Amidst our tendency to get sucked down into the weeds, I invite you to reflect on the lessons you wish you had when you started your journey (managerial or not). I invite you to share them with someone else - you might learn that much more.

Unicorn Leaders — The Podcast

Have you heard the newest episodes!?

Our most recent podcast guests are Andre Fernandez and Eva Manole.

Andre Fernandez (Co-Founder & CEO at Invert) dives into how he found his way into creating a socially impactful business while sharing valuable lessons and principles that he embraced on his journey to success as a leader, from letting go of micro details to building high performing teams and influencing decision-making processes, he's going to get into tactical ways that will transform your leadership approach and how you create meaningful impact.

Eva Manole (Director, Org. Dev. at Fullscript) shares the use of a product-led mindset for developing new strategies for learning and development at Fullscript, with about 800 employees. She dives into new strategies she used to build community among teams in her current role. She shares the tools, resources, and approaches used in developing opportunities that helped individuals blossom in their own way.

Take a listen & subscribe.

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THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Sincerely,

The Unicorn Labs Team

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