Next generation of leaders Part 01 - Your plan to navigate the Struggles + Challenges.

“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.”

— Jack Welch

Too busy to read?! Copy this link into your browser and listen on the go! https://youtu.be/zwwT0037SRc

Anything new to most people can be a little uncomfortable.

Any new role can be daunting for many of us.

A new role which now has you thrust into a leadership position can be especially anxiety-inducing but it doesn’t have to be that way. Often, the anxiousness is being driven by the unknown requirements of what is to follow, it’s because you don’t have the mental reps down in your mind.

Developing the next generation of leaders

This edition of The Behaviour Shift is dedicated to the the next generation of leaders, the young guns (or maybe even the older guns) who are now in leadership roles and need to understand important insights such as:

• What next generation leaders often struggle with the most;
• Why new leaders fail;
• Why new leaders struggle with tough decisions early on in their roles;
• What critical skills and competencies you should have to be successful as a next generation leader;
• What new leaders should focus on; and
• How a plan for the first 90 days in a new leadership role makes all the difference.

If you are a next generation leader, know that you are not alone when it comes to needing all the information in the world to feel safe and secure.

My last leadership role after 20+ years (being in other leadership roles) was the most challenging ever. It wasn’t just the environment I was in, it was due to a mix of reasons: I lost the novice mindset, ignored the things that created my success over decades, went against my tried and true methods and I fell apart mentally and physically.?I made the job far harder than it needed to be, for a number of reasons that confused me in the moment...

That story is for another time.

I hope my insights as an experienced leader, and now someone who coaches other leaders, can help you be as good as you can be.

I cannot stress enough, you won’t be the perfect leader for a while. We all have to go through the trials and sometimes what feels like fires of hell but your 100th day will be much better than your 10th day sticking with a plan.

What next generation leaders often struggle with the most.

New leaders often struggle with a variety of challenges and roadblocks during the earlier days of their new role.?

Here are a few to watch out for but importantly, create a strategy to navigate as best you can:

1. Establishing a clear vision for your team and organisation but don’t forget to establish this for the type of leader you are. If we don’t stand for something, we will fall for anything.
2. Building trust: Early on in your role, build relationships, don’t be in a rush to “get down to business”, take the time to build and earn trust but be clear this might also include making a tough decision or two to set standards.
3. Managing people: As part of my corporate coaching program for the next generation of leaders, I have leaders ask themselves this all of the time.
4. What am I here to do? Listen, Inspire, Inform, Influence or Involve.
5. Communication is critical and being effective is right up there with what matters most.
6. Adapting to change: Adaptability is centered around considering all possible options, identifying opportunities and limitations… devising and/or implementing a plan, sometimes on the fly.

Key to success

Overcoming these challenges starts with the fact that you are not going to know it all, this is the time to once again adopt a novice mindset and be a sponge. If you aren't sure, be authentic about it but then take action to find the solution. Nothing kills a new leader more often than inaction over an extended period of time.

Hot tip: Use these 4 points above to map out your first 90 days and where your focus should be. For example week 01, focus on building trust via relationships. Week 02, establish a clear vision and move forward from there and 3 and 4 however you like.

Why new leaders fail.

Next generation leaders can fail for a variety of reasons and it’s not always coming down to a lack of experience. If it was only about having the experience well, all new leaders would fail, right??

Here are 3 reasons why new leaders fail:

1. Poor communication: Communication when you were a team of one is very different to now being the leader of a group, trying to be concise and effective. Understand what is your core message and what impact you are looking to create. Reduce the waffle as best you can!
2. Inadequate planning: If you don’t know, you don’t know and that is what’s hard about planning. But you can understand key dates for the business such as peak work and deliverable dates, critical tasks and deadlines for your team. A good understanding of the operating rhythm combined with locking in time to build chemistry and culture across the team. plus 1on1 sessions for team development are a good way to start. Time fills up fast!
3. Poor relationship management: This is not just about your team, this is about relationships above you and across the organisation general.

Key to success

If you feel like you are getting off course and starting to sink in any of these areas, don’t just sit back and hope that everything works itself out in the long run. Be clear on what’s not working, be clear on what success looks like and then create the step-by-step plan and achievables to get back on track.

Hot tip: Find the key decision makers and influencers, get close to them. Use them as sounding boards for the things you are trying to learn and implement.

Why new leaders struggle with tough decisions early on in their leadership roles.

This really comes back to fears that we have in ourselves, if you missed the last edition of The Behaviour Shift, check out how to Conquer the fear that's holding you and your team back.

Here are some possible explanations why the next generation of leaders struggle with tough decisions:

1. Lack of experience: The story of inexperience can lead to it being challenging to build trust with team members and take tough decisions. Yes, experience matters but far often it matters to us more than the teams we are working with.
2. Unclear expectations: Being unclear of the expectations from your leader can be a killer and those reporting into you can also have such negative impact without clear expectations. Be clear on what is required in both directions.
3. Pressure and stress: This is nearly a given and it is expected that you will feel this (it comes with the job). Don’t fight it but be clear as to how you are going to manage this during the difficult moments.
4. Blind spots: Don’t ignore your blind spots now you are in the bigger chair, keep working on developing the skills that are not as strong as they could be. It’s not about spending all your energy trying to be elite at everything as chances are you won’t be, but work hard to straighten out the rough edges.

Key to success

Some of what holds leaders back from making tough decisions is 100% true and a reality that is unavoidable, they don’t have all of the experience compared to someone who has been in the chair for a decade. But that person also had a day 01 also and that person sure as hell hasn’t been perfect over the last decade which highlights the importance of perspective. How you look at these tough decisions will be important as a next generation leader so you don’t freak out unnecessarily.

Hot tip: When making a tough decision there is nothing wrong with seeking counsel from others that have walked a similar path, don’t let your ego tell you it’s all on your shoulders and asking others makes you less.

“Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position.“

— Brian Tracy

What critical skills and competencies you should have to be successful as a next generation leader.

There are so many important skills for leaders to have and really I could have created a list that also included decision making, strategic thinking and building teams…?

But here are 4 that matter most or at least make for a different perspective:

1. Communication: Effective communication is a critical skill for the next generation of leaders. New leaders need to learn how to communicate their vision and ideas clearly and effectively to team members, stakeholders, and other leaders.
2. Emotional intelligence: Emotional intelligence is all about managing your own emotions. Having a great routine to help you with this is important, the sooner you get this practice locked away, the better life in general will be.
3. Time management: Be clear of your priorities and your tasks, ensure you have clear deadlines so you can move things around. Also it is ok to say “No, I don’t have the time for that right now”. Actually, it is often better than over-promising and under-delivering.
4. Conflict resolution: Not many people like conflict that they are not emotionally invested in i.e. when they created it. Have a strategy for managing conflict or even get some coaching to work on this difficult situation. If you sense conflict, don’t ignore it, get engaged and get to the root cause, maybe it’s nothing but maybe you have stopped it in its tracks before it snowballs into something more.

Keys to success

Overall, new leaders need to be open to learning and embracing being novice once again, if you are already a rockstar in the above areas, that’s fantastic but if not, there is no second to waste. Possibly seek outside coaching or enroll in a few short courses.

Hot tip: Adopt a growth mindset, grab the book by Carol Dweck Mindset and go all in enjoying the failures and successes.

What new leaders should focus on.

In summary: Build relationships, communicate effectively, create a vision, share your plan but be crystal clear as soon as you can about this final point.

Performance metrics: Understand your team's performance, be clear on what the measurements are for success and failure. Don’t rely on others telling you what’s what and don’t just go with your gut. Have your facts, investigate how they came about and go from there. The sooner everyone is on page with ‘this is our north star’ the better.

A plan for the first 90 days in a new leadership role that makes all the difference.

Create a table with each of the 8 headings listed below running down the left side, these are called the areas of focus:

1. Build relationships:?
2. Identify areas for improvement:?
3. Set clear expectations and standards:?
4. Goals and metrics:?
5. Team structure and roles:?
6. Professional development:?
7. Identify potential risks:
8. Stakeholder management:

Then create 6 more columns to the right of these focus areas. They are labelled:

1. Success looks like this
2. Skills or tools required to succeed
3. People involved
4. People impacted
5. Review progress when
6. Achieve success by

Use this as your road map over the next 90 days to keep you focused on these key areas. If a few of them don’t resonate with you or your role, change them up.

There, you have a plethora of insights and information for the next generations of leaders that you can create achievable actions from today!

• What next generation leaders often struggle with the most;
• Why new leaders fail;
• Why new leaders struggle with tough decisions early on in their roles;
• What critical skills and competencies you should have to be successful as a next generation leader;
• What new leaders should focus on; and
• A plan for the first 90 days in a new leadership role that makes all the difference.

Great leaders aren’t born, great leaders work hard.

They understand their teams, have clear visions and standards but have flexibility at the right time to get the best possible outcome.

“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.” — Max DePree

More on the author

I’m a Life & leadership Coach - Behaviour Strategist with over 25 years of real world experience in organisations such as Myer, Jeanswest, LVMH and Melbourne United. I combine these experiences and knowledge to support organisations, people leaders and teams to pursue their potential. I specifically work with the next generation of leaders to ensure my experience and knowledge can support their progress in new roles, whilst navigating unnecessary pitfalls.

If you would like me to work with your teams or present to them on the below topics please reach out.

• Peak performance mindset
• Next generation of leadership
• Team building
• Healthy habits & Behaviour crafting for busy people
• Agility and discipline

More details on my corporate coaching programs, visit this page.