Tough Job

June 17, 2024?

Dear Leaders,?

Congratulations – after toiling away at the job and showing that you had the talent and skills, you just got promoted to first-line supervisor.? After the celebrations are over and you move out of the cubicle to a real office, you can’t wait to change the world.? As we mentioned last week about being dropped in the water, even if you had more training, mentoring, and practice, you’re about to find the water filled with sharks, and they look hungry.? Welcome to the toughest job in the world.?

Being a first-line leader is no picnic, except for those sharks, for you not only have to deal with them, you are also about to find yourself in the riptide that seems to be pulling against you as you swim ever harder.? As an employee, you were responsible for yourself and your assigned duties, but that wasn’t enough for you – you wanted more, and you asked for it.? You had ideas, you wanted to try something new and different, you volunteered to manage that project and succeeded.? Your leaders saw this and promoted you, and now your world that was once a small tidepool now seems as vast as the Pacific Ocean.?

As we spoke of last week, soon after receiving my sergeant stripes, I was given a squad of soldiers.? These men ranged from the competent, to those in need of training and motivation, to the person who was so dumb that he would suffocate if breathing were not a reflex action.? The Army was desperate for bodies to fill the ranks, so they were taking people they might have otherwise refused, and we had more than one of these in my unit.? Lacking experience and wisdom, and having a naturally autocratic manner, I didn’t relate well to them, and my initial dive into those waters ended with me faceplanting into the bottom.??

With some guidance from leaders above me, and from a few colleagues, I gained more understanding of what I was doing wrong and changed tactics.? Relating to each person where they were in terms of technical competence and capability, I was able to improve our mutual relationships and we started functioning better as a unit.? As I moved on to another post and unit, I had better success and was given charge of more soldiers.?

Throughout my leadership journey though, the same challenges always arose, and the largest for a first-line leader is always those swirling tides that pull on you from multiple directions.? Leaders always have to deal with the unpleasant, and a common military phrase is that you-know-what rolls downhill.? At the same time, you’re getting pushed from below, with your people bringing complaints and problems aplenty, sometimes needing, sometimes whining.? Alternatingly feeling like you’re either being crushed in a vise or being pulled apart by teams of horses, it all arrives on your doorstep with a strong caveat:? you must get the job done.??

This is where the best first-line leaders stand out from the crowd, for you have to lead and manage both above and below.? Upon receiving the task or mission, seek clear direction and guidance as to expectations.? You might not always get it, and when lacking, don’t see that as a problem as much as it is an opportunity, for when you get to call the shots, you can show your talent and ingenuity.? Knowing what you must do, know your people and what they can do, and integrate that into your planning, for it is making a plan that works with the resources you have rather than making the optimal plan and then expecting it to happen with less-than-optimal resources that you set yourself up for success.?

One of the joys of first-line leadership is the ability to remain hands-on, for while you don’t want to micromanage your people, you also don’t want to just stand back and watch them as if they were a performance for your entertainment.? You are the star of this performance, and being in there doing the job while supervising, managing, and teaching along the way builds trust, unit cohesion, and brings results.??

At this point, you find yourself comfortable in the water, keeping the sharks away, and navigating the tides.? Don’t be complacent, as just when you think you have it all under control, a storm moves in, and you must be ready to withstand it.? This is where you truly make your mark in leadership, for when you can lead your team in weathering the storm, they will follow you without question in good times and bad.? Moreover, it is here where your superiors will take note and see that you have what it takes to move beyond the first line.??

That rising tide will lift you to greater responsibility in waters that are both wider and more appealing.? As you rise, never forget the lessons learned as a first line leader, and having first lines now working for you, it is they who you lead, and they will look to you for that guidance you so needed.? In country music circles, they say to rising stars, “Don’t get above your raising.”? As leaders, we learn and grow from success and failure alike in all levels, but in remembering from whence you came, and using that to make other leaders, you become that rock that stands forth in that ocean with a lighthouse there to guide others through.?

Sincerely,

Tim