At ProActive Leadership, we believe that everyone in every organization is a leader functionally. Each person is encouraging, by their talk and actions, others to think, say and do the right or wrong things to achieve the organization’s vision, governing operating values, mission and goals. If you are a busy mom who is advancing your career by becoming a “positional leader” and having positional power for the first time, you’ll find it to be a challenging experience. You may feel as if you have jumped from an airplane into trackless terrain where staff members are expecting you to lead before anyone has handed you a map. Here are some tips I help my Distance Call-A-Coach clients implement as they enter the “new terrain” and position themselves early on as a proactive vs. reactive leaders. BE YOUR NATURAL AND BEST SELF - Don’t try to imitate your predecessor or to emphasize your differences from your predecessor. You can be confident that you will think, say and do the right things to the best of your ability in times of pressure if you remain true to yourself and your personal governing operating values. WALK DILIGENTLY AND SLOWLY - Do not try to immediately sweep away all previous procedures that you don’t like or that are foreign to you. Reassure your staff that it will be "good business practices as usual" until you get the lay of the land and have a clearer idea of what is needed to make good procedures even better. DILIGENTLY GATHER INFORMATION - Observe, ask questions, be a good listener, solicit input, let people know you are open to being informed about how things work, problems that obstruct, and possibilities that could enhance the quality of life, work and productivity for everyone. BE VISIBLE THROUGH “WALK AROUND” MANAGEMENT - Move around among your staff members in their work environments. Seek to get to know them. If necessary, create reasons for contact so that you can establish good two-way communication. REVIEW WRITTEN MATERIALS, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ASAP - Identify priorities, put yourself in a position to know what needs to be done without having to depend on others to give you information that is actually already available to you. GET CLEAR ON YOUR SPANS OF AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY. From your immediate supervisor and your human resource department, get clarification on the extent of your authority and your responsibility. If needed, assertively negotiate early to make them equal! This is one key to being a proactive leader from the start. Understand where the ball is yours to carry, and where you must hand it off to someone else having the authority and the responsibility for it. Also, seek information about any 'political' problems or inter-departmental concerns. Ask people what you need to do to keep out of trouble and to make your best contribution. FOCUS ON TEAMWORK - You are not a lone ranger, and your staff members are not peons. Early in the game they probably know more than you about many aspects of the work of the company. While you will need to establish your authority and “the buck stops here” belief, you also need to do all you can to empower your staff to be fully contributing members of the team. BE OF HIGH INTEGRITY, EVENHANDED, FAIR, AND CONSISTENT. Espouse and live out your core governing operating values as a leader. Discover for yourself the strengths and short suits of your staff members. Beware of the staff members who try to fill you in on everything and everyone on your first few days. The information they give may be filtered and self-serving. PROMISE, PROVIDE AND SEEK GOOD INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION - Let your staff members know that you will keep them informed whenever possible. Build trust that you will avoid surprises whenever it is in your power. Encourage them to seek clarification when necessary. Let your staff know that you care about them, and that when they speak with you they are heard. Paraphrase their input often to insure correct understanding of what they are telling you. MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS AND TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEM - When you are new to a leadership position, people may expect to be able to influence you. Be clear that when you seek information and advice from them, you are seeking their input so that you can diligently make the best decision possible. Let them know you are simply gathering important additional data from them for use in your decision-making process. Ask lots of What? So What? and Now What? questions. The first query is related to what’s happening. The second query is related to the relevance to folks regarding what’s happening. The third query is related to possible action steps they can take based on their answers to the first two queries. If you need help in mastering and implementing any of the skills and tactics mentioned above, I'm here for you! Please visit the Distance Call-A-Coach section of my web site for more information, and contact me if you have any questions.
Article Source: http://bizymoms.com/business
Dr. Millard MacAdam is a personal, professional and business enhancement coach, consultant, professional speaker and author. His firm is ProActive Leadership Consulting, Training & Coaching in Newport Beach, California. Order a FREE subscription to his monthly ProActive Leadership Advisory Tips E-Mail newsletter and discover sound and proven principles, practices, and tools that you can use to strengthen yourself and your business.