By Lillan K. Gyldenvang, September 2020
When you are appointed as a leader, many new opportunities open up—but so do a number of pitfalls you must be aware of from your very first day on the job.
Your former colleagues may now be your subordinates, and you have become part of the leadership team. In your daily work, you must now navigate the intersection between your employees and upper management, and this can bring surprises – both good and not so good.
CfL has interviewed and trained countless new leaders who have all taken the step up the career ladder into a new level of leadership. We have extracted 10 typical pitfalls that you should focus on when moving from colleague to leader.
The most important change is that you are now a leader and no longer part of the employee group. Previously, you might have occasionally complained about colleagues, but as a leader you cannot afford such liberties. As a leader, it is crucial to realize that everything you say and do now carries more weight and may be perceived differently. Your leadership role changes how people view you—even though you remain the same person, your role has changed. The relationship between you and your former colleagues is fundamentally altered. Avoid credibility issues by ensuring that your personal opinions do not influence your objectivity. All decisions must be based on facts—not on personal friendship.
Free yourself and your employees from previous perceptions and create your own leadership space.
Start by finding your inner authority. You should neither downplay nor exaggerate your role as a leader—it should reflect your natural authority.
Ask yourself: How do I interpret my leadership framework, and how do I apply my insights so that we establish clear, shared goals and directions?
Creating your own leadership space is an ongoing quest and development that never stops. Make sure to deepen your self-awareness by seeking feedback from those around you. Consider questions like: How can I increase my self-insight? How am I perceived by others in my leadership role? And how will I work on my own leadership?
Remember, your leadership space must be aligned with the context in which you work. Your job is often unpredictable and perhaps even complex. Therefore, you must be able to interpret the context you are in and continuously observe and reflect on it.
There will be information you no longer receive and topics you cannot discuss with your employees.
Consider which leaders and other individuals you could benefit from networking with—both internally and externally in relation to your own organization.
All leaders need professional sparring as well as support, and it is perfectly acceptable to seek this outside of your immediate colleagues and employees.
A professional leadership network can be very beneficial, as it offers both confidentiality and valuable advice.
It is common to experience a split between your professional field and your new leadership role when transitioning from colleague to leader. Depending on the size of your team, leadership may become a full-time job, and being a leader must become your top priority.
Learn about your employees’ career goals: What are their goals, and what motivates them? Ask yourself which leadership style each employee responds best to, and make an active effort to incorporate that knowledge into your leadership style.
Above all, let go of the notion that you are the best in your field. Now, it is your employees who must excel professionally.
Being popular is not the same as being credible. Being unpopular is never pleasant, but as a leader and decision-maker, you cannot expect to always be popular.
It requires a measure of courage, but remember that popularity can be bought at too high a price—and that price might be your credibility as a leader.
Criticism is a part of leadership, whether it is justified or not. Most leaders have learned how to give constructive criticism, but receiving and using criticism is an entirely different matter.
As a leader, you should have a desire for continuous development and learning. Therefore, you must focus on actively receiving and seeking out feedback.
Make sure to regularly obtain constructive feedback from your employees and your own manager. For example, ask a colleague or manager, "What do you observe that I do (or fail to do) which prevents me from achieving my goals?"
Criticism can evoke strong emotions, so be aware of your reaction patterns. Are they constructive, or do they need adjustment?
Consider criticism as potentially useful advice (coaching) rather than as an accusation (evaluation) of how you have done things so far.
You are a leader because you have demonstrated potential and have the capacity to develop further.
This means you will be measured on how you respond to mistakes: Will you learn from your mistakes? How will you use new experiences to develop your leadership style?
Be mindful of your own errors. The difference between a merely adequate leader and an exceptional one lies in the desire for constant self-improvement combined with a strong drive.
As a leader, you must step back from daily operations—a difficult adjustment for many.
If you do not delegate to your employees, you will end up handling all the small tasks yourself, leaving no time for the strategic work that leadership also requires.
Your role now is to help your employees develop so that, ideally, they become even better at handling their tasks.
You only succeed if you can achieve results through others. This requires trust and an understanding of when to show particular interest or follow up on delegated responsibilities.
Who knows? Perhaps your employees might not complete tasks exactly as you would, but they might do them even better.
There will be a struggle for your attention, both from below and from above. As a new leader, you often feel pressured from all sides, but if you do not take care of yourself, you won’t be able to help others. Remember to put your own oxygen mask on first.
It is expected that, as a leader, you always respond quickly to requests from management, which can easily conflict with being an accessible leader for your employees.
You depend on your employees, and it is important to have a well-composed team of good people. This also requires that you can build trust and gain influence outside your own domain within the organization.
It is your responsibility to envision and anticipate developments within your field. This benefits you economically, professionally, and perhaps even politically.
You must be able to formulate and follow a long-term plan, so be curious and critical about new opportunities in the future.
Last but not least, you must focus on communicating your leadership. And that means communication in all its many forms.
Yes, there are many contradictory demands on you as a leader, but there is no way around taking control and defining your own leadership space.
The new manager is an investment in you, who wants to be prepared and developed in relation to the managerial challenges you encounter in everyday life.
When we talk about motivation, it’s hard to avoid Maslow and Herzberg — but today, that’s no longer enough. Understand what drives your employees – and yourself.
