Leading a team, be it of five people or fifty people, for the first time can be extremely daunting. Paired with starting a new role or joining a new organisation, it's not uncommon for new leaders and executives to find themselves searching for tips and tools that they can utilise to help them find their feet.
Thanks to the global pandemic, remote working, and hybrid approaches to the workplace, new leaders also face many challenges that may have been unheard of a few years ago.
To assist you as you take the next step in your career as a leader, here at The Leadership Coaches, we share three leadership tips for new leaders that we know are consistently cited as success factors regardless of industry or sector.
1. Develop Trust
Trust is the foundation of any successful leadership experience. Research conducted by the Harvard Business Review found that when trust is developed among leaders and their teams, productivity rates are 50% higher. Contributing to this, it's estimated that 76% of employees feel more engaged when trust is established in the workplace, irrespective of whether they are working from home or the office.
At The Leadership Coaches, we frequently cite Linda Hill’s model of trust in our work. Helping leaders consistently reveal their intentions act with integrity, this particular model will help you develop trust quickly.
A simple way to develop trust as a new leader is to bring everyone together, share expectations and understand what you want and need from each other. From here, you can work to create a plan on how you will meet mutual expectations.
2. Communicate With Your Team
People who have been led by inspirational leaders will often cite communication as one of their top skills. But what do we really mean by communication?
Communicate the said and the unsaid
During your time as a leader, change is inevitable. People will often fill in gaps themselves, which is why it is essential to always be transparent in communicating what is known and what is not. If you find that something is uncertain, referring to our first tip is vital.
Communicate with all and one
As a leader, you need to ensure your communications to all your colleagues are inclusive. For example, you could state that “whether you’ve been with the organisation for a day or 12 years, I am thrilled that you are part of our journey and together this is what we are going to achieve…”.
Equally, people are individuals, and when communicating on an individual level, it’s important to remember the uniqueness of each individual.
Tools such as Core Strengths (Relationship Intelligence) are highly effective in understanding what motivates each person within the team.
It is important to remember that the most basic human connection comes from the rapport built through genuine curiosity. Sharing insight into your own life will also help you communicate that you are sincere.
3. Improve Your Emotional Intelligence
Last but not least in our three leadership tips for new leaders is emotional intelligence.
Think back over all the leaders you have encountered in your life. Whether school leaders, employers or family members, these people will have resonated with you because they either had a resonant or dissonant leadership style.
As a new leader, improving your emotional intelligence will help you better resonate with those in your team. You will also have the opportunity to develop self-awareness, awareness of others and uncover how to build effective relationships.
If you would like to find out more about emotional intelligence, read our article on emotional intelligence. We have also put together a complimentary Emotional Intelligence Development Toolkit which you can work through to develop your own emotional intelligence.
Enquire About Executive Coaching Today
Though we hope that you will find our three leadership tips for new leaders beneficial, we welcome you to give us a call on 03450 950 480 to discuss how executive coaching can assist you in your journey as a new leader.
Alternatively, email zoe@theleadershipcoaches.co.uk to arrange a suitable time to have an informal chat.
Likewise, we welcome you to visit our website today to meet our impressive team of leadership coaches, each with their own unique areas of expertise.
Not only do we provide executive coaching, but we also offer team coaching, bespoke leadership and management development programmes and workshops.
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