A big thanks and shout-out to Gavin Adams’ book: Big Shoes to Fill for this topic.
Remember your first time using a power tool? That mix of excitement and anxiety, knowing one wrong move could send your project sideways (or you and your fingers to the hospital). Taking on your first leadership role feels remarkably similar – except now, your "materials" are people's careers and aspirations.
As a skilled individual, you became good at climbing the success ladder and gaining influence. Now, especially in these first few months of leadership, you’re leaping across a chasm of expectations, and bringing a whole crew with you. You're leaving the familiar territory of technical mastery for the semi-unknown landscape of people leadership.
Let's break down this leadership leap into manageable steps, keeping the focus on what your new team is feeling, and what you can do to support them in each stage of the leap.
The Running Start: Building Momentum
The first few days of leadership are predictable: you have folks to meet, meetings with your new boss and/or colleagues, and probably some HR trainings to knock out while you’re getting access to key systems. Use this "house money" period – those early weeks when expectations are still forming – to specifically focus on getting to know the team. Hold “skip-level” meetings. These are informal conversations with team members who are either directly under your purview, or the next level closer down to frontline. Prep no more than two questions, and keep them surface level. The focus here is make an impression and get to know your team as people (and mine these conversations for what you can log as a quick win in the near future). For example:
How’d you get started in this kind of work?
What do you like about what you get to do?
What do you do outside of here?
What’s the culture like among everybody?
The Leap: Going Airborne
The training wheels are off, you’re approximately two to four weeks into the new role and everything feels faster. Your team is watching to see how you'll handle this transition and who you’re like when the new-manager shine wears off. Focus on:
Reflecting back what you've learned from your skip-level meetings, and codify it. Your company probably has values and “ways of being” out their ears, but build off of that and drill down to specifically how your team shows up to support those values and goals.
Securing a quick win (any quick win) to show the team that they’re heard and that their voice matters
Setting up regular rhythms for communication and feedback with your direct reports. I recommend two kinds: a weekly 15-30min one-on-one meeting, and a weekly all-leads meeting
The Landing: Finding Your Footing
You are going to land just fine. What you need to pay attention to in this part is giving the team members as smooth as possible of a landing site. You’re focusing on clarity, focusing on measurable expectations, and you’re reinforcing the values you established in the previous stage. Some team members will land perfectly fine, and thrive in this new system. Some might stumble a bit, and there can be coaching to help them get back to pace. And some, no matter how clear you made the path, may twist an ankle and refuse to re-engage in the sprint. Your role is to:
Provide crystal clear expectations
Address challenges directly but supportively
Watch for team members struggling with the transition
Reinforce positive behaviors through recognition
The New Stride: Building Sustainable Leadership
Now comes the real craft of leadership – helping others develop their capabilities while maintaining forward momentum. Like a master craftsperson overseeing multiple projects, you're no longer just executing tasks but orchestrating growth and development. In this stage:
Use your one-to-one meetings to check in on your team member’s adaptation. Ask them about their direct reports
Use your one-to-one meetings to ask what projects need to be undertaken to improve things
Use your team meetings to address broader themes, and clarify the proposals mentioned in your one-to-one meetings. Prioritize and scope as a team (and while you have positional power to say “yes” or “no”, remember that you’re the new kid on the block, and the team’s perspective may carry more weight in this round).
Leadership isn't about leaving your craft behind – it's about elevating it to include the development of others. Your technical skills become the foundation for building trust and credibility, while your growing leadership capabilities help others forge their own paths to mastery.
The Next Steps
Every new leader wants to be seen as competent and trustworthy. What is the one thing you need to do to establish a foundation in both categories?
If you’re a new or seasoned leader, which one of these aspects is missing from your relationship with your team? It’s not too late to implement!
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