I recently hired a new leader for a regional area of our large sales type organization. During our initial meeting he and I discussed my expectations, talked about the vision for the organization, my leadership philosphy, and near term goals for his area. I also provided him with a concise list of the top five things he could do to get off to a good start with his subordinate leaders:
- Be clear on what you expect and recognize those who meet or miss it
- Be available when and where it matters most
- Be an advocate for your subordinates without being an enabler of bad behavior/excuses. Be prepared to say “no” when “no” is warranted.
- Be informed. Track details two levels down
- Be a leader. Don’t expect subordinates to adjust to the leadership style you’re comfortable with, adapt your leadership techniques to gain the most influence.
Of course leadership is more complex than just five things, but when taking over a new position it’s easy to get disctacted with all of the information and decisions required. These five things provide the new leader with a framework to build on future success as operations start to syncronize and get into a rythmn enabling them to build on what they initially established.