Ep. 7: Do you Have What It Takes

SUMMARY

How many of us actually explore why we want to become a manager before leaping into the role? In today's episode, we will explore five critical questions that we all need to answer before going for that promotion.

FIVE CRITICAL QUESTIONS
1. I am an individual contributor who has fulfilled my potential and I am looking for a new challenge that will support my personal and professional growth.
2. I am someone who wants to inspire and motivate others in working together to achieve a common goal.
3. I know what my strengths are and my personal areas of growth.
4. I am clear on why I want to become a formal leader/manager.
5. I am clear on what my values are and how they guide my behaviour.

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Transcript

0:01  
Hello, my name is Johanna Pagonis, and welcome to tackle Tuesday. I am your host for this podcast series. So today's topic is do I have what it takes? specifically? Do I have what it takes to move from an individual contributor position to that of a formal leader? And the reason why I want to focus on this topic is because I think many of us, before we make that leap to a manager or frontline supervisor role, we may not necessarily explore all the responsibilities that are involved in that position. And are we prepared to take all of that on? Now, if you're thinking, Well, I'm already a leader, I'm already a formal leader, this episode really doesn't apply to me. So before you press stop, and you discontinue listening, I like to say, please continue to listen for two reasons. Number one, you may actually

1:00  
have somebody who's reporting to you, and is looking at moving into a formal leadership position and is looking for some support and guidance from you and how to do that. So we're actually going to focus on specific questions that an individual should answer before they actually go for that promotion. And Reason number two, let's be honest, most of us who have moved from an individual contributor role to that of a manager never really explored or answered the questions that we're going to really dig in deep today. So please continue listening, I'm positive, you'll get something out of this as well. 

And one other reason why I wanted to focus today's episode on this topic, is because I myself had some challenges moving from an individual contributor role to that of a former leader. And before we get into the content of today's topic, I want to share that experience with you. That experience had a very profound impact in my life, it motivated me to go back to school and dig deep to uncover How do managers actually learn to do their job, and for my research, inspired me became the catalyst to the books that I wrote, choose to be a leader others would want to follow. And really that book has been written for managers who have struggled, struggled early in their career. And it's a resource that new managers and existing managers alike Can, can can utilize to support them in figuring out how best to learn to do their job in a way where they're confident and feel credible. 

And so early in my career, when I decided to make that leap to a formal leadership position, it was it was a little bit challenging for me. And I think it's because I didn't really explore why I wanted to be a leader in the first place. I just thought it was the next logical step for me. And I didn't anticipate how challenging it would be. And remember, one day I was driving home, I had a really tough day, I had somebody on my team that was going through a lot of personal problems. And it was really impacting his ability to perform in the workplace. And I was trying to have a really honest conversation with them about where he was terms of his motivation, how things were going at home, how that was impacting him in the workplace, and what I could do to support him. And although I had that conversation plans in my head really well didn't go very well at all. 

And on the way home, I was frustrated, I was upset. I felt like he had just shut down. He wasn't willing to listen to me. I took it very personally. And as a result, because I was so absorbed in that that thought almost ran over a pedestrian in the walkway. I wasn't paying attention. The end of that story was a good story. nobody got hurt. I got home safely and another pedestrians walking on the street that during the time I was driving got home, I hope safely as well, at least I wasn't responsible for hitting anybody. But when I went home, I was like this, I can't continue on like this. 

And I I had to almost take a step back and reevaluate why I was where I was, and how I was going to learn how to be a better manager, because I don't think that one individual really had anything against me. And I took it personally and I didn't need to take it personally, that was a result of being immature and inexperienced, and not really being ready for the the role of a manager before I jumped into it. And that's why I want to devote today's episode to that we're really going to dig into five specific questions that all individuals should answer before they go for that promotion. So when somebody is a technically skilled, individual contributor, looking or examining at becoming a former leader, I would call that an emerging leader. 

And we work with a lot of emerging leaders and I love working with emerging leaders because as I shared before, I also experienced a lot of challenges as an emerging leader. So I'm going to Ask five questions and what I would like you to do, whether you're an individual contributor, or you're actually a supervisor or manager, I want you to participate in this exercise. I'm going to ask each question on I should also note that the questions will be in the show notes. 

But to ensure that you're able to participate in this fully, I'm going to ask each question and then I encourage you to pause and answer the question before listening to the second one. So here we go. So the first question is, I am an individual contributor, who has fulfilled my potential in my current role, and I'm looking for a new challenge that will support my personal and professional objectives. Yes or no? Take a mental note of that. Question number two. I am someone who wants to inspire and motivate others, and working together to achieve a common goal.

5:59  
Yes or no?

6:03  
Question number three, I know what my strengths are. And my personal areas of growth and development? Yes or no? To me more to go. Number four, I'm clear on why I want to become a formal leader. Yes or no? And our last question, I am clear on what my values are, and how they guide my behaviour.

6:32  
Yes, or no?

6:35  
Now take stock of how many answers you replied yes to? And how many you said no to? If you've answered yes to most of these, congratulations, you do, you should give yourself a pat on the back. Many of us who enter into leadership position are lucky if we can answer one of those. So if you can answer all or I would say even three, you're really in a good position. And I would say use those to guide your,

7:03  
your developmental plan

7:04  
as you seek out opportunities and, and new positions or stretch assignments. Now, if you've answered yes to maybe one or just two of those

7:16  
you have some work to do,

7:17  
you need to actually sit down with your support network, which hopefully includes your direct supervisor. And if you don't have a mentor or coach, I would seek one out. And I would go through those questions with them, and talk about and start to explore how to answer them. All right, so let's actually go through the six questions that I asked earlier. One of the things I'd like to say is, as I mentioned earlier, a leader doesn't have to be somebody in a formal position, it can be an individual contributor. But as I go through these six questions and important points under each, when I use the term leader, I am going to be talking about formal leaders, unless I specifically state leader as an individual contributor, okay, just want to make sure that we're on the same page, at least when it comes to that. 

All right, so point number one, or question number one was, I am an individual contributor who has fulfilled my potential, and I'm looking for a new challenge to support my personal and professional growth, right? Why is this question important to answer? So mainly, because if you feel like you still have a lot to learn, as an individual contributor, moving into a manager, or frontline supervisor role, may not be a good idea for you at this point in time, right, the learning curve is steep as a manager. 

And if you don't feel confident in your role as an individual contributor, you may lack the confidence and the credibility you need to present yourself as someone who can successfully lead the team to achieve successful outcomes. And credibility for me is not just about all of the experience that you have, and that you could say, I've been there and done that. But I think it's about a mindset. It's about having confidence and belief in yourself, that you belong where you are. And you're good at what you do. And you can help others be successful too. Okay, question number two. I'm someone who wants to inspire and motivate others, and working together to achieve a common goal. Why is this important? When you're a manager, it can't just be about you. You're in charge of a team. 

And you're responsible in ensuring that you are are empowering them in being successful, that you're setting them up for success. And basically, what that means is that you're giving them the knowledge, the tools and the permission to do their job. Now, what does this look like in practice? And I'll give you a real concrete example. There was this one manager that I was mentoring and I remember I said to him, your staff is frustrated with you because you're not available to them. You're not accessible. 

They never say See you, the only time they see you is when you go and visit them once every two weeks to delegate a task, but then you never really clearly articulate what your expectations are of them. And so when they fulfill the task or complete it, you give them negative feedback because they missed the mark in your eyes. And they're frustrated with that. 

And he said to me, but I'm too busy. I have way too much work. I'm like, but your team is your work, I get a part of your job is answering emails, attending meetings and writing reports. But that can't be the only thing that you do. As a manager, you have to empower your team to do their job. And that has to be a big portion of your work, you have to ensure they have the skills, the knowledge and the permission

10:46  
to go about doing what they need to do to complete the tasks that you've assigned to them. And what I found when we dug in a little bit deeper, and we started to explore what he was actually doing and why he was too busy. He was actually doing a lot of the work that his team was supposed to be doing. He couldn't let go of the duties that he was responsible for as an individual contributor, and let his team who were the individual contributors do what they needed to do. 

And as a result, he just didn't have enough time to support them. So we we had to look at reexamining what his role as a manager was, and how he needed to let go of his previous role and start to get comfortable and embrace being a formal leader. 

11:30
Hey everyone, Johanna here with a quick word from our sponsor. 

This episode is sponsored by Sinogap Solutions, the Emotionally Intelligent Leader. Leaders are not born, they are made. strong leaders are aware of their strengths and limitations. They can create a culture where candid and compassionate conversations occur daily. And we're sharing feedback is not only encouraged, but expected. 

That is why develop the online program, the emotionally intelligent leader. The program's mission is to transform individuals into emotionally intelligent leaders who achieve excellence for their teams and their organization. Through the program, you will explore your purpose for leading others discover areas of strength and growth that you'll be able to leverage to support your leadership development throughout your career. And as a listener, you will receive a 10% discount, when you use the code tackletuesday10 you can access the link and discount code in the show notes.

12:39  
So over the course of my career, I've seen a lot of managers having a hard time letting go of their their individual contributor role, the duties, the responsibilities that they had to oversee, and they had to achieve outcomes on when they're an individual contributor, they had a hard time letting that go and focusing on supporting your team rather than doing the job for their team. And that is a hard fact that we have to face one become a formal leader. And many of us feel as though when we become a manager that we will lose that skill set. And the truth is, we may get a little rusty at it. But as I mentioned before, if you feel like you've outgrown your current position, you've achieved everything that you thought you needed to achieve and beyond. And you're ready for a challenge, then this could be the right challenge for you. But you have to reconcile the fact that you're not going to be doing what you used to do, you're going to be doing something different, and something new, and your team and the individuals on your team are depending on you to do that. 

Alright, question number three. I know what my strengths are, and my personal areas of growth, I'm still surprised at how many people really can't articulate what they're awesome at. And sometimes I'll call strengths, superpowers. Something really amazing at that you have to embrace and not be afraid to show it off. But in the same respect, you have to admit you don't know everything. And therefore you have to surround yourself with other people who possess strengths you don't have. So you can have a well rounded team that can collaborate, work together, leverage each other's strengths to achieve organizational goals, outcome and overall success for the organization. Right question. And before I am clear on why I want to become a formal leader, I don't think enough of us actually explore that before we decide to go for the promotion. And I think that goes back to the first question which is I fulfilled my potential and I'm ready to do something different. I'm ready for the next challenge. But you could easily take a lateral position in a new department or a new company that could be a new challenge. 

You really have to explore why have you decided to make the leap from an individual contributor to that of a manager. And I say that because you can't just be committed to yourself as a manager, you have to be committed to the organization, which means you have to understand what the organization's values are. And live those through your behaviours and actions every day, you have to have a clear understanding of what the organizational goals and outcomes are, and being able to leverage the team's strengths to achieve those outcomes, and get and achieve organizational success. 

But you also have to be committed to your team, your direct reports, you have to understand what it is that they need, in order to be able to do their job and to set them up for success. And sometimes it'll appear that what they need is in conflict with what the organization needs. And you have to reconcile those differences, and be able to push forward, your ultimate goals to achieve organizational outcomes. If your team can be successful and completing projects and assign tasks, then your ability to lead the team will be questioned. 

And so it's not always easy to navigate through all that complexity. And if you don't know why you chose to be a leader in the first place, it'll be very hard to, to find that inner motivation to keep moving forward. So when you're preparing to take that promotion, or you're writing your resume, reflect and be clear on what your purpose for leading others is. And although I said it's good to have that knowledge for, you know, for the interview, in case, they asked you that, it's actually a great way to start developing relationships with your direct reports, when you sit down to talk to them, or if it's the first time that you're meeting with them, it's great to begin with, this is my purpose for leading others. This is my vision statement. And if it's inspiring and motivating, at least to yourself, it definitely will be to the people on your team.

16:55  
And if you're an existing manager, and you haven't done that yet, that's okay. It's not too late to sit down and have that conversation with them. I think it'll go a long way and continuing to develop that trust and that relationship that you already have with your direct reports. Now, before we go to the last question, which really focuses on values, there's one thing that I want to say in relation to question four, knowing what your purpose statement, or vision statement is for being a formal leader that I call an anchor, it anchors you and it grounds you in regards to your your current state and your future state. 

Anytime that I explore a new opportunity or new direction I want to go in, I always think about what my purpose statement is, why am I doing what I'm doing. That's my anchor, and I allow my anchor to ground me I use the analogy of sailors at sea, in order to not drift off far from where they need to be they have an anchor. Now as we go into question number five, which is all about, I'm clear on what my values are and how they guide my behaviour. I call that my lighthouse. So the anchor grounds you but your lighthouse guides you. So when you're ready to move forward, and raise that anchor, and set sail, you know the direction that you need to be going in, you have that lighthouse that will guide you. 

So what are your core values and how many should you have. So your core values lie at the heart of who you are, and they don't change over time, you shouldn't have five to 10 to 20 core values, you should have two to three at the most. And the way to really be clear on what your core values are, is that if they were to be stripped away from who you are, you would cease to be the person that you are today. Right? So core values are not a matter of convenience, living your core values means that you make an intentional effort to live them every day, even when it is unpopular to do so. So knowing your anchor, and your lighthouse increases your self awareness, which is critical making sure you don't drift away from your purpose and values over time. And although I didn't know, I don't think I used the term self awareness at all in our discussion today. 

The whole purpose of this exercise and answering the five questions is to develop a deeper sense of self. And we need to understand ourselves, we need to make time to think and reflect who we are, what's important to us and where we need to go. Because without that level of self awareness, we won't be able to grow, we won't be able to uncover what our strengths or superpowers are, we won't be able to figure out areas of growth and we will cease to develop over time. And when you decide to become a manager. 

You have to be committed to a growth mindset. You have to be willing to explore and discover new things and embrace risk at times and to develop that within your employees to so in closing Just want to articulate that leaders were not born, we are made, and the strongest leaders invest in their development before they become a formal leader with an official title. strong leaders are aware of their strengths and their limitations. 

And they can create a culture where candid and compassionate conversations occur daily. And we're sharing feedback is not only encouraged, it is expected. strong leaders strive to continually become of their areas of growth, and invest time in their own continuous professional development, and personal development, as well as that of others.

20:39  
And really what we discussed today, these leadership traits

20:43  
are not just exclusive to individuals in formal leadership positions, you can start to develop these capabilities, qualities and characteristics now. 

And I encourage you to sit down with your current supervisor and have this discussion or if you are a current supervisor and see potential in someone to sit down and go over these five questions with them. Now remember, a leader is anyone who not only wants to create but is capable of creating what I call a climate of possibility, rather than a climate of command and control. So I hope, this discussion and these five questions were very valuable to you, and will help you along your entire leadership career. 

Another thing I'd like to point out is Be sure to listen to next week's episode, authentic leadership where I will interview Emily Lopez from ConocoPhillips really gonna dig deep into what authentic leadership is. And I think it's a great continuation from today's discussion. So everyone, that's it for today. Thank you so much for listening and I look forward to tackling the next issue with you

Transcribed by https://otter.ai