by Dale Jeanes

Congratulations! You have been promoted and now are a leader of people. This is an important step in your career and one that you have aspired to and prepared yourself for – kudos!

Okay, now what?

New leaders can find themselves overwhelmed and somewhat daunted by their new responsibilities. Your feelings of excitement mixed with being overwhelmed are not unique AND can be harnessed to provide you with an outstanding set of priorities.

Allow me to be bold and suggest a critical initial priority - building healthy professional relationships with the team as a new leader.

Demonstrating care for the team as individuals and recognizing their meaningful contributions to the success of the organization is paramount to building and maintaining healthy engagement. Your team will only follow if they know you care about them holistically and authentically. Here are several practical considerations for your early days in the new role:

1. Listen

Allow for early personal interactions with your team to engage in meaningful dialogue and ask for their feedback. This means listening without judgment and with a healthy dose of curiosity. Express gratitude for the gift of their feedback and treat it with care, just like you would any precious gift you receive.

2. Listen more

Get to know the team as individuals, what drives them, and what values are important to them, both professionally and outside of work. Find common ground and connection points to help provide a foundation for relationships. Make notes and use every interaction to build relationships with the team.

3. Listen again

Share your leadership approach regarding inclusion and empowerment in the important decisions impacting the team. Clarity regarding how you will approach decision-making and how teams can expect their voice to

be considered is an essential early message in your leadership. Once you share, invite feedback and listen again.

So listen attentively. Insights from the team offer a unique perspective that is best coming directly to you. In the early days, it is important not to offer too many personal views about what you hear, there will be plenty of time to share your perspectives informed by your attentive listening as you move forward. Be grateful for the gift of feedback and use it to strengthen your leadership, building strong and caring relationships as you look ahead to shared team success.

More about Dale Jeanes

Dale is a new TCC member and leadership and performance coach. Dale’s focus is supporting the leadership development of internal audit and risk management professionals after an extensive executive career with BB&T/Truist Financial Corp. Dale’s firm is Jeanes Professional Development LLC and he can be reached via LinkedIn

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