Learning to Lead Requires Communication, Decision-Making Skills and Self-Confidence

Landing a management position is equally exciting and nerve-wracking. You get to implement your ideas and lead your team in a positive direction. But your decisions will make an impact on your employees and company, so you really need to weigh all potential outcomes.

Think of management as being the conductor of a symphony; you’re not playing an instrument, but you know when someone else needs to play theirs. This doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time to learn how to lead from the front. Here are my best tips to help you step into your new position.

Build rapport with your team and other leaders

When you move into a leadership role, people are going to look to you for guidance. But who helps guide you? Surround yourself with people who offer ideas and feedback so you can more easily make decisions. Build relationships with team members who have different backgrounds and knowledge so you can get different perspectives.

When I’ve joined a new company, I sought out the people who had been there a long time for their guidance and insights. Their knowledge of company history and operations is invaluable. Find these people and rely on them when you’re learning your new position.

And remind yourself it’s okay to not know all the answers. Pretending you do will only get you into trouble; there’s no weakness in asking questions. 

Be clear with your communication and strong in your decisions

It’s impossible to overstate how important communication is when you’re in management. Navigating relationships in the workplace can be tricky regardless of your role, but it’s crucial when you’re giving direction to others.

When I think of a strong leader, I think of someone who is clear and fair in their decisions. You’re not going to please everyone all the time. But if you’re open and honest with people, they’re more likely to get on board. When you make a decision, share with your employees, “Here’s where we are, here’s where we’re going, and here’s the role I see for you in all of that.”

Part of creating a positive work environment means not just allowing but encouraging employees to give feedback and share their ideas. When you don’t communicate your decisions with employees or listen to their feedback, it can have unintended consequences. Employees respond better when they understand what you want to achieve and how it will impact them.

Owning your decisions means that you accept responsibility for them, regardless of the outcome. Don’t second-guess your decisions, but weigh their impact carefully.

Trust your abilities and work with confidence

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when they move into management is approaching their work with a narrow mindset. They only consider their job within the framework of a job description. But there’s a lot of skills you need that aren’t going to be written in that description. One of those skills is recognizing your own strengths and capabilities.

If someone were to ask me to run our IT department, I wouldn’t be able to do it. I don’t have a technical background. However, I can bring my communication skills and business experience to the table. Recognizing that one person can’t possibly know everything, and so understanding that different people are going to have different strengths, is important.

You could be the smartest person in the world with formulas and data, but if you don’t know how to work with people, you’re not going to be a successful leader. Do some personal inventory to be cognizant of your own capabilities, and don’t be afraid to learn new things. Being comfortable with stepping into that unknown will help you be more confident leading your team and your company in a positive direction.
 

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