4 Tips for Moving from Individual Contributor Roles to Being a Leader.

As a people manager, you grew into your role as a leader by excelling at individual contributions. You know you need to be different, but change is not easy. The habits you were once praised for are now behaviors that can get in the way of your team's success. Adjusting your mindset will be essential to your success.

Effective leaders produce results through others.

In every leader's journey, a point comes when they can no longer do everything themselves and must begin to enlist others to fulfill the scope of the work. At that point, a leader's success is based on their ability to attract, retain, and develop talent. Successful leaders surround themselves with great people and effectively bring out the best in the people they work with. As you grow your leadership abilities, you must master the ability to accomplish work through others.

Tip 1: Focus on doing what no one else can do.

As the leader, your goal should be to master delegating. The reason for this is partially economic. As the leader, you likely are the highest-paid individual within your team. When you complete a task that someone else could complete, you raise the cost associated with completing that task. You also eliminate the opportunity for your employee to operate within their wheelhouse. When you delegate, you allow your employees to grow and gain much-needed experience and confidence. Over time, this growth helps produce greater competency among your employees. As employees' confidence and competence grow, they can take on increasingly complex challenges, which creates new potential for the organization.

Tip 2: Leverage individual employee strengths.

Tapping into the energy, knowledge, and strengths of others is another excellent reason to delegate. We all have different strengths, experiences, and perspectives, which influence the ideas we have and the outcomes we produce. You can leverage your team members' individual strengths by empowering them to take on more complex assignments. The key here is providing a vision of what you are asking them to do and then giving them room to do it. When delegating, you want to ensure that the person you select to work on the task has the information and capabilities necessary to execute to your expectations. You also want to be clear about the parameters of the assignment. The better you communicate your expectations upfront, the more likely you will be pleased with the outcome.

Tip 3: Be strategic when delegating.

One benefit of delegating is that it allows you to be more strategic as a leader. A leader's role is to ensure the execution of day-to-day activities, develop talent, and plan for the future. You must be able to oscillate between zooming in on minute details and zooming out to see the big picture. The act of delegating reduces the time you must spend on minute details, freeing you up to focus more holistically on the entire business.

No single project defines the long-term success of an organization. Success is delivered by building positive momentum over time. When leaders can accept imperfect progress, they position their organizations to take risks, learn from mistakes, and establish the knowledge and capabilities necessary for long-term success. The pursuit of perfection often results in inefficiencies that stagnate growth. Leaders determine the minimum acceptable level of execution needed for the organization to achieve their strategic objectives.

Tip 4: Accept things might not be perfect at first.

When you move into a leadership role, you are expected to replicate the success you delivered as an individual contributor across your team. Developing those you work with is the only sustainable way to do this. Leaders who try to be superhuman by executing their strategic roles in addition to their organization's tactical work risk burnout and stagnating their teams' growth.

Employees learn best by doing. It is a hard truth, but failure is the best teacher. Leaders willing to delegate provide employees with the trial and error needed for skill development and mastery. In employee satisfaction surveys, lack of development and career advancement opportunities are the two most cited reasons people leave organizations. When you delegate effectively, you address these concerns by increasing employee learning opportunities. This will help you be a talent magnet to people inside and outside your organization.

Summary

The skills and abilities that helped you to grow into a leadership position are not the ones that will allow you to excel as a leader. Individual contributors must demonstrate technical excellence. They must pursue perfection in everything they do because they are personally accountable for the work they produce.

Leaders maintain personal accountability but have added responsibility for the work completed by others. As a leader, it is vital to shift from micromanaging every detail of how work is completed to creating an environment where

• You focus on the things only you can do.

• Help employees develop their wheelhouse.

• Protect momentum by being strategic.

• Create teachable moments to support employee development.

When leaders can develop delegation skills, they scale their influence and position their organizations for faster and better growth. Employees' ability to reach their full potential is directly linked to your willingness to give them challenging work to master. As you stretch your employees' capabilities through delegation, you also build your ability as an executive. It is a win-win that will help you become the leader you want to be.

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As an Executive Coach and Small Business Consultant, I work with leaders who aspire to take their leadership to the next level.

If you are looking to learn frameworks and skills that make it easier for you to lead, we should talk.

I offer low-risk coaching packages that are customized to each client's needs. Whether you want to build your confidence, improve communication, or gain more comfort in delegating, I am here to help you on your path.

Get Help Building Delegation Skills.

Strategic Planning: The Key to Business Alignment and Success.

Ever wonder what large companies do to drive alignment? If you have never worked within a large organization, you might not know how important strategic planning is in aligning the different organizational functions and leaders. Most Fortune 500 companies go through an annual budgeting and planning process where they map out financial investments, key initiatives, and strategic objectives for the next 3 to 5 years. There is wisdom in this process. The more time you take to determine where your business is going and the key steps you need to take to succeed, the more confidently and quickly you can make day-to-day decisions.

One of the more widely used systems for strategic planning is the balanced scorecard. Introduced in 1992 by Robert Kaplan and David Norton, the balanced scorecard encourages businesses to identify goals from a financial, internal business process, customer, and learning perspective. By establishing business goals from different perspectives, you can create a well-rounded approach to improving your business. This will help you avoid focusing too much on one area of your business while neglecting others.

Aligning Business Resources with Strategy

Your business does not have unlimited resources. How you spend your money, time, and resources today will determine your business capabilities and profits tomorrow. Business authors like Jim Collins and Patrick Lencioni have documented the risk of business leaders not allocating sufficient time for planning. The adage, measure twice, cut once is especially true in business. Defining where you want to be in 5 years will increase your likelihood of reaching your goal.

How to Build a 5-Year Plan:

• Consider the impact that you want your business to make. What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind? What problems are you trying to solve for your customers? Answering these questions will help you to clarify what milestones you will need to accomplish over the next 5 years to achieve your goals.

• Consider what people, resources, systems, and processes you need to reach your goals. Do you have the right team in place? Do you have the right technology? Do you have the right processes in place to support your growth? If not, what steps do you want to take to improve the infrastructure of your business? The organization you have today does not have to be the same as the one you have tomorrow. Being intentional about the changes you want to make will help you build a better tomorrow.

• Set financial targets and define the revenue streams that will help you achieve those targets. How much revenue do you need to generate to reach your goals? What investments will you need to make to create more revenue? One of the hardest things for many business owners is accepting that financial progress is not a straight line. Frequently, you must invest in the short term to make more money in the long term. Being clear on your long-term goals will help you find the clarity necessary to invest in the people and capital you need today to reach your financial goals tomorrow.

Who should you include in this plan?

When you are developing long-term plans, it is prudent to get input from multiple perspectives. As the leader, you are the ultimate decision maker, but talking with your CPA, business coach, lawyer, mentors, employees, vendors, and even customers can help you make a more informed decision about the future of your business. The stakes are high; apply rigor to your thinking. You will never be able to anticipate every potential obstacle or future need of your business. Still, by talking to various people, you are more likely to come up with goals and plans that are specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time-bound.

What should your plan look like?

That is up to you. Many options will arise if you Google images and ask for a 5-year plan. Pick the one that works best for you. The most important aspect of this is the process, not the visual output. The time you take to think about where you want to be in 5 years and your conversation with others will help you find more clarity in your goals. I have posted the typical balanced scorecard I built with my clients. If you are interested, you can download the template and use it.

When should you update this plan?

Update your plan annually. Your long-term goals will change based on your short-term successes and learning. Re-evaluating long-term goals each year will help you to stay focused and refine your thinking.

Summary:

Building a 5-year plan is a best practice to help small business owners clarify their goals and lead more confidently. When you set out on a journey, having a clear vision of where you are going can help you prepare appropriately. The time you spend

1. Defining your financial goals

2. Identifying your ideal customer and how you will serve them

3. Designing efficient and effective processes

4. Crafting people selection and development strategies

will help you to have a blueprint for achieving your long-term goals.

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Thank you for reading this blog

I am a father, husband, executive coach, and former retail executive. My coaching expertise comes from 21 years of leading operations, sales, and marketing teams. I understand what it is like to feel stuck, undervalued, and underappreciated.

I also know what it takes to invest in professional development, climb the corporate ladder, and find fulfillment at work.

Your career path is a scavenger hunt. Each opportunity prepares you for the next. Allow me to help you clarify your path and accelerate your professional development.

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Email: dcunion@yourpathexecutivesolutions.com

Fight the Myth of "If you want it done right, do it yourself".

Do you live by the saying, "If you want something done right, do it yourself."? Most individuals who have experienced success based on their own individual efforts struggle to transition to delegating tasks to others.

This can be rooted in various beliefs. You may feel training others to do tasks correctly will take too long. You could be anxious about the cost of hiring great talent. You may also see your self-worth linked to what you produce and be uncomfortable taking on the manager role.

No matter the beliefs that are getting in the way of your delegating, deep down, you know the only way to scale your business is by reducing the number of tasks you are personally doing and investing time, money, and effort into building your organization's competencies.

Micromanaging versus effective delegating

Frequently, people who manage others opt for micromanaging instead of delegating. Micro-managing allows you to stay close to the work and leverage the hands of others without engaging their minds.

While micromanaging can allow you to get things done, it restricts your growth, leads to burnout, and contributes to employee turnover. Micromanaging is harmful because it does not engage the full person. It will lead you to treat employees like machines to be programmed and directed instead of humans who are resourceful, creative, and able to add incremental value to projects.

Instead of micromanaging, you can de-stress your life and expand your organization's potential by investing in delegation. Effective delegation is the key to growing the talent around you, working fewer hours, and achieving organizational goals. A disciplined approach to empowering employees can create a learning organization that builds new skills and competencies through continuous improvement. There are four steps to effective delegations.

1. Pick the right people

2. Define the task

3. Provide parameters

4. Monitor results

The time you spend executing these steps will reduce your need to micromanage and increase your comfort in delegating. Allowing you to dedicate more of your time to activities that bring you greater fulfillment, are more strategic, and generate sustainable growth for your organization.

Pick the right people for the right jobs

In his book Good to Great, author Jim Collins highlights the importance of having the right people in the right seats on the bus. This is essential to the success of any company. Your most important role as a leader is to surround yourself with talented people who can help you accomplish your company’s goals.

The first step in this process is to clarify what you are looking to accomplish and define the skills and experience that you believe are necessary for success. Once you do this, you can identify who can best support you in executing this initiative.

It is important to pick the right person to do a task. You want to identify someone with the will and skill necessary to succeed. If you currently do not have someone on your team who has the desired skill, then your focus has to be on adding additional people to your team or developing the skills of a current member who has the potential to grow in capabilities. Remember, team members do not have to be employees. Hiring contract workers, virtual assistants, or consultants are all great ways of expanding the capabilities of your team.

Define the task

Once you have selected the right people to work on an initiative, the next role of a leader is to define the task you want to complete. Start by linking the task with your company’s purpose. It is important to show people how the work they are being asked to do connects with the company's overall goals. This can help the employees to understand why the work you are asking them to do is important.

After making this connection, outline your expectations around the task. Communicate your desired end state. Clearly define what success will look like and when you expect the employee or team to deliver against that expectation.

Provide an opportunity for your employees to ask clarifying questions about the desired end state and the path from where they are today to where you want them to go. The time you spend upfront aligning on goals and the employees' path to achieve goals will reduce the number of questions you receive later in the process.

Provide parameters

Next, work with your employees to define the parameters for completing the task. You want to be clear in defining milestones, budgets, available resources, and any other constraints that would influence employees' actions.

You reduce uncertainty by aligning with employees upfront on what is permitted and what is not. The more clarity employees have on your expectations, the easier it will be for them to comply. You should document goals and parameters and verify that your employees understand their roles and responsibilities. This will prevent later questions about roles, responsibilities, expectations, and parameters.

Sometimes, employees understand what is expected but do not comply. When this happens, your focus should be on understanding what is getting in the way of the employee's success. Identifying competing priorities, skill gaps, mental blocks, and other obstacles will help you work with the employee to find solutions that support them in meeting expectations.

Monitor results

The final step in the delegation process is defining how and when you will touch base with your employees regarding progress. By defining and communicating milestones, you and your employees understand where projects should be at specific time periods.

This can reduce stress and drive accountability because employees know what to accomplish and when. If an employee is off track at the time of check-ins, you can provide course correcting advice to get them back on track.

If they have a problem they can not solve independently, you can conduct a root-cause analysis and help them identify solutions. Root-cause analysis may help you identify whether additional time, money, skills, people, or resources are needed to accomplish the given goal.

Summary

Time is your scarcest resource, and you can never get it back again once it is gone. As a leader, you must value your time and ensure that you allocate it in ways that benefit your organization most. The more time you spend doing things that only you can do and that are your strengths, the more of a positive impact you can make on your organization.

As the top person in your organization, you see things that no one else sees and can do things that no one else can do. You provide the most value when you can think strategically, selectively dig into details when needed, and coach, train, and develop your team to build their competencies.

Organizations are stronger when they leverage their employees' hearts, minds, and bodies. The best way to tap into the endless potential of your employees is to teach, train, and trust them to do the work that you hired them to do. Building a high-functioning team takes time and effort. The investment you make into selecting the right talent, defining the task, setting parameters, and monitoring progress will help you achieve more while feeling less overwhelmed.

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Thank you for reading this blog

Dorian Cunion is an Executive Coach and Business Consultant with Your Path Coaching and Consulting. He is a former retail executive with over 20 years of experience in the retail industry. He is a Co-Active coach who focuses on helping professionals and small business owners overcome insecurities, knowledge gaps, and lack of direction. He does this by assisting clients to tap into their values, recognize their strengths, and develop actionable strategies for growth.

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