New Leaders Gain Support with Clarity and Confidence

Key Takeaways 

• New leaders must foster mutual respect.
• It takes time to integrate into an existing company culture.

Imagine standing in front of a room full of people. These are your new employees, and they are waiting for you to make your first move as their new leader. As you scan a sea of expectant faces, you introduce yourself for the first time.

What do you say?

Aspiring leaders often express worry that they will face a lack of respect upon entering new leadership roles. This concern is valid, but leaders can meet this potential challenge in a new setting simply by establishing a balance between giving and earning trust. The balance can be tricky, and acknowledging this openly is vital when entering a new role.

Leaders gain respect by offering it. Showing a genuine desire to understand the current company culture is a good start.

Gathering information from former leaders or the leadership team alone is a start, but this strategy means adopting a limited perspective from the beginning. In order for new leaders to assimilate, while also bringing about best results via renewed energy and purpose to an organization, they must also be willing to get a ground-level view of the culture and take full responsibility for the current state of the organization before moving forward.

Successful integration is part of the solution, but new leaders must also establish authority and communicate that they are in control of the situation. This means assurance of clear intentions.

A strong locus of control means the confidence and competence necessary to create change and not allow external factors to run the show. It also means offering empowerment to employees, even if they have yet to get to know the new leader. Trust in the team will create a company culture from which a leader can more easily identify weaknesses in the organization or team and begin to strategize around how to address them.

Imagine standing in front of a room full of people who are awaiting your next move. You deliver your message with clarity and confidence, taking ownership of the situation and assuring the audience that you will spend time to listen and learn as you embark on this transition together.

Reference 

Forbes. 10 Ways to Gain Respect as a Young Leader. https://www.forbes.com/sites/deeppatel/2017/09/18/10-ways-to-gain-respect-as-a-young-leader/#4a77440f17d3