Every day people are promoted into new positions of leadership. If you are among those ranks and taking on your first leadership role—whether you will occupy the c-suite, a corner office or a cubicle on the shop floor—here are the very first steps you should take to ensure your success in your new supervisory role.

#1 Take a leadership assessment

Ask your boss, coworkers and employees to conduct a 360 Assessment of you to gather feedback about your perceived strengths and weaknesses. In addition, turn to the Internet for free leadership assessment tools. For example, Your Leadership Legacy offers a leadership style assessment, and MindTools offers several tests that offer your insight into your leadership approach and skills.

After you spend some time gathering insight and feedback, create an action plan for both strengthening strengths and shoring up any areas of weakness.

#2 Seek out coaching and mentoring

You can accelerate your growth by working with a leadership coach or attending workshops to help you map your strategies, approaches and plans for improving your leadership skills. At a minimum, I highly recommend that you find a trusted mentor to guide you when you need it. The person can offer advice for navigating challenging situations and can serve as someone to bounce ideas off of when you are uncertain of what to do.

Whether you take a more formal route and hire an executive coach or you choose a trusted friend or colleague, being coached by a knowledgeable, experienced person make your job a lot easier as you learn the ropes of leadership.

#3 Read and study 

Get your hands on as many books, articles, videos and webinars as you can, and commit to learning a little something new every day. The fact that you are reading this blog is a testament to your commitment to being a better leader.

Bottom line: In order to be a great leader, you must have a plan not only for your work but also for your development. Take charge of your growth and learning to ensure your success now and well into the future.

So sign up for our new FREE webinar “Building Your Confidence as a New Leader” on June 2! Register now!

 

 

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Kevin Eikenberry is a recognized world expert on leadership development and learning and is the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (http://KevinEikenberry.com). He has spent nearly 30 years helping organizations across North America, and leaders from around the world, on leadership, learning, teams and teamwork, communication and more.
Twice he has been named by Inc.com as one of the top 100 Leadership and Management Experts in the World and has been included in many other similar lists.

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