Team Leadership Leaders

My first ever leadership role was to lead an underground services team which I had been a part of for eighteen months. The team were very close, we worked well together, and probably got better results than any other team in our department. Most of us were friends outside of work, socialising together at the end of each roster period – sometimes starting in the morning straight after our last night shift.

The boss of our team was rewarded for our performance (and his) by promotion up one level to be in charge of the whole department. I was fortunate enough to get the chance at a leadership position by taking over his role in charge of our team. 

It was the most difficult assignment I have ever had. Partly because it was my first leadership role, but mainly because I had to be the boss of five guys that I was very good mates with, and had worked beside. 

I’d taken safety short-cuts with them to get the job done, I knew where they went to take a nap if they were weary on our first night shift back, and I knew what they thought of some of the company’s rules and procedures.

And now I had to stop them taking shortcutscorrect any inappropriate behaviours, and stand up for those same rules and procedures. I still wanted to remain friends with these guys, but I knew I had to do a good job as supervisor to uphold the standards our previous boss had set. 


This situation is a very common one for up and coming leaders to face early in their management career. It is usual for someone to find that their first promotion is to lead their current team, as their boss knows they understand the work of the team and have a good grasp of the types of people they’ll be working with.

Sometimes people are strongly encouraged to take the leadership of their existing team, even if they had not thought of taking such and step, and may be reluctant to do so. Vacancies, a lack of suitable candidates, or the bosses perception that the person is ready to take a step up may place a person in the leadership position in their old team without them having thought much about it before.
 

Why is it so Difficult?

Leading a team full of your old peers can be one of the most challenging situations a leader is placed in for a few reasons:

  • You might be expected to manage or stop some behaviours which you yourself used to do.
  • You know the “secrets” that the team used to know but keep from the boss.
  • The other team members may be your friends, both inside and outside of work.
  • The things about the company, rules or the old boss that you all used to complain about, you are now expected to uphold – you are the company’s representative in the team and expected to make sure they comply with all the rules.

What Advantages do you Have?

On the flip side, there are some advantages to leading your old team:

  • You know each of the team members, how they work, and what will work for each of them in terms of motivation or discipline
  • You know the tricks and “secrets” and can work to eliminate them
  • You know what the old boss did wrong, and can avoid making those same mistakes
  • If you are close with people in the team, you should be able to get honest and open feedback about how you are going

Four Tips for Leading Your Old Team 

1. Be Upfront

Sit down with the team on your first day or shift and talk openly with them about how things will undoubtedly be a little different amongst you now that you are the boss. Try to get their thoughts on how things might be different, and definitely try to find out the things they expect from you. Explain to them that you have a different role now – it’s still a role as part of this team, but it’s a different role. 

The company expects certain things from you as the leader, and that might mean your own behaviours will change slightly. Tell them you still want to work closely as a team, and that you really want them to give you open and honest feedback about what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. Admit that you won’t be perfect, but that you really want to try hard to make a go of your new role. 

2. Take it Slow

Particularly if you are expecting to change behaviours that went on while you were part of the team or behaviours that you yourself used to do. Remember you can’t change a team quickly when they’ve worked a certain way under you old boss.

Your team will expect you to have different standards, and they know you won’t be able to tolerate certain behaviours that you might have before. But don’t be accused of changing your values overnight – take it slow when it comes to giving negative feedback or having to have corrective meetings with your team. From day one you need to set your new standards and not tolerate those things that are unacceptable to you, but don’t make a big show of your new power to much or too soon.

The first time you encounter someone doing something you won’t accept, simply take the time to talk to them using our feedback suggestions below, and explain that although you might have condoned that before, things have changed now, and that moving forward you can’t accept it. And leave it at that for now. Flex your muscles slowly.
 

3. Let your Old Role Go

Depending on your situation you may still be required to do some duties of your old role in addition to your new position. Again, this is common when people are promoted to lead front-line teams in mining operations. But remember you now have a whole host of new responsibilities and tasks you need to do as part of the leadership role. You will need to delegate some of your old tasks to the team, and for someone who was a top performer in that team this can be a challenge. Your job is to manage the team so that they perform at their best and most effective – your job is not to do all the work of the team.
Use our 14 word Secret to Delegation to hand your old work out to the team, and then leave them to do it. Manage their results and let them have a chance to do it their way.

4. Open the Communication Channels and Get Feedback in Return

The best way to do a good job of your new role is to let your team tell you how you’re going and give you feedback on what to do differently. You’ve been close to this team when you worked with them, so you have a good foundation to be able to get them to tell you how you’re going, but you need to put in a bit of groundwork first. They will have feedback, don’t worry about that – for the first few months most of what they’ll talk about when you’re not there is the things you’ve done and said, or haven’t done and said.

The trick is getting that feedback out of them, and the only way to do that is to open the communication channels and show them you want to hear their feedback and that you won’t react negatively to it.
How to do this is a series of articles for another time, but the three best things you can do are:

  • Spend time with your team – get around and talk to them during the day. Open the communication channels constantly, and don’t make it a task for them to find a time to talk to you.
  • Sit down once a week and talk to each of them one-on-one – take just half an hour and make sure you do it every week without fail. Ten minutes for them to talk about how they’re going, ten minutes for you to talk about how you think they’re going, and tne minutes to talk in general about the going’s on in the team and the company.
  • Ask before you give feedback. Literally ask if it’s ok if you can give them some feedback before you give – whether positive or negative. Noone wants to hear unwelcome feedback, so at least ask for permission to give it first.

As a first step in a leadership career, or when put into the situation at any time in your career, leading a team you were a part of can be a challenging and rewarding opportunity. By thinking through the challenges you will face, and being open giving and receiving feedback from your team, this role can be a great stepping-stone and a great learning experience.

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