Manage with Confidence

Leadership Connections Blog

You were promoted in part because you had good instincts.  Follow them!

Angela has recently been promoted, and for the first time is managing Vice President-level team members.  Her initial strategy was to allow a high level of autonomy like she herself had enjoyed at that level; however, Angela was not comfortable with some components of both style and performance from a particular VP on her team.  She struggled to find the right balance of staying big-picture and allowing for that high level of autonomy and feeling that she knows enough about this particular VP and her function.

In Angela’s coaching sessions, we discussed the importance of having confidence in your instincts when setting up an effective management structure.  Accordingly, we set up a plan for her to meet with the VP to discuss roles and expectations.

• Roles: Both the VP’s view of her role and the current state of her team and Angela’s view of the role of the team and how it fits into the overall organization
• Expectations: Angela’s expectations of the VP role itself, as well as the level of interaction needed

                 - Frequency of one-on-one meetings and what you plan to cover in the meetings

                 - The type of decisions you would like to be involved in and those that you only need to be informed of

While these expectations may evolve over time as they have more experience working together, it is important for Angela to set up a system that will enable that trust to be built.

Leader’s Reaction:

Angela was relieved.  She realized she had been over-thinking the situation because of the level of her new team member and was pleased that she now had a plan.  She also understood the importance of portraying confidence in her position of SVP.

Outcome:

Change in progress…  stay tuned for an update!

Need more?  Check out this related post on the challenges new managers face.