How a Company Can Help First-Time Leaders

Some companies, such as Novartis and Bank of America, have put in place extensive programs and systems to support individual contributors as they make the transition into leadership positions. Other companies, such as Intel and Honeywell International, have put in place well-regarded “dual ladders,” which allow technically oriented leaders to grow in prestige and promotions without climbing the managerial ranks. More companies are beginning to realize the importance of this transition, recognizing that their people will experience some degree of adversity in this passage and that it is front-line managers who translate the strategy, convey the culture, and select the most new employees. These organizations know that the adversity of a new leadership role can spur leadership learning and growth, and for this reason they try to increase the odds that this learning and growth takes place. Many companies have focused new-manager transition programs on the first one hundred days of the leadership assignment, combining assessment with feedback and coaching. The goal is to increase self-awareness, which is the essence of this passage, and to increase the possibility of success and learning as individuals adapt the mantle of leader.

Consider whether your company provides the following resources for people going through this passage:

• Development of leadership skills. This is probably the most common resource that companies make available, and it usually involves classroom teaching of skills such as delegation, communication, and the like. In our experience, the best leadership development programs blend learning methods, cognitive information, emotional experience, and self-confrontation. Some companies are providing Action Learning programs for new managers, in which participants learn while addressing a significant business issue.

• Assessment or feedback process to determine how people are handling the first-time leader transition. The company assesses and monitors the transition rather than assumes that because people have been selected for a leadership role, they’ll be able to handle it. This process can be as simple as providing feedback to new leaders about how they’re doing to having more formal programs involving coaches who discuss this feedback with new leaders and help them create plans to meet the learning goals that are part of this transition. Coaches can help new leaders think and talk about the values and skills they’re struggling with as part of the passage.

• Boss assistance or coaching. It’s been said that people learn how to be a boss from their own boss, and some companies take this axiom to heart; they encourage bosses to coach their people through this passage. In fact, more companies are even evaluating leaders on how well and how many new leaders they develop and enable to succeed. From formal mentoring programs to less formal one-on-one discussions, bosses can share their feelings and knowledge about what this particular passage entails. They can observe the new managers in action and provide continuous feedback about where they are struggling. This doesn’t mean bosses should take on a protective persona and watch their direct reports’ every move. They should, however, make themselves available to new leaders and provide assessment to those who need someone to help them when they’re struggling to incorporate new values and skills into their work style.

Ideally, your organization is providing you with some or all of these resources. Even if that is not the case, however, you can take advantage of the learning in this passage.