I have worked with some amazing and some really challenging teams.

What made them amazing? They worked together, listened to each other, helped each other out at difficult times, shared their experiences. A challenging team was when a team member would not work with the others, saw themselves as above their team members, the team did not have all the relevant skills required to complete the workload, or there was no agreed set of team behaviours or a team charter to follow.

It is not unusual for people to struggle when they are promoted into leadership. If you have been promoted within the team, the team views of you will change. You are now the “one-in-charge”. You are no longer one of their peers. The levels of trust and social interaction can change. You are providing the steer, guidance, and development of the team. There may be some jealousy from others who thought they would get the leadership role. People may see you as a team member and not acknowledge your new position.

It is understandable you want to be the best leader you can, to create a high-performance team, to have others trust and follow you. You know have a day job as well as having to settle into your new demanding role.

This is where a coach is invaluable

A coach will have the time to dedicate to you to listen to your storey, what it is you want to achieve and by when. They will have experienced of moving into a new role as a leader and understand the challenges and experienced the wins.

A coach will not break your confidence, expose your concerns. These are for you to share and work through together.

Your coach will work with you to understand the type of leader you want to be. Ask who your role models are, who do you want to be like, who don’t you want to be like, how you want the team to see you. Together you will identify the skills these leaders have, what skills you have, and plot a route to develop the skills you want to have. This can include communication skills, confidence, conflict management, life/ work balance.

It is also important for a leader to have a life / work balance. When starting in your new role, you may need to put in some extra effort and hours, but that is not a sign to continue focusing on work only. Leaders are people with a rang of interests. Discuss these with your coach. Work out together how to have a life / work balance.

Ask yourself

• What do you believe makes a great leader?
• What skills would you like to develop?
• What results would you like your team to achieve?
• Are you ready to work with a coach to develop yourself?

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