You Have Become The Boss! - Image

Probably, everyone either faced a situation when he had a chance to become a boss, or dreamed about it. This article is for those who have already experienced their first takeoff and those who are just preparing for it.

Let's consider the case when you are about to take over the leadership of a working group: a department, a unit, a project team - it doesn't matter. The scale is important - you are not yet a top manager, but your subordinates are provided with. No matter how much, it doesn't change the essence. The main thing is that this working group already existed before you were offered to lead it.

THREE WAYS UP

There are usually three ways to come to the position of the leader of the lower or middle level. Either you were deliberately looking for such a job; or - what is more often - an acquaintance (perhaps a long-forgotten one) calls you and says: “I have a working group, I need to head it. You can handle it, I know. " However, the first option does not exclude the second, perhaps your career aspirations and your horoscope in terms of "useful connections" coincided …

The third way is a promotion, when the head of the unit where you worked leaves his post, and you are offered to take his place. It also happens that people get to such a position as a result of demotion, but I hope this has not happened to you.

And now, with a basket full of personal ideas and plans about how to make the world a better place, and the work of your (now your) department is more efficient, you come to work, meet your subordinates and begin to lead. But something is not going well. A stone flower does not come out, so to speak. Your initiatives do not resonate with your subordinates, and plans for reorganizing work are not being implemented. And sometimes there is a feeling that you are … not paid much attention. Why it happens? Let's try to figure it out.

YOUR PLACE IN THE GROUP

It is important to understand the role-playing situation in the team. A very convenient way to represent any workgroup is with three concentric circles. The innermost is the leader (or leaders) of the group. A person who has taken responsibility for some aspects of the group's existence - exchanging information, emotions, or performing general group work. The outer circle is the formal members of the group. Those people who, from some formal point of view, already belong to the group, but the group does not yet consider them their own. Remember the newcomer in the classroom - it is already in the magazine, but what it is is still not clear. Between the inner and outer parts of the team, the middle is the informal members of the group. People who consider themselves part of a team and have already built relationships with each other.

The biggest mistake a novice leader can make is to decide that his formal appointment gives him an automatic right to take a leadership position and subordinate colleagues. Only informal group members can become leaders. There are no jumps from the formal area.

How to become one of the informal members of the team? If you have just been appointed as a leader, it is first of all important to enter the group, to be recognized by colleagues. A sure sign that you have succeeded is establishing an understandable relationship with your coworkers. Ask yourself - do you understand how employees treat you? If not, pay attention to this. When you become "your own" in the team, you can begin to fight for the "leader's jersey".

FIGHTING FOR THE LEADER'S T-SHIRT

How can you take a leadership position? Have you watched movies about monkeys? It is necessary to show the flock … oh, sorry, the group that you are in some way better than the existing leader, "more profitable" for the group. In animals, everything is simple: he challenged the leader, defeated him - and that's it! A strong leader is more profitable for the pack. People are more complicated. As already mentioned, the leader takes responsibility for some aspects of the group's existence. And everyone who claims to be a leader must prove that they are better at it. Show that you are the best specialist, or know more than others, or better “sort out” personal emotional flows, and get a well-deserved place. And then build the model of work that seems effective to you …

And do not indulge yourself with the thought that it was your competence that became the reason for the appointment to a leadership position. No, I don’t argue, from the employer's point of view - this is most likely the case. The weak point of many employers is the perception that by appointing a well-versed manager to the department, performance can be improved simply by that appointment. It's not like that at all.

TASKS OF THE HEAD

What does the team expect from not just the leader, but from the formal boss? The boss is needed by his subordinates for two things.

1. To defend the interests of the group in front of the management of the company / unit, to act on the side of their subordinates, to cover them from bossy anger. Accordingly, get kicks both "from above" and "from below". What did you think? More than others, bosses are paid for harm.

2. To "knock out" maximum budgets for the department, higher pay for travel, new computers and other benefits of life that are included in the "non-material part of employee incentives."

I agree that it is not very pleasant to realize that you are expected to be a mediator and earner, and not "a king, God and a military leader." The thought may even arise - do I need it? Better downstairs, you are not responsible for anything, except for your site … Life is a raspberry. It is important to understand that the image that you have now and the one that may appear after you establish yourself in the group are very different things. All in your hands.

FROM THE SOKHI

A separate issue is the difficulties encountered by those who have already worked in the group, which he was now asked to lead. Let's start with the good. What makes your task easier? First, you are no longer new to the workflow. And since the choice falls on you when promoting - most likely you are a person with a leadership position. They were just not officially designated boss. Now the path to promotion is open before you, and you will hardly have to prove your competence and fight for a leader's place.

At the same time, you will need to find an acceptable model of your behavior in relation to those with whom you were previously in a relationship not "boss - subordinate", but "colleague - colleague." I want to console you: since you were appointed for a reason, then - even in the days of collegial friendship - you were perceived as a leader.

WHAT IS NOT WORTH DOING

Immediately begin to profess the principle "I am the boss, you are a fool."

Don't forget: the first time you entered the department room as a boss, you again became a formal member of the group. A couple of minutes may be enough for you to return yourself to informal status and even acquire leadership status. But this must be done without fail.

Don't change anything

It's nice, since this position allows you to preserve all the warmth of the previous relationship, but is fraught with the fact that your initiatives of a purely managerial nature will not be implemented.

What is most effective? After the appointment (or even before that), bring everyone together and say directly: “Colleagues, the situation has changed. Now I am the intermediary between you and the boss, the earner of “resources”. I can promise that I will try to act effectively for your benefit and for my own. I expect from you that we will always maintain parity between your personal interests and mine. And my interest is that I can present our work well. Did you agree? And also - it seems to me that if we try not to drink beer on Fridays, it can turn out cool. Let's try?"

At first (and always better) consult with the team on issues that are not particularly fundamental. This will show that you are not only a despot, but also a democrat. Most likely, you will also have to show despotism a little later. But that's another story …

If you do not make these mistakes, then a new, higher position will bring you not despondency and loss of self-esteem, but pleasure from working in a new capacity.

EXPERT OPINION

Tatiana Volkova, psychologist, image consultant, coach

WHAT LIGHT ARE WE IN?

When building relationships with teammates, it is very important for a newly-made leader not to forget about the tasks that lie before him and fundamentally distinguish him from an ordinary team member. For the aspiring middle manager, meeting management expectations is just as important as relationships with subordinates. In order to earn the respect of team members, it is important to talk not only about the need to lobby the interests of the team before the management, but also about professional competence within the framework of the tasks facing the group, which can be acquired only by constantly communicating with all team members. This helps the leader to constantly know the answer to the important question: "In what world are we?" The manager has the most complete picture of the work process - and, as a result,sees bottlenecks and directs the group's resources in the right direction for the most efficient solution of the assigned tasks.