Sometimes we lose ourselves in translation.
I’m thinking particularly about when we move from being an individual contributor to a supervisor of people. It can be daunting. We can feel completely lost, no longer certain about what is expected of us.
It happens at other key turning points in our career journey, for sure, but this seems to be one of the biggest leaps that we face.
Frankly, just as with any other journey, we need to know what our destination is, have a compass and a map – or a satnav!. And there will be obstacles along the way that we need to get around.
Let me share a perspective that might help you to find your way as you make this important transition. (with attribution to Ram Charan, Stephen Drotter, James Noel in the Leadership Pipeline).
There are three things that need to change if we are to be successful in making this move from individual contributor to supervisor.
1) The major skills that we apply – call this your destination (since you need to develop these over time)
2) The values we hold dear – call this your compass
3) The way we prioritise our time – call this your map or your satnav
Let me take each one in turn.
1) The major skills that we apply and develop
As an individual contributor, we need to:
- be technically proficient at our job
- be a team player
- build relationships for personal benefit and personal results
- use the company tools, processes, procedures
When you become a supervisor, the important skills are really different:
- Planning and acquisition of resources – projects, budget, workforce
- Delegation
- Coaching
- Performance measurement, management and feedback
- Communication and climate setting
- Relationship building up, down, sideways for the team’s benefit
It’s no wonder we get a bit lost – partly because there are so many new skills to get our heads around; and partly because we’re trying to do all those things we did before and then add these on top…and we just don’t have the capacity.
We have to figure out what to jettison from our boat, so that we don’t sink (so to speak).
We can no longer DO as much of the DOING ourselves.
That’s what our team is there for, and we need to use them wisely now.
2) The values we hold dear – call this your compass
As an individual contributor, most of us believe that we must:
- Get results through our own dedication and skill
- Produce high quality technical or professional work
- Accept the company’s values
As a supervisor, look how different that compass is. We need to shift towards:
- Getting results through others
- Success of direct reports
- Managerial work and disciplines
- Success of the whole
- Visible integrity
3) The way we prioritise our time – call this your map or your satnav
Last, but not least, all of this means that the way we spend our time changes. As an individual contributor, we needed to manage our own workload, and manage our time. As a supervisor, we have a longer term outlook, with annual planning, investing in our people for the long-term, setting priorities for the team, communicating to multiple stakeholders.
So is it any wonder that we lose ourselves at this vital time of change?
What will you do to find your way back onto the right path?
