20: When I first became a manager

TRANSCRIPT FOR EP20:
Welcome to Woman Leadership show. I'm Janet and in this episode, I will be sharing with you my experience as first time manager. I first started in leading others when I was first promoted in one of my previous company . 

I was promoted from Senior Executive to Assistant Manager and later as a manager in less than 3 years.  I had to lead a team of 2 who was younger and one was older than me around my mum’s age 15 years ago.  The challenge for me was would I command a respect with my older team member.

I learnt to show respect and seek his input from her experience and showed that I respect her for her seniority in the company and she showed her respect back to me as her supervisor. That was mutual respect and I saw how I can leverage on her experience and how she has seen changes over the years to improve the system and processes and how to handle the feedback from stakeholders. 

One positive thing about this team member was that she was open to changes from her younger team members and younger boss and feedback from me too. We all worked as a team and it reinforce that if we have mutual respect and are aligned on the same vision, we will rust each other more to work things out if we have different opinions and challenges along the way. As I already started conducting programs for leaders, I learnt from others experience and what I needed to do as first time manager. 

My first impression of being a leader was to delegate tasks and be resourceful in allocating resources so as to meet the desired outcome and earn the respect and credibility of stakeholders in the company. I gained my knowledge by reading leadership books other than conducting team leadership programs, I also attended leadership and personal effectiveness programs  so I applied what I learned immediately and learnt to manage the team and inspire the team. What strengthen my leadership skills as first time manager was I went external to attend personal development programs and shifted my mindset from employee to an employer mindset and team is my responsibility. I told myself what if this was my own business, what would I expect from myself and the team. That totally changed how I handled my stakeholders, my team and delivered and strived to exceed the expectations of every task that was assigned to me. Delegate and lead the team to achieve the results. The team members would be empowered to learn and shadow the manager so can support in the absence of the manager. Once my ex manager told me that if I do things right from the beginning by on-boarding the team members and setting right expectations from the start, the long term benefits would far surpass the initial stage which takes more effort and time to invest in the team. 

The consequences if I don’t do that it will come back and haunt me with consequences and it also involve time and effort to rehire and retrain due to mistakes and wrong fit. It is important to prepare a first time manager before he or she can lead a team such as training, coaching and stretched assignments before the taking up the manager role. There were many who have stayed long in the company and were good at what they do but not necessarily is the right person or want to be a manager. We will assess if the person has the potential and aspiration to be one. 

Though I was promoted but I invested additional time to read books, learn outside the company and motivate my team member and ask for feedback on my leadership style. Without feedback, one will have blindspots to what we done well and can improve. Do not be afraid to ask for feedback from team members and bosses but do assess if they are constructive and with good intention of wanting to improve so it is win win for all. I hope that through my sharing, it draws inspiration and personal reflection for you. 

I believe every woman can be a leader in your own way.  I look forward to seeing you in my next episode where I will be sharing with you tips and ways to realize your full potential as a leader on Woman Leadership.