Being a good leader is crucial to your team's success and the advancement of your company. It empowers your team members to produce their best work, and sets the ground for growth and innovation.
While everyone demonstrates leadership differently, good leaders have these things in common:
a. They communicate clearly
b. They delegate confidently
c. They invest in their team
As the VP of Revenue of CircleCI—which allows teams to rapidly build quality projects at scale, Jane Kim oversees many teams to ensure that the company delivers on its mission: give people everywhere the power to build and deliver software at high levels of speed. Jane has seen firsthand the power of good leadership. From keeping team morale high to inspiring every single team member, good leadership is the key to moving a company forward.
It took a few mistakes along the way to learn these lessons, and here Jane shares her early mistakes, to help managers on their leadership journey:
Micromanaging
"When I was an account executive, my strength was selling the business value. I was promoted to a manager because that strategy was really successful for me. And naturally, I thought that to be successful, my team had to be like me," says Jane. "However, I quickly learned that not everyone on one team should have the same strengths, weaknesses and process in place. That’s actually more detrimental because it limits room for debate, idea sharing and diverse opinions," she continues.
It's tempting to micromanage at the beginning, especially as you're building trust between you and your team. However, micromanaging has the tendency to stifle potential and growth. If you find it hard to trust your team members, Jane recommends getting to know them instead of micromanaging. Take them out to lunch and have open conversations. Carve out time for team building activities. By understanding where your team's strengths, you will be able to help them reach their highest potential. There is no one way to hit a target. Your job as a leader is to help each individual on your team meet the goals in their own way.
Hiring the wrong person for a job
"When I first started as a sales leader at a previous company, I was the hiring manager for a new account representative role. While everyone on the hiring panel had a favorite candidate in mind, I wasn’t sure, but I blindly followed their recommendation. It was clear in the first month that this person wouldn’t be successful. But he was my first hire in this role, and I wasn’t going to let him fail. It felt like a representation of my own success. I poured my heart and soul into helping him improve. I spent at least two hours a day with him for three months, until I finally admitted to myself that I had hired the wrong person for the job," confesses Jane.
No matter how many questions you ask or references you check, if you hire at any scale, you may eventually hire the wrong person. To minimize the occurrence of this, Jane suggests answering these questions: What does someone need to be successful in this role? How will I measure their success and offer feedback? Do I have time to help them become better?
The more critical you are of your hiring decisions, the sooner you can realize if someone isn't performing well. Hiring the wrong person for a job does your team a disservice and only ends up costing your company money.
Wanting your team to like you
As a leader, your role isn't necessarily to be liked, but to be respected and have good rapport with your team. New managers often transition from a peer to a boss, and they can become overbearing or too permissive.
Wanting your team to like you can cloud your judgment about their performance and harm the progress of the company. This isn't to say that you shouldn't be agreeable or easy to talk to. Focus more on doing a great job and empowering your team to be successful.
Ultimately, making mistakes is the only way to learn. As a leader, learning from others' mistakes can help you avoid them or recover once they're made, and build a successful and happy team.
