Page 135 - Just Promoted A 12 Month Road Map for Success in Your New Leadership Role

120 Just Promoted!

■ How might these strengths be overused? Under what conditions do you
need to be most alert?
■ What can you do to alert yourself that you are starting to overuse your
strengths?
■ How can you use this knowledge in your role as a leader-coach of
your team?

SUMMARY

In this chapter, we have looked at the importance of selecting, building, train-
ing, and developing your leadership team and work unit. Doing this well is
among your most important activities during your first year as a leader. To a
large extent, people selection and their development will determine the pace
of bottom-line improvement and overall team effectiveness. We have also
introduced the concept of overused strengths and how you can avoid inad-
vertently getting yourself into performance trouble by being aware of how your
top strengths can also become a problem for you.

Quick Reminders to Keep You on Track

■ Several of your most important responsibilities during the 12 months
following your appointment include selecting your leadership staff,
molding this group into a highly productive and confident leadership
team, and making available the best possible training and development
opportunities for your people.
■ The choice of your team members is the first pillar of your team’s effec-
tiveness. The approach you use to establish your team will be based on a
number of factors, including these:
1. Your organization’s mission and the ultimate vision you hope
to achieve
2. The type of work that exists and that will likely exist in the future
3. The present type and variety of management and leadership talent
4. Your assessment of how the present staff members work together
5. The talent outside your organization that could fill gaps in or
strengthen your team