Hey there,
welcome to Mak TV where we believe that the transformation from manager to
leader is a crucial one and that true leaders change lives.
So I am super excited to be able to start this mini series with you and we're
going to kick it off by discussing all about what to do from your first week in
management. Now, like I said last week,
so many of us are completely lost when we start in this new role.
I know that for myself I was completely petrified.
And maybe it's because I didn't even want the role in the first place and that's
not to say I wasn't appreciative, it's just that I felt so under-qualified.
And when I did accept the role I expected some sort of training and instead what
I got was a smile a you can do this Makeda and a brand new office.
And so that's exactly why I wanted to do this mini training series for you today
because I wanted to be able to give you a heads up,
an action plan and a little bit of support. Now,
if you have been managing a team for some time now, that's okay.
The information that we will consider today could be a valuable reset for you.
And remember, we're humble leaders, which means we're curious.
And so even if we think we already know something,
we're going to turn the beat around and think what can I learn from this?
So if you didn't watch my last video where I provided the mini guidebook,
mini workbook for this particular series, that's okay. I've got you covered.
I've actually put the link for the guide book below in the description box.
So I want you to pause this video, download it, print it, and then come back.
In fact, Oh wait.
So now that you have your mini worksheet in hand, let's dive right in. Okay,
so you are a new manager,
which means that you're no longer an individual contributor,
but you are responsible for the entire team and the results.
No pressure. So what's the first thing you gotta do? Well,
there's this saying that I love so much and it goes like this.
The way you view things is the way you do things,
which in other words means the way you think about things affects the decisions
you make. And I 100% agree with that.
So as a new manager, the way you think about things,
the way you view things affects the decisions you make.
So in order for you to make the right decisions and be successful,
you got to have the right mindset.
Now I do have a free audio training that really goes into depth into the three
mindset that are essential to effective team leadership it's really good and I
think it'll really help you.
It comes with a mini workbook as well as a few other gifts.
It's just like I said, a really good base.
So if you haven't listened to that yet, then I highly suggest that you do that.
I will put the link for the audio training in the description below. Anyways,
one of the things that I discussed in the audio training is the fact that one of
the mindset shifts is that we have to recognize that leadership isn't about us,
it's actually about serving others.
So remember how I said at the beginning of the video that when I first became
manager, I expected some sort of training and is instead what I got was a smile,
a pep talk, and a brand new office.
Months later I was reassigned to the VP of the company and I was paddling along
okay, but still not really sure of what I was doing.
And so one day I reached this breaking point and I remember that day clearly I
will send to the VP's office and I was like, I don't know what I'm doing.
I'm messing up constantly. And by the way, my desk is too big and okay,
so I'm a very passionate person and a little random.
So I don't think he was surprised at all by the outburst. Anyways,
he looked at me and he just took off his glasses and he said,
please have a seat Makeda.
And I remember it for some reason at that point I was like, oh my goodness,
I'm totally done for.
And instead he told me two things that I will never forget.
He started off by saying, you know Mak,
I know I've been really busy and I haven't been around to support you as much as
I should. So of course he took some ownership there.
Then he went on to explain how another department or a specific department was
dealing with a lot of difficulties at the time and needed his full attention.
But that he was always available. If I needed something I can always call him.
But here's where he said the two winning things. He said,
Mak you know your job is complex. Yes.
But the sooner you realize that you're not a manager the better.
And I was like what? And he says to me,
you don't manage people, you manage resources.
Your job Mak is to lead people.
So the leader which is you is supposed to make your team successful.
And I was like light bulb.
I mean it's not like if I hadn't seen examples of that in the past before.
I mean I talk about my old manager and how she led her team all the time.
But it's like in the heat of the stress and the drama and the just self doubt.
I completely forgot that that's what it's all about. And to be honest,
I had never heard it said like that before. So it really resonated.
My job was to make my team successful.
Let me tell you that the moment I let that sink in is the moment that my life
changed. I was so relieved because instead of worrying about myself,
all I did was worry about how I was gonna make the team successful.
And that made my life so much easier. Of course,
there are a number of ways that you can do this in terms of making your team
successful and there's a lot of complexities to it.
But let me tell you that re framing it just changed my world and I know it will
for you too. Yes, you are amazing and you are ever so special.
But this role that you have is a selfless one.
So don't forget what my manager told me. I'm going to tell you,
you don't manage people. You manage resources.
Your job is to lead. So be the leader that your people need.
So now that you have the right frame of mind and you are viewing things the
right way, I want us to move on to the next thing you gotta do,
which is gaining clarity. You know, in the past year or so,
I have really come to see just how powerful clarity is.
In life when you know what you want,
it is so much easier to achieve those results because it's the clarity that's
guiding your action steps. The same goes for your role.
When you're clear on what the expectations are,
as well as what success looks like,
you will be able to achieve those results quickly and effectively.
Because let me tell you, when you are not clear,
it can create a lot of frustration for everybody involved.
And you might end up working on things that nobody really values.
So we gotta get you some clarity.
So how do you get this clarity that I speak of around your role? Well,
you have to talk to your manager.
That means you gotta have a discussion with your manager about what success
looks like and what you're going to be measured on. Because like they say,
what gets measured gets done. So as an action step,
I want you to set up a mini meeting with your manager. Now,
if you're worried about how to frame that, you could just simply say, you know,
Hey Shivali,
I would love to be able to sit with you and talk about gaining clarity around my
role. Is it possible for us to block off an hour to have that chat?
This way your manager knows exactly what you want to talk about and can come
prepared for the meeting. Now you need to come prepared to,
I don't mean that you need to dominate the conversation. I just mean that.
You have to come prepared with a few key questions that you can ask your manager
so that you can get the answers you need to run with. Now, not to worry,
I have you covered for this as well.
In the guidebook for this mini series is a few questions that you can use for
the meeting that you're going to have with your manager.
Now here comes your mini pep talk and a little tough love.
When you go in there I want you to have a conversation.
Don't lace him and her with a ton of questions and don't be a kiss ass.
Remember, you are going in there so that you can make your team successful,
which means it's not really about you.
You're going in there so that you can gain clarity because you can only be of
use if you clearly understand what's expected of you.
If you already had this kind of meeting with your manager and you're thinking to
yourself, Oh, it's probably too late to have this discussion, know,
that it is never too late. I would still set up the meeting instead,
this time you're re framing it almost as if you're cycling back,
so you could say, for example, hey Uju,
I would really like to talk to you about my role.
I know that I've been at this for a few months or for however long you've been
at it and I just want to make sure that where I'm going is in the best interest
of the company and for everybody involved.
Can we block off about an hour to have that discussion?
Next step is to get comfortable with your team.
Now I think a lot of us spend a lot of time from the first week or I should say
waste a lot of time setting goals, driving results,
being the boss of a team or a group of people for which we have no idea what the
strengths or weaknesses are, or the landscape of the situation.
Setting goals and trying to drive results with a team you do not know or
understand makes no sense.
Which is why after you've received the clarity from your boss in terms of
expectations that it's really important that you gain clarity of the landscape.
Now I do have a video for you on how you can connect with your team,
which I will link for you right here and I recommend of course that you want it,
but for the sake of this video, I'm just going to throw out some ideas for you.
So from the first week you can shadow your team, you can ask them to train you,
you can be curious and ask a lot of questions in a nonjudgmental way,
of course,
so you can gain insight as to what they do and why they do it the way that they
do it. Then on a one on one level,
I want you to get to know them and want you to understand what their personal
and professional goals are. I want you to know how long they've been there,
what their strengths are, what they perceive their weaknesses are,
how they feel that they can help or contribute to the team. David Salwyer's,
one of the executive leaders at Chick-fil-A said something that I,
I just absolutely fell in love with.
He says that when he's having these one on one conversations with his people and
he's trying to dig deep to try and understand them,
one of the things that he says is, you know,
I'm having this discussion with you because I really want to get to know you and
I truly want you to look me in the eye when you're done here at Chick-fil-A and
say that the least important thing you got from Chick-fil-A was your paycheck.
Oh, I just loved that. I mean,
what he's truly saying here is that he wants them to grow and he wants them to
learn so much or gain so much value from being a part of that tribe that they
feel like the least important thing they got was their paycheck. Just love it.
As an action step when it comes to getting to know your people and getting
comfortable with them. I want you to do two things.
I want you first to set up a team meetings and as this team meeting I want you
to call out the obvious that you're new and that there is obviously going to be
a transition curve but that you really want everyone's input and help so that
you guys can achieve what you need to achieve for the team.
You know that call out alone is super powerful.
Number not a lot of new managers would do that.
But what you're doing by making that call out is saying that, hey,
I am trying to be vulnerable with you. Guess what?
Vulnerability is the foundation or one of the foundations to trust and in order
for your team to work well together,
there needs to be trust and you as the leader has to go first.
Second part of that action step is to set up one on one conversations with your
people. I really want you to get to know each other,
but I want you to be the one asking a lot of questions so that by the end of the
conversation you're walking away with a job description.
What I mean by that is that you would have taken so many notes about this person
that you now know how to motivate them,
how to interact with them so that they'll be successful and how to interact with
them so that the entire team is successful. Easy enough? Not a chance,
but I've got you covered in the same workbook for this training series is a
couple of questions that you can use in your one on one meetings with your team
member and don't forget to view it the same way that David Sawlyer does.
If you like this video,
do not forget to hit on the subscribe and notification button so that you will
be here next Tuesday for the next in the mini series.
The topic is about setting clear goals and expectations.
Since you have some clarity,
it's time to dig in your heels and get some work done.
So don't forget to come prepared next week with your workbook in hand so that
you can take lots of notes. As always,
thank you so much for watching and in the meantime,
enjoy your week and do not forget to keep smiling. See you next week.