John was an intern and proved that he could succeed in multiple areas of the company. They offered him a full-time role and he did a great job. As the company grew they decided to give him people management responsibilities. He began having challenges with the transition from being a doer to becoming a leader of a team.
When I met with John he was excited about his new role, but felt unsure of himself. He had never led people before and didn’t want to mess it up for himself or his team. I asked him to share what challenges he was most concerned about. He said, “I am struggling to delegate, trusting my team to do things like I would, give hard feedback and continue to do my job too. I know that I also have to find the time to meet with people and be visible. It feels a bit overwhelming to be honest.”
I told him that the doubts that he had and the challenges he is facing are completely normal for a new manager. I wanted him to know he was not alone and everyone goes through this experience when they step into a manager role. I shared with him that it is definitely the hardest transition that I have ever faced and it took time for me to gain confidence. I reassured him that he can do this and I would be here to support him.
I talked to John about the outcomes that he wanted for himself and what kind of leader he wanted to be. It is important that others see John as a leader, but the biggest shift will be that he sees himself that way. Helping him make that shift is what we would focus on in coaching. We put together a plan of actions that he use right away and I shared some of the resources that have helped my other clients as they started on this journey. He left our session excited to try these new actions. It will take work on his part, but soon he will learn and develop into the leader that he wants to be.