Your First Leadership Job

Summary Written by Justin Gasbarre
"Nobody comes to his first leadership position knowing everything he needs to succeed."

- Your First Leadership Job, page 4

The Big Idea

What Makes a Great Leader?

"Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others."- Jack Welch, Your First Leadership Job, page 17

DDI calls great leaders, catalyst leaders, which again, is defined as leaders that have a knack for building engagement, involving others and capitalizing on people’s strengths and diverse viewpoints. There are common characteristics that make up a leader like this and they are:

Asks and listens, fosters innovation, provides balanced feedback, builds trust, focuses on people’s potential, collaborates and networks, empowers others, encourages development, energizes and mobilizes and aligns actions with strategy.

Leadership is a large responsibility that requires a lot of an individual. I love this list because it gives us a holistic overview of what all a leadership role encompasses. While, I’ll admit, it’s a bit overwhelming, it is extremely helpful to see it laid out in black and white. I would recommend reviewing this list to self-assess what areas you currently excel in and what areas you can improve.

DDI surveyed over 1,200 employees and asked the question: What differentiates the best boss from the worst boss you ever worked for? Unfortunately, only 22 percent said they are currently working for their best boss ever. And as you might have expected, they rated their best bosses as three times more likely to use and exhibit catalyst behaviors.

Insight #1

Be Authentic

"The people who now report to you will form an early judgement about your leadership capabilities that will define your reputation in ways that may not serve you well."- Your First Leadership Job, page 29

As you embark on your new role as a leader, your new team will be observing you under a microscope! They will form an early judgement about you and your capabilities that will end up defining your reputation amongst the team and others within the organization. Think about it this way – if a customer has a bad experience at a restaurant, will they go back? Most likely not. Will they share their negative experience with others? Mostly likely, in some capacity. That negative experience with that one customer, one time, can have lasting impact on that restaurant. The same goes for your reputation as a leader.

This concept of being authentic is as critical in your role as a leader as anything. Being authentic means that your actions mirror what you believe and feel, and that there is no contradiction between what you do and what you say.

The way to remain authentic and show your integrity to your team is through consistent, well-crafted conversations and behaviors.

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Insight #2

Bring Out the Best in People

"Great leaders know that their success relies on the success of the people they lead."- Your First Leadership Job, page 35

The best leaders have the ability to make those around them better, and they know that their personal success relies on the success of the people they lead. Just like a coach does in sports, it’s a leader’s responsibility to enhance their team member’s skills, abilities, and interests. This win-win mentality also helps to create a collaborative, engaged culture which will make the workplace more enjoyable for all.

Here are some suggestions from the authors on what to do to bring out the best in your people:

  • Encourage them to try new things
  • Cultivate and optimize others’ talent and capabilities
  • Take the time to find out what motivates your team and then assign work that is in line with their skills and interests
  • Compliment people on their efforts
  • Give people input on the things that affect them
  • Trust in the strength of others
  • Allow them to safely learn through failure
  • Unite others towards common goals

As a newer leader myself, I found Your First Leadership Job to be a great resource to leverage in my own personal leadership journey. Not only is the book full of great insights, examples, tools and exercises, their website has even more bonus materials that are extremely helpful for leaders at any level!

Read the book

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Richard S. Wellins

RICHARD S. WELLINS, PHD, is a global expert in leadership development. Your First Leadership Job is Rich’s fifth book on talent management, including the bestseller, Empowered Teams. His research has been featured in Fortune, BusinessWeek, CNBC, NPR, BBC, and Forbes.

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