Well, maybe not. Now that you’re manager, there’s no guarantee that those hands on the wheel are exclusively yours. Truth is, your success – or otherwise – from this point on, is largely controlled by others. Most significantly, your new subordinates.
Sure, the boss will always have say in your success, and peers have role to play, too. But at the close of day, that old saying “Promotion is push-up not pull-up process” places your future in the collective hands of those who now work for you.
The significance of this is that, for newly promoted managers – or experienced managers on new assignment – it’s important, very early on, to get leadership skills right. It’s not something that can be put aside for later date, after you’ve settled in, or once the office layout suits. The leadership clock starts ticking immediately – hour one, day one, in your new job.
* Read all about retired logistics manager Bill Revill’s seven leadership secrets that will place career success firmly back under your control in April’s issue of Management.
1 Do your homework
2 Important first impressions
3 Leadership style: side one of valuable coin
4 Interpersonal skills: same coin, other side
5 Create team environment
6 Tackling the inevitable problems
7 Keep an eye on your collective futures.
