Being a leader that is going through a transformation is hard. Certainly if it wasnt’ your idea, you never had any exposure to lean or continuous improvement before.
There are so many things to think of, many moving parts, many people looking at you.
You genuinely believe that change fails if the leaders don’t set the example. Leaders should show up and be the change they want to see.
But sometimes, it’s so hard.
One the one hand you want to set the right example, learn and understand everything yourself, coach your teams through the change.. all the while not dropping the ball on the forecast or your Q2 shipment targets. You’re trying to do it all.
This is hard to pull off. For any one. And the thing I see with leadership from the C-Suite to frontline leaders is that is hard. Those that make it work, are the ones that first have mastered to manage themselves.
With a big change, transformation or org shuffle, people wil be look at you and you want to do the right thing. But it’s all on top of. When people feel overwhelmed by the change, you need to show your calm. Not fake that you have it all figured out, but calm. Know what can be done and what can’t. Open for the challenge, but in charge of your own agenda.
Don’t act like you can do what you did before and take on this transformation and be a guide to the team. You need to manage yourself. Take control, set ruthless priorities, be honest, realistic, open, calm and forward looking.
Don’t pretend, don’t act like you have it all figured out, don’t make it look like it’s a walk in the park. Be clear, make decisions, prioritise ruthlessly but transparently. Teams don’t need to be pleased by their leader, they need clarity, trust and direction.
Can you manage yourself?