Question:- What are some of the tips for first-time managers?
Payal's response:
Firstly I would say leave your position and move towards people.
You know this is something I learned in a challenging way in my own life. When I was a first-time leader, I was super excited to get there; and I wanted my team to come to the top as well. So I would be telling them what to do and what not to do to get to the top, and I was helping them in every way I could, but guess what, none of them moved from there to reach the top, and that came as a shock to me. I learned from this that I have to walk down that hill and be with them where they are. So I took those steps, I went to them, I was amongst them, I started to work with them and climb the hill with them, and that's where I saw success.
The second thing I would tell you is that work on yourself. I love this quote by Abraham Lincoln, which said that "if you give me six hours to chop a tree, I will spend the first 4 hours sharpening my axe." Work harder on yourself than you can on your job because there is a reason for this; if you have read my book Success is Within, I think that's my first book where I had mentioned that " as a leader, you take yourself with you to that position, to that next title, to that next role, to that next project, that next job, the next company, so you must spend many hours a day working on yourself."
The third tip I would tell you that will help you to be a great leader would be this; Be vulnerable; our society, our work culture, teaches us that leaders need to know it all, that they should be the epitome of perfection, and that's not it, we leaders are not superhuman, so stop considering yourself as a superhuman like everyone else who gets hurt, who falls, who makes mistakes, who has emotions and has feelings, who does feel for their people, so do not sit there feeling that you need to be perfect in everything, the reality is opposite, and I assure you that you will be able to connect with your team more deeply.
I hope all these three tips help you when you apply them in your work life, and I assure you that you will see the results and feel free to reach to my team and me or comment below to tell us where you have reached after applying these tips.
Hope this is of much value to you in your journey to success.
Your Friend + Mentor
Payal Nanjiani
Do you have leadership challenges right now? #ASKPAYAL your burning leadership questions.
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