Lead the Team You Came From
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A 6-9 weeks development journey
You now lead the team you worked on, and every relationship on it changes at once. This learning path builds the skills in the order you will use them. Reset each relationship in person, then read how each person reacts while you control the signals you send. Recognize the behavior you want as soon as you see it, the same way for everyone.
Your Development Roadmap
Reset Each Relationship in Person
Meet every team member in a 1:1, say that you are now their manager, and hear how each person takes it. Tell each what you now hold in confidence and which decisions are yours. Then decide requests by a rule anyone on the team can see.
- Tell each team member in a 1:1 that you are now their manager
- Give the colleague who wanted the role a real responsibility
- Hold a former friend's missed commitment to the same terms as anyone's
Read Reactions and Control Your Signals
Turn toward the speaker and put devices away before you try to read anyone. Learn how each team member normally sits, speaks, and gestures, and compare each cue to that person's normal. When a cue matters, say what you noticed and ask whether there is something there.
- Put devices away and turn toward the speaker
- Compare each cue to that person's normal before you act on it
- Say what you noticed and ask whether there is something there
Recognize the Right Behavior as It Happens
Write the behavior you want repeated as an action anyone watching would agree happened. When you see it, say what was done and the standard it met, as soon as you can and the same way for a former friend and a former rival.
- Write the behavior you want as an action anyone would agree happened
- Recognize it as soon as you see it, the same way for everyone
- Check each person's scorecard for a metric that contradicts the behavior
The Journey
The reset conversations come first because every later conversation depends on the new terms being stated in person. Reading reactions comes second because those conversations go better when you notice the reaction and control your own signals. Recognition comes last because it is how the one standard you set is kept, person by person.
Frequently Asked Questions
I have led my former team for a while without a reset conversation. Where do I start?
Start with milestone one. Meet every team member in a 1:1, beginning with the person you were closest to and the person who wanted the role, and say what has changed and what stays the same. The later milestones assume each person has heard the new terms from you.
How is this different from a course for new managers?
A course explains the transition. This path builds three habits you use with the people you now lead, and Admire tracks them through what you do with your team, not what you completed.
Do I have to reset every relationship before I work on reading signals?
Yes. The reset conversations are where you first read each person's reaction and learn their normal. Start recognizing the behavior you want once each person knows the standard you set.
What changes when I finish?
Every person on the team has heard from you, in person, that you are now their manager and what that changes. You notice when a conversation shifts and ask about it before you act. The behavior you want gets recognized as soon as it happens.
Related Paths
Diagnose and Fix Team Performance
A performance problem on your team? Find the real cause before the fix, reinforce the right behaviors so the change lasts, and keep your best people.
Step Into Your First Leadership Role
New to managing? Build the habits in order: set expectations people can act on, observe before you judge, coach from what you saw, and repeat it in 1:1s.