Making the leap from team member to team leader can be brutally hard. One day you know you are deeply valued, fiercely competent and welcomed by others, and the next day you feel frazzled, unprepared and increasingly distant from the very people you once felt a deep connection with. Combine this with the stress and demands of managing deadlines, different personalities, and conflicting agendas both up and down the chain and it’s the perfect recipe for frustration, burnout and if not addressed appropriately, quitting or being let-go.

This isn’t your fault, AND, it doesn’t have to be this way. The skills that made you a fantastic contributor are at odds with the ones that will make you a powerful, respected and appreciated leader. Believe it or not, you already have the skills necessary to be a brilliant manager and leader, they are just in early development. And, these skills are entirely trainable–not over years, but over weeks.

Imagine what it would feel like to be able to identify and then work with each team member’s strengths, so that they loved the work they are doing. Imagine if they saw you, not as an instruction-giver and demand maker, but as a trusted ally in their quest to do great work? Imagine how much more confident you would feel when you clearly communicate expectations and targets with ease, and people are excited to meet them. Imagine how much more fulfilling work would be when you create an unshakeable alignment between your team, your organization and the clients you all serve together.

This is all possible. It can be your reality.

How do I know?

Because in the not-to-distant past, I was you. I’ve walked in your shoes, and worked through the same struggles.

When I first started managing a team, I copied the behaviors of my own managers. I didn’t understand what it meant to lead, so I focused on surviving through the day-to-day tasks. I called regular meetings and required e-mail check-ins so I could track progress and risks, rather than understanding the unique strengths, abilities and preferences of each team member. I defined the processes for myself, rather than co-creating processes that enabled every individual to thrive. I used my authority to push deadlines and increase productivity, rather than engaging with the potential of each team member so that they could create extraordinary solutions. Instead of improving performance and deepening connection and trust, I was creating friction in my team and disconnection. Worst of all, I felt like I was little more than an administrator, my own strengths wasted.

Rather than walk away, I leaned in. I’ve since spent years learning how to manage and lead in a profoundly different way. My team’s pace improved, and everyone enjoyed working together. We were able to work together to resolve some very difficult challenges. Best of all, our customers and senior leaders were happier. I learned that it is possible to love the work of managing.

I’ve distilled the best practices that I have learned into a sharable and teachable methodology. These same capabilities can be developed and put into action by you. From my experiences as a team leader, combined with the latest research in Positive Psychology, I’ve created a program to help you make every action count, minimize your wasted energy, and create an impact that is rewarding to you without years of learning on your own.

In particular, this program will help you:

• Learn to thrive while managing conflicting demands, personalities and agendas
• Become respected and appreciated as a leader within your organization
• Balance your time between your own responsibilities and supervising your team
• Master the practice of leading meetings so they are productive and meaningful
• Strengthen your ability to communicate expectations, targets and goals so that your team will want to achieve them
• Grow your confidence to take on stretch goals and hit higher performance expectations
• Learn how to work through conflict with your employees, and with your managers
• Drastically reduce the stress you’re taking home every night, so you can be fully present with your family
• Start getting greater recognition from your managers and senior leaders, opening you up new growth opportunities and future promotions

Later this fall, I will be introducing this powerful leadership training to the public on a larger scale. But, right now, I am accepting a small number of emerging leaders to experience it as “invited guests.” As an invited guest, I will waive the fee in its entirely in exchange for two simple things. I will ask you to share your honest feedback, and if you experience the level of change I know you will, I will ask that you share a brief testimonial about your experience.

If you are interested in being one of my invited guests, before the public roll-out, let’s set up a discovery call to see if this program is right for you. E-mail me at Jim[at]Jimmondry[dot]com, and I will send you a link to book a discovery call.

 

 

 

Most new managers approach their work with the same focus and perspective that they had before they were promoted – by focusing on the work products and the individual problems to be solved.  Effective management happens when the manager is focused on enabling their team to be their best, and not lost in the details of every obstacle and challenge. The program helps managers find a new perspective on how to use their four key intelligences–their IQ, EQ, SQ and PQ–at work to motivate their team, increase trust with leadership and customers, and keep their team focused on executing the most important tasks that lead to the best corporate outcomes.

Schedule a call to find out more about how this program can help you make your company more profitable and sustainable, by developing fully engaged managers.