It’s all well and good to be a solid leader oneself and possibly have years of experience under the belt, however, it’s a different ball game when it comes to training others in the business up to be able to take over elements, some or much of your role.
Perhaps you’re stepping back, perhaps you can’t do it all, maybe the business is growing and it is time to create other leadership roles, or you’re needing to transition existing staff or bring new recruits into leadership roles – there can be a multitude of reasons.
What becomes key is the role you play as coach and mentor to ensure a smooth and successful upskilling of the emerging and or new leaders that are welcomed and trained in their roles.
Here are a few tips that I recommend having worked with many leaders helping them develop other leaders in the business;
Tip 1;
Are you VERY clear and specific about the outcomes and direction the business is taking? Can you articulate this vision, goals, and outcomes? Ensure they’re well-explained to your new leaders. If they only get part of the message, they’ll will never fully be on the same page or even likely reading the same book. Never assume because you think you’ve explained it, that they understand, ensure you’re getting them to clarify, say it back to you, or if you’re brainstorming in the same room, you’re listening not just doing all the talking.
Tip 2;
Are you present for them or are you still fully distracted with your own role and workload? Doing rather than leading? If you cancel meetings, postpone or ignore supporting your new leaders or even holding them to account for any reason, you will not get the leadership results you want to have. Particularly across the long term. Short-term things happen, we get that, however week after week, month after month, the lack of consistent leadership presence can have a dramatic effect.
Tip 3;
Have the difficult conversations! Many people avoid saying the difficult stuff soon enough, quickly, firmly, and fairly and they just pfaff around for way to long. Be upfront, be honest, be kind and invite feedback yourself. NO one, absolutely no one on this planet is perfect, has all the answers, or ever gets it right. Be human. If you ignore timely performance feedback, it will fester over time. Likewise, if you’re reluctant to take on feedback yourself. No one grows. The business will be impacted and ultimately customer affected.
We’re in tourism, so it is all about people. Connection is at the core of what we do, so ensure you’re neither trying to please or placate or patronise. Park the ego and invite teamwork and learning both for oneself as the experienced leader and likewise for the new leader/s emerging or transitioning into their team leader, supervisory, or management leadership roles.
Here’s to creating amazing leaders in business.
Gen
Reach out if you want to talk about priorities and your 2023 Tourism Leadership Plan.
P.S Whenever you’re ready… here are 4 ways I can help you develop and work on your business leadership capabilities:
- Grab a free copy of Smash Indecision and Overwhelm, 4 Steps for Better Business Leadership E-book
It’s the road map to overcoming doubt and indecision, how to deal with “overwhelm” to improve your business leadership capabilities. — Click Here
- Join the Tourism Business Leader’s Facebook group and connect with like-minded leaders focused on building highly effective teams
It’s our Facebook community where smart leaders get to learn more about creativity, leadership, and performance for tourism business success. —Click Here
- Join our Tourism Pro-Team Program
Helping tourism business leaders develop their skills to improve engagement, accountability, and performance of the team. If you’d like to work with me so you can stop being reactive, have the difficult conversations, and drive performance to get the results you want and know the business need then…message PRO to me here and I’ll get you all the details.
- Let’s get the Whole Team Together
Would you like a different perspective and someone else at the front of the room or on zoom/teams to lead regular and consistent team building, accountability, and engaging learning experiences, that drive results and outcomes for individuals, teams, and the business? If you feel a little challenged with everything going on, maybe sounding like a cracked recorded saying things repeatedly, or actually not 100% how to motivate and inspire the team, given the current nature of business, it may be useful for us to chat. Message TEAM to me here… and tell me a little about the business, your team, and what you’d like to work on together.
