Nothing gets the blood pumping like a sudden promotion.  It’s exciting, affirming, and even a little terrifying.  After all, you’re leveling up, which means you’re in new waters where you’ll have to learn, fail, adjust, and adapt quickly, over and over.

Whether it’s your first time managing others or you’re stepping in to lead a new team, there are a few principles worth revisiting.

KEEP YOUR HEAD

Between ska and reggae, there was a transitional movement in Jamaican music called “rock steady.”  One of the big hits from that time was called The Higher the Monkey Climbs, by Justin Hinds & the Dominoes.  This song illustrates why some people struggle with the move from individual contributor to manager:  “The higher the monkey climbs, the more he will expose…”  

Whether manufacturing fuel injectors or writing accounting automation software, great individual contributors have honed their knowledge and skill on a limited part of a larger process.  Moving into leadership means they’re farther away from the foundation of their confidence, and it makes them responsible for other people’s work—work they may not fully understand.

As if that weren’t enough, as one ascends through the ranks of management, the more eyes are watching.  Mistakes are more public, judgements less forgiving, and the consequences of failure more significant.  Who wouldn’t feel uncomfortable?

However, the name of the musical genre carries useful guidance: rock steady.  Anyone new to leadership–or at a new level of leadership—deserves support, affirmation, and occasional advice from their leader, whether that’s a more senior manager, CEO, or board chair.  And the most important thing to keep in mind is, “You have this position because people feel it makes the organization stronger.”  You’re here for a reason.  It’s not a fluke.  Keep a cool head, be yourself, and do what you do, because no one else can.  Rock steady.

KNOW YOUR ROLE

That anxiety of feeling exposed can lead some people astray, giving them the impression that they’re supposed to be the most knowledgeable person about everything under their purview.  Of course, even when people feel this anxiety about their own position, they quickly spot the fallacy when considering others.  No one would suggest that the President of the United States knows the most about clean water standards in national parks, or how to pilot a submarine, or any of the millions of tasks performed by experts throughout the government.

It can be helpful to remind new managers that their role is not to be the teacher for direct reports.  Aside from the onboarding period, employees don’t need to be taught how to do their jobs—they were hired to do the job, not to learn it.  If they didn’t already know what needed to be done and how to do it, they wouldn’t have been hired.

In the onboarding period, a good manager is attentive and thorough about teaching employees “this is how we do it at this place.”  That’s the work of communicating culture and brand, but it’s not instruction per se.  Instruction is appropriate in entry-level positions, but after that, a manager’s job becomes something different: a coach.

This is business, so we’re talking about a coach of professionals being paid to perform.  In youth sports, the coach plays both roles, teaching players how the game works, what their role is supposed to do, and how to do it.  But pros know how to play the game, and at that point the coach is helping them consistently deliver their best.

KEEP IT IN PERSPECTIVE

It’s also a good idea to keep a sharp eye out for ego, which loves to sneak in the side door and corrode team dynamics.  Being asked to lead is an honor and a responsibility, not a birthright.  There are the same number of “born leaders” as “born lawyers,” Zero.  Both require skills and knowledge, some of which can be intuited, all of which can be taught and refined.  

Research shows that even though some people have greater starting aptitudes, often labeled “talent,” no one gets beyond an intermediate level at anything without a lot of work, practice, study, and willingness to try, fail, and adjust.

That goes for kicking field goals, singing opera, writing code, and leading other people.  Of course, leadership mistakes have real effects on actual living employees, and they may have opinions about those mistakes.

That’s where humility is often the best armor.  Being candid with employees—about what you’re trying to accomplish as a group, why it’s important, and how you’ll make leadership decisions—can help them feel seen, respected, and trusted.  And there’s no better way to earn their trust and respect.

The same idea can help managers keep egos in check, empower direct reports, and defuse potential conflicts:  

It’s not who you are, it’s what you do.

People are entrusted with leadership not because of who they are, but because of what they’ve shown they can do.  Establishing this as a core understanding can help the whole team operate from a place of confidence and humility, which is a great blend for fostering shared trust and collaboration.

LEADERSHIP IS LEARNING

The simplest path to maintaining a healthy balance of leadership authority and humility is to remember that everyone on the team is an expert, just at different things.

As we discussed above, individual contributors are typically the most knowledgeable people about their part of the operation.  When managers come from those ranks, it can be hard to let go, but it’s essential.  For one thing, those who carry on as individual contributors will learn, change, and evolve their understanding of the job.  As you continue in management, your previous experience as an individual contributor becomes less relevant.

The manager, on the other hand, is the expert on how the parts work together to accomplish the team’s goal.  That’s where transparency and a shared commitment to accountability come together to build trust, which is the true currency of leadership.

Niccolo Machiavelli is often misquoted as saying that a leader can be feared or loved, and it’s better to be loved, when he actually advised both.  But whether loved or feared, any leader who does not earn trust is destined to fall.  Fortunately, earning trust is simple, though as we say at Rustle & Spark, “simple ain’t easy.”

To earn people’s trust, 1) say what you’ll do; 2) do what you said; and 3) put their interests ahead of your own.  Following that simple formula will guide new leaders through most challenges in the workplace—and everywhere else.  Furthermore, those principles form a kind of roadmap to happy clients and customers.  A culture of service creates a positive feedback loop: Put your team first, and they’ll put clients and customers first.  And that leads naturally to customer loyalty, advocacy, and word-of-mouth referrals.

A TEAM IS AN ORGANISM

Good leaders coach their team members.  Better leaders coach the team.  Great leaders pay attention to individual and group needs, switching between modes as conditions require.

Every team is made up of people, and being carefully attuned to their strengths, weaknesses, ambitions, and stressors is the key to getting the best performance out of each employee.  

But for a team to really elevate, the leader needs to understand which parts fit well together, which ones don’t, and how to tap into each individual’s needs to inspire good collaboration.  It takes a lot of thought and attention over a long period of time, but eventually these values and practices will take root in the team’s culture.

At that point, the leader’s main job is to get out of the way and tend to the culture like a shepherd tends a flock: protect it, nurture it, but mostly let it do its own thing.  At that point, team members coach and learn from each other, and the leader’s job is to stay out of the way and quickly address anything that threatens the culture.

REWARDS AND CHALLENGES

Being entrusted with leadership is a high honor and confers a weighty responsibility.  To be effective, leaders must earn—and keep—their team’s trust and confidence.  As human beings, we’re all going to make mistakes, so being able to acknowledge them, take responsibility, and lead the cleanup is an important part of maintaining long-term trust and respect.  

Holding on to that respect sets a higher bar for leaders’ maturity and interpersonal interactions.  Lashing out, reacting thoughtlessly, inconsistency, broken promises—these are undesirable in any employee, but they’re a fast path to having a team ready to quit, or mutiny.  

That is the burden of leadership, but it’s also a great gift.  Being held to high standards of self-mastery, thoughtfulness, empathy, and courage bring out the best in us.  So while elevated positions may bring more money, prestige, or power, the greatest gift of leadership is the inner growth available to us if we answer the call.

Adam Olenn is the CEO of Rustle & Spark, a branding and marketing agency that specializes in independent schools.

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