๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ปโ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ - ๐๐โ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐
I work with a lot of technically-focused people who are stepping into leadership for the first time or suddenly finding themselves inheriting a whole set of managerial responsibilities.
Their job titles may look similar, but the experience is always deeply personal - as it should be!
These transitions ask you to understand a new role, shift your mindset, and build new habits. And these donโt always feel natural at first โ those little โstone in the shoeโ moments.
Yet most new leaders arenโt offered much personal support โ theyโre expected to simply โfigure it outโ as they go.
Because of this, I often meet new leaders who believe they need a complete personality overhaul to be effective. This can lead to unhelpful patterns:
โถ๏ธ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ต๐ถ๐ฏ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ - overwhelmed, withdrawing, and losing the shine they had as a technical expert
โถ๏ธ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ - overcorrecting, acting / performing through an unrecognisable persona
โถ๏ธ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ - trying to fix everything for everyone, often at great personal cost
โถ๏ธ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐
๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ - staying safe in the technical world, avoiding the new role
โถ๏ธ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ - presenting differently to every audience and losing consistency
Technical and practical skills matter. But the real art is shaping those skills so they fit you - your style, pace, personality, and strengths.
For new leaders, I encourage seven simple guiding questions that help you lead with clarity and confidence:
โธ How do I present myself as a leader?
โธ How do I organise myself and protect my time?
โธ How am I seen, heard, and understood?
โธ How do I build, support, and invest in others?
โธ How do I create meaningful professional relationships?
โธ How do I show up when things get busy, stressful, or ambiguous?
โธ How do I contribute to organisational growth and influence outcomes?
These connect directly to what I see as the seven core attributes of effective leadership:
๐ ๐๐ช๐๐ฅ๐: grounded in self-awareness, identity and impact on others
๐งญ ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐๐ก๐๐ฆ๐๐: prioritising, setting boundaries, and working intentionally
๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐๐: communicating clearly, and showing presence
๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฅ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐: creating the conditions for others to grow
๐ ๐๐ข๐ก๐ก๐๐๐ง๐๐: building trusted stakeholder relationships
๐ก๏ธ ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ง: staying focused through complexity and pressure
๐ฏ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐: understanding how the business grows and where you create value
Leadership development should help people pause, breathe, and grow into the leader they want to be - not to become a version of someone else.
Over the next few weeks, Iโll share practical tools and approaches that support new (and emerging) leaders within expert teams.
Which of these core attributes speaks well to your experience?
