Why New Leaders Should Make Decisions Slowly

Why New Leaders Should Make Decisions Slowly

Climbing the corporate ladder is a “must do” for any head of household who chooses a non-entrepreneurial career.  Each step up the ladder typically means more income and benefits which supports the lifestyle they desire for their families.  In addition, advancement often requires more leadership responsibilities.

A person’s first leadership role is generally both exciting and unnerving.  Most people do not diligently watch their supervisors throughout their early career making notes of how to lead, and how not to lead, in order to prepare themselves for a future leadership role. Instead, leadership is something most people “fall into” later and figure out as they go along.

According to an article titled “Why New Leaders Should Make Decisions Slowly” on Harvard Business Review, author Constance Dierickx states, “Despite their training and experience, a full 74% of new leaders say they are unprepared for the new role, and in 18 months nearly half of them disappoint or fail entirely. In many cases, leaders either judge too quickly, making snap decisions that prove to be ill advised, or wait interminably to “gather more facts,” only for the critical moment to slip away.”

That’s a sobering statistic for young professionals, especially those newly hired to an organization. Despite those odds, Dierickx provides three strategies new leaders can implement to avoid failing at their first leadership role.

  1. Manage the urge to “do something” immediately to prove yourself by learning about your new environment first and selecting your actions wisely based on knowledge
  2. Gather information from a wide variety of resources to have a well-rounded view of what’s actually happening in your department and the organization as a whole
  3. Choose only one critical area of change during the first year

Every leadership role will be a different experience.  However, by utilizing those three strategies any new leader is sure to experience more success than failure during their first year.  To read the rest of Dierickx’s article, click here.

Credit: hbr.org

If this information was helpful and prompted you with an increased desire to improve your effectiveness as a leader so you can take your team to the next level, contact us to learn more about our Aepiphanni Ascend Leadership Development program.  Fill out the form below and we’ll be happy to schedule a Coffee & Consult to chat in more detail about how we can help.

Kris Cavanaugh Castro is the People Development Coach at Aepiphanni, a Business Consultancy that provides Management Consulting, Implementation and Managed Services to business leaders and entrepreneurs seeking to improve or expand operations. We are the trusted advisor for business leaders who are seeking forward-thinking solutions to help them plan for and navigate through the challenges of business growth.  Kris has over 25 years of coaching, training and mentoring leaders to greater success; and she periodically writes about leadership development and facilitates change management conversations.

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