When I was new to leadership at the tender age of 23 I messed up big time. I went about being a leader in all the wrong ways. How many of you got promoted to your role in leadership because you were a great ‘doer’? That was me!
The challenge with promoting a ‘doer’ to a ‘leader’ is that the skill sets are completely different. A ‘doer’ quite literally gets things done. You are given a task, you figure it out and you just get er done. Easy right?
The skills of a ‘doer’ are action oriented, takes instruction, fast learner, results oriented, likes to see the outcomes of their efforts. Now transfer those skills over to a leader and you would think those skills would make you a naturally gifted leader. Not so fast.
The skills of a great leader or multi faceted and include the skills of a ‘doer’ and they also include the skills of a ‘socializer’, a ‘empathizer’ and a ‘detailer’. This is why training is crucial when you are promoted to a leadership role. Let me take that further and say that even leaders who have been on the job for years- they too need to engage in ongoing learning in order to grow as a leader.