So Now You're in Charge!

We spend a ton of time trying to get ahead, but what happens when we finally take that next big step and get the job we've been after? Today we talk about things to think about and strategies to make your next move up the ladder successful, productive, and meaningful for you and your team.

Episode Transcript

LTP (00:07):
In the race to success, we're not all starting from the
same place. Level the Pursuitseeks to fill in the gaps and
provide accessible bite sizedleadership lessons for anyone
looking to improve their skillsand prepare for the next step,
whatever that might be.
Welcome back, my friends, I hopethat you are having a great
week. And if you are in a partof the country that is affected
by winter weather, I hope thatyou're staying safe and warm and

(00:29):
that you're not having too muchpower outage as my family in San
Antonio is, because that reallysucks. So hopefully, you're
staying warm, staying safe. Andgetting through this the best
you can. Last week, we talked toDeirdre Mahon, and hopefully you
enjoyed that talk. I reallyenjoyed hearing her perspectives
and thinking about some of thethings that are challenges for
us as we try to navigate ways tointeract with one another at

(00:51):
work. So hopefully, you gotsomething out of that. If you
did, please let me know. Thisweek we're going to talk about
so now you're in charge, what doyou do next? You know, when we
find ourselves in charge, a lotof times we've been working
through it, we've been excitedabout it, we've been trying to
get this job, and then suddenlyyou're there and you're like, oh
my goodness, what now? So todaywe'll talk about some strategies

(01:11):
for how to make that aseffective as possible.
This week, think about your ownorganization. What are some
things that you think need to bemade better? And if you are in
charge, what would you do?
Okay, so now you're in charge?
What do you do? Well, first, youhave to take stock of your
emotions, there's a lot of stuffgoing on, you know, you have

(01:32):
that excitement, that pride,that desire to do well, the
potential, you know, if you'regetting a raise, if you're
getting more prestige, all ofthose things are really good.
But you also have nerves and thedesire to do well. And maybe you
have a little bit of theimposter phenomenon. If you have
that, please look back at myprevious podcast and see if I

(01:52):
can help you out. But there's alot of things to consider. So
you have to take a moment andprocess through all of your
emotions, so that you can makesure that you're attacking all
of them in a positive way, thenyou have to look at your
expectations. You're going tohave expectations for yourself,
for what this job means for youhow you're going to execute it,
but also what it's going to leadon to and, and maybe what the
next step will be. So you needto take stock of what that means

(02:14):
and realize how you want toattack this position in a way
that is most productive for you.
But you're also going to havethe expectations of your family
and maybe this is a raise, maybethis is going to be a change in
your standard of living for yourhousehold, maybe this is going
to be a potential move, or thepossibility of becoming eligible

(02:36):
to move. There's a lot ofdifferent things that can come
with rising and responsibilitywithin an organization. So you
have to make sure that yourfamily is on board with what
you're dealing with. And they'reexcited. But they also
understand what the flip side ofeach of those decisions, and
each of those changes is goingto be. And then you have your
work expectations. So your boss,the people that have sponsored
you, your new boss, they're allgoing to expect something from

(02:58):
you. So it's good to have a goodidea of what they actually
expect, what their perception isof you what they plan to how
they plan to use your skills.
And so that you know thatexactly what you're in for as
you move into this nextposition. And along with that is
the cost of failure. So what isthe cost of failure for you? For
some people, it's justreputation, what would that

(03:21):
might be a really big deal forsome people. So that might not
be adjust, that might be a hugedeal. But it could be a decrease
in their income, it could beagain, a move, it could be a
changing of section orsomething. So if it's something
that you're worried about, youneed to take stock of what the
cost of failure would be if thisposition doesn't work out to
make sure that you're mentallyprepared for any issues. Now, we

(03:43):
never go into a job thinkingthat we're going to fail. But at
the same time, it's good to knowwhat our options are, and what
the recourses are if we have toend up changing gears.
Now, there are a few things thatpeople deal with as they go into
a position of authority. And oneis the myth that you're going to

(04:04):
have control. So I know thatwhen I took command, I thought I
was gonna have a lot of control.
And honestly, in many positionsyou do, you certainly have more
control over some things thanyou did before. But there's also
going to be a lot of things thatyou have no control over
whatsoever. So this balancebetween control and autonomy, it
just, it doesn't get more as yourise, it gets different and it

(04:27):
gets more complicated in manycases. So that's awesome if
you're in charge, but prettymuch everyone in our country has
a boss. And I mean, even if youlook at the president, it's the
American people, right. So inthe in the DoD we go all the way
up to the President. Soeverybody has a boss, and you're
going to have some influences onthe decisions that you make,

(04:50):
even if it's your choice tomake. But you also need to
recognize that you're going tohave to balance those things. So
if you ever feel like you havetotal autonomy, it's probably
you're probably missingsomething, someone probably has
input, or at least has equity inthe decision that you make that
you should probably take thatinto account.

(05:10):
And then other people haveissues with the fact that you
feel like legitimate authority,meaning you have been given this
position you are in charge ofpeople means anything more than
compliance. In an organization,all that means is the people
below, you have to do what youtell them to do. And that's all
they don't have to like you,they don't have to respect you,
they don't have to do a greatjob. All of those things come

(05:32):
with your influence, and theirpersonal pride and integrity,
and your organizational culture,all of that stuff goes into it.
But just the fact that you cantell someone what to do does not
mean that you're going to getanything more than them doing
the letter of what you ask themto do. So as you go into the
position, absolutely use theauthority that you're given. But
understand that creating rapportand trusting your people and

(05:53):
creating a dynamic where theyfeel they can come to you with
stuff is going to be way moreeffective than exercising the
actual authority that you have.
And some people, they recognizethat they're going to have
control over or influence over ateam, but they don't recognize
that you have to really motivateand troubleshoot a team, you
can't just focus on theindividuals, like having a bunch

(06:15):
of individuals that functionwell. And even that you have a
good rapport with does not meanthat you're maintaining a high
functioning team. And so as yourun into into problems in in a
new authority position, you haveto recognize that you are not
only creating a positiveenvironment for each individual

(06:35):
on your team, but you also haveto create a team dynamic, and
you have to be able to motivatethem as a team. And that can be
a huge switch for people,especially if you are
supervising at a smaller level,you know, you may not be leading
a team. But as you go intohigher authority positions, you
will be responsible for teams tosome extent. And so you have to
look at those in two differentways. Obviously, if your team is
functioning well, but someone onthe team is having trouble, you

(06:58):
need to focus on that as well.
But the team dynamic isultimately where you get your
efficiency, that's where you getyour productivity. So you need
to make sure that you're keepingthat in mind as you engage with
your team members. And it seemslike a little bit of a paradox.
But a lot of people as they riseinto these positions, you
actually feel like you have lessfreedom, not more. Because the

(07:21):
standards are higher. In mostcases, as you go up, you're
expected to exemplify yourorganization's values. But you
also now have to meetexpectations up and down. And
that is really hard. Becausewhen you're trying to take care
of your team, and you're tryingto tell your boss what needs to
be done, and you're trying toget them resources, and remove
barriers and all those things,you also have to manage what

(07:44):
they see of how you're doing it.
And that is a real challenge.
There's a lot of times when, asa boss, you are trying to get
your team the best you can, butall they see is that you are
pushing the agenda of the peopleabove you. And so understanding
that doing the right thing, andlooking like you're doing the
right thing, are not always thesame. And so your communication

(08:04):
and mentorship and rapport withyour team is going to be so so
so important, because in manycases, the expectations down are
harder to meet than the onesabove. You know, most people
understand that the productivityand the final output. All of the
bosses see they recognize that,but understanding how to
motivate your team in a way thatmakes them feel respected and

(08:26):
taken care of that's achallenge. And so meeting those
expectations down can be really,really hard.
And then finally, moving intoyour first managerial command,
like team lead kind of positionsis often for many people the
first time where they feel thetrue influence of other
organizations. And so that canbe sister organizations, it can
be outside organizations. But asyou kind of are the top of the

(08:50):
chain in your area, you're goingto have to interact with other
people. And you're going to seethat they actually have control.
Now you might feel this at otherechelons of your organization.
But when you get into a commandor a higher leadership position,
that's where you really start tofeel that push and pull of
trying to get the things thatyour team needs in a way that is

(09:11):
effective for them, and havingto compromise with other
organizations to get it becauseresources are finite time is
finite. And so if you're withsomeone who's not super
comfortable dealing with otherorganizations, this is probably
going to be one of the firsttimes that you have to learn to
do that in a way to protect yourpeople to push their agenda and

(09:31):
to make sure that they get theresources that they need. So how
can you prepare yourself wellbefore you get there, learn as
much as you can about yourposition and the unit you're
going to be in. Learn the namesof your people learn their
interest, depending on the sizeof your team, learn as much as
you can about everybody. Youwant to go in understanding the
dynamic as much as possible.
Now, if you can talk to theperson that's outgoing you

(09:54):
should do that but understandthat we all look through
everything through our ownlenses. So it's good to have
that information. But certainlytake everything with a grain of
salt, they're going to havetheir shiny pennies, they're
going to have their people thattheir problem children, that's
fine. But that doesn't mean thatthey're going to be yours
because everyone's dynamic isdifferent. So it's good to have
that information, it's good toknow who's been a consistent

(10:15):
star performer. But there's alot of competing things
happening. So take thatinformation with a grain of
salt. As you go into it, youalso should get a mentor,
preferably in your organization,so that you can have somebody
that can help with that. Butoutside your organization works
as well. You want someone thatunderstands the position that
you're going into, and can giveyou advice, and help you work

(10:36):
through it in a positive way.
We've talked before aboutmentorship. You know, I believe
in that, and I think this is aplace where it really, really
helps. As you're going in, youshould also try to meet your
colleagues. And if you can meetthem before you actually take
the seat, that's super helpful.
Try to eat food with them. Iknow with COVID right now,
that's really hard. Buthopefully at some point, we're
going to get back to normaloperations. And you should

(10:57):
absolutely eat food with peopleit is really hard to be mean to
people that you break breadwith. And then I save this for
last because it's the mostimportant meal with your boss
and get their expectations. Now,that seems like a no brainer.
But honestly, a lot of times ina big organization, you actually
have to make that time to dothat. So if you can do it before
you actually start the job,that's awesome. If you can't no

(11:18):
big deal, getting the lay of theland. Honestly, if you have a
little bit to talk about of thethings that you've seen, when
you meet your boss that'sactually really productive. But
you need to sit down and getreally clear expectations of
what they see that yourorganization needs, the
problems, they see the thingsthat they really like that they
want you to not mess with. Andany things that they're on their

(11:39):
radar within the organization,anything that you need to be
aware of that they're going tobe watching for. And those are
really, really important becauseit's so hard to guess other
people's expectations. And youcome in with this idea of what
you want to fix and what youwant to make great and what's
important to you. Well, that'sno good if it doesn't jive with
what your boss wants. So youneed to know that before you

(12:01):
start formulating your visionfor this new job. So once you're
in the job, what do you do?
Well, when you get started,usually you'll go around and
meet everyone, you should try tomeet everyone. And this is a
hard one, especially if you havemore of an introverted
preference. When you walk into asection and you talk to the few
people that get up and come talkto you. And then everyone else

(12:22):
sits down, go around andactually talk to all of those
people. Because when you leave,they notice that you didn't come
talk to them. Now in your head,you're saying, well, they didn't
come up and talk to me and I'mthe boss. Yeah, no, did you know
what you have to be the biggerperson you're in charge. So go
talk to them. Because it reallydoes make a difference. And this
is something that I personallymade this mistake, I would go

(12:43):
into a section of say 10 or 12people, and three or four would
would pop up, come talk to me,we'd have a great chat. And I
would leave feeling all good.
Like I talked to people and thenI'd hear well shouldn't even
talk to me. Well, crap, youknow, I thought you were busy.
And try not to be a bother,because I feel like I'm
interrupting, which is silly,you should not feel like that.
If you're the boss, you should,you know, unless you are

(13:03):
interrupting and making thingsdifficult. You should feel like
you can talk to your people. ButI realized like, there is a
power dynamic, there aredifferent personalities and all
of those things. But ultimately,it's my responsibility to make
them feel as though I care aboutthem. So walk around and meet
every single person.
Now go in, even if you have beendoing this, this exact same job

(13:27):
that everyone in your team does.
There's something that they havethat you had, they can do that
you have not done, there's somelittle trick that they know that
you haven't you haven't everheard from everybody knows
something that you don't. Sohave an open mind, even if you
think you know what's going on,ask lots of questions and have
an open mind. Now, when you askquestions. Do not interrogate
your people, ask open endedquestions and tell them. I'm

(13:50):
very curious to know how you dothings. I would love to hear
your process. Can you explainmore about that to me? Can you
help me understand? You know,don't make them feel
interrogated? Don't make themfeel scared, don't attack them.
But ask lots of questionsbecause people are at their best
when they get to talk aboutsomething they're comfortable
with. So don't make themuncomfortable. Make them feel as
though you're genuinelyinterested. And learn where

(14:12):
people learn who's all in who'sreserved. Why is it a
personality thing? Is theresomething going on? You know, in
the military, we have quite abit of ability to interact in
our people's lives. And that'snot as true in the civilian
side. But you can still careabout people, you can still care
if someone's having a hard time,because ultimately their work
will be impacted. But alsothey're human beings. And so you

(14:35):
can just be a decent human beingand care about them. So a lot of
leadership stuff talks aboutsetting an example. And I think
setting an example is reallyimportant. It's important not to
be a hypocrite. It's importantto live by the things that you
believe in and try to get otherpeople to do. But as a leader,
that's not enough. You actuallyhave to go the next step and

(14:58):
explain your Example. You haveto tell them why? Because then
you can't expect them to guessall of the reasons that you do
what you do. You know, we talkedabout this in the military with
our sexual assault prevention,trainings and all of the
interventions that we're doingto try to reduce sexual assault
in the military. And a lot ofpeople say, Why do I have to do

(15:18):
this training, I don't ratepeople. And you know what,
that's true. Most men don't ratepeople, most women don't rate
people. That's true. However,leading by example, is not
effective, we have to actuallysay, this is something we as a
culture, do not tolerate, don'trate people. And that's a
dramatic example. But it's trueof everything, you can't say

(15:42):
that people are going to guessthat you don't lie. Because you
believe in not lying, you haveto say that integrity is
important. You can't just showintegrity. And it sounds like a
paradox. And maybe it is, butthe fact is, as a leader, you
have to make sure it's clear.
Now as you go through it's, itcan be a challenge to figure out

(16:04):
what your personality dynamicis, I will tell you, you cannot
change your personality to be incharge, your real personality
will come out. And in themeantime, you will look totally
fake. So playing up the bestparts of your personality and
trying to minimize the partsthat you would like to improve.
That's the right thing to do.
But don't try to be somethingyou're not. Ideally you don't
try to be liked, or feared.

(16:28):
Really, the goal as a leader isto be respected. And I will tell
you, if you are, you can berespected by every single
person, a lot of them will notlike you. Because that's just
the way it is. I mean, no one'sgonna, there's no situation
where everyone will like you,that doesn't exist. But if
you're doing the right thing andholding standards, there's
always going to be some peoplethat don't like you, you have to

(16:50):
live with that. But being fearedI guess it can be effective in
the short term. But long term,it's not a good strategy, and it
does not work. So I don'trecommend that I don't think
that's a good thing.
Now, you may have heard aboutthe book, What Got You Here
Won't Get You There. And kind ofunderstanding that the skills

(17:10):
from your previous job are notgoing to get you to your next
job. But so as you go into thisjob, you need to have an a
mindset that you're willing tolearn. Learn about your own
industry, learn about the jobthat your people are doing, even
if you've already done it, butalso learn about your boss's job
and how to look at things fromyour boss's angle. Because as
you rise in the organization,you're going to have to

(17:30):
understand the problems of yourboss, and your boss's boss. And
when you get asked questions,you should be thinking in terms
of those answers. So keeplearning about the people around
you learn about your colleagues,and how your operations interact
with theirs. Because as youunderstand how you fit into the
organization better, yourproblem solving will be better.
And your ability to negotiatewill get stronger, because you

(17:52):
have a better idea of whatpeople need, and how the
services and products that youproduce fit into that. So it
only helps your section for youto do that. But it also helps
you professionally if youcontinue to learn and continue
to grow, and then add theprofessional development piece.
I've talked about that I havepodcast about that. But
professional development issuper important. But here we're

(18:13):
talking about learning aboutyour organization and how you
need to execute the mission inorder to get the job done. Now,
as a leader, it's reallyimportant to be fair and
equitable with both your awards.
And with the discipline you go.
And I said, equitable, not equalcircumstances are not the same
for every single person. Ifsomeone's late all the time,

(18:34):
being late again, is not thesame as someone who's never late
and is late for the first time,you're not going to give them
the same punishment, right. Soyou have to be aware of the
circumstances. But you have tobe consistent, you need to have
a pretty, you need to be able todescribe what your system is for
deciding who gets awards and whogets discipline. And as long as
you're consistent with that. Andyou do everything you can to

(18:54):
remove bias and discriminationfrom your systems, that's going
to be the best way to do it. Askfor input, ask for help from the
people around you. Make surethat your processes are
completely transparent to thepeople that are affected by them
as much as you can. And thatwill all help to make things as
fair as possible. But as aleader, it's not just your
responsibility to be productive.
It is your responsibility todevelop the people after you.

(19:17):
And it's not just about groomingsomeone for your job, you should
really be grooming people topass you up. You should be
grooming people to be thepresident of the company, the
CEO. So find those people thathave potential and then help
them develop it. Now, it's easyto find the people that are
already hard charger, and youshould absolutely help them you

(19:38):
should absolutely develop them.
But usually the people that areright behind that where no one
really seeks them out ordevelops them. Those are some of
the most amazing people so youhave to look at everybody. Some
people will surprise you. I wasamazed when I was in command of
how many Airmen that were told,oh, they're okay or they're

(20:00):
They're not a great performer,whatever. And after talking to
them, and hearing what issuesthey were dealing with, and then
we did what we could to helpthem through their issues, they
became great performers. Andthey had a ton of potential. And
maybe they're not going to bethe highest ranking person in
the Air Force. But they're doinggreat work and they feel
fulfilled, that's awesome. Andso you should be trying to
strive to do that for as manypeople as you can, you will not

(20:22):
be able to do it for everyperson in your organization,
every person under you, but asmany people as you can, as much
as you are able, while stillmaintaining and protecting your
own bandwidth, because you haveto do that you must conserve
yourself a little bit. But don'tjust stick to the top two or
three, find those other peoplethat need someone to tell them.
They're great. Okay, so nowyou're in the job. And now you

(20:45):
start dealing with stuff. Well,first of all, how are you going
to run your meetings, you needto decide what that is, you need
to decide which meetings arenecessary for your people, talk
to them, and ask them whichmeetings. Now at the beginning,
I will tell you, I added ameeting back on my people hadn't
had to have because I needed tohave them all in one place in
order to get familiar with them.
And I was honest, I told them,this meeting is really more for

(21:06):
me right now. Because I need tolearn how y'all operate. And
what's important to you and whatyou need my help with. And it's
easier for me to have you all inone spot. And so I was honest
about that, because my scheduleat the time was much less
permissive than theirs were. Butthat's something that you have
to balance with your team andwith the amount of meetings and

(21:27):
administrative requirements thatyou're putting on them. But ask
them and anything you're goingto keep on the calendar, run it
in an efficient manner. Myhusband loves the book death by
meeting because it's all aboutcreating friction to make
meetings more productive, butfind whatever your system is and
use it.
Next, you're gonna have peoplethat push back, you're gonna be

(21:48):
tested, you're gonna have peoplethat find your boundaries, and
you're gonna have peopleoccasionally that just outright
disrespect you, you have todecide what you're willing to
put up with. And then you haveto be consistent. Now, I don't
believe in setting a negativeexample, I don't believe in you
know, kind of crushing somebody,at least in public. So, that is

(22:10):
one personal thing. I know,there are some people that
absolutely believe in setting anexample when someone when things
are getting out of control inorder to make that very public
and help people understand. Ithink that that's a reasonable
strategy if the punishment youchoose fits the crime,
regardless, if it'sunnecessarily harsh, or to get
the point across. I personallydo not agree with that. But that

(22:30):
is a leadership style that somepeople do understand. As far as
boundaries and getting pushback,I actually encourage a lot of
pushback, a lot of opendiscourse. The biggest thing
with that is you can't getemotionally attached to the
things that you're saying toyour suggestions or to your
arguments. If you're notemotionally attached to that

(22:50):
people can argue all day long,and you just listen to the
arguments. And then you take thelogic and you discuss it
logically. So as soon as youbecome emotionally attached to
the project that you've pitched,or to the course of action that
you're trying to get them on, orwhatever it is, that's when it
feels really personal. So trynot to do that. And it won't
bother you nearly as much.
Because the pushback is reallyimportant. You need that that's
people telling you what's goingon. Now, there is a fear of

(23:13):
change. There are people that donot want to change how we do
things, they do not want to addnew processes, they do not want
to move their office, whateverit might be. To some extent,
you're going to have to justsay, too bad for john, in some
circumstances. But absolutely,listen, because sometimes it is
more than just the fear ofchange. Sometimes there's actual

(23:35):
logic behind it. Sometimesthere's process behind it,
sometimes. There's we did thisfive years ago, and it failed.
And this is why and that'sreally helpful information,
because then you can look at,okay, are the circumstances the
same such that this is going tofail again, or what's changed
that now we believe the time isright for this course of action.
So that's a really healthydiscussion. So I I personally

(23:55):
encourage it, but it's reallyimportant that you keep your
emotions out of it. And alongwith that is you have to let go
of your personal projects. Mostpeople go into a new job with an
area that they want to makebetter a personal project that
they want to do, they want torevolutionize this area of their
industry. And that is inspiringand it helps keep you going when

(24:16):
you're working up to that job.
But the fact is, it may not beright for your organization when
you get there. So it's great tokeep it on the back burner. It's
great to see if it fits withyour team. But if it doesn't,
you have to let go. You cannotuse your team's resources and
time on projects that are notproductive for them. Even if

(24:38):
they're really important to you.
If it's important, and it'sworthwhile, then it's time will
come but it may not be in thisjob with you. So that is really
hard. I'll tell you, I had a fewthings that I had to let go of
when I was in command. And itwas painful. But my people told
me in no uncertain terms that itwas not a good fit. For them,

(24:59):
and I had to respect thatbecause they were doing such
great work in so many otherareas that I, you just can't,
you just can't take yourpersonal beliefs and the things
that are important to you andthen project them on to the
organization if it's not theright fit. The next thing is
empowering with accountability.

(25:19):
And I think that this is itsounds like an oxymoron, but
it's really not. You cannotmicromanage people, but you have
to hold them accountable. Soexplain what you need to know,
and why you need to know it, andthen stick with it. If they're
sticking, give them a scheduleit especially if you have people
that are new to a project, orthat you're just learning their

(25:41):
style, be very clear on what youneed to know and why and then
stick with it. And if you haveto deviate, be very clear on why
you have to deviate, especiallyif it's from questions from
above. share that with them. Iknow this was not our schedule.
But I'm being asked thesequestions at this time. So
let's, let's answer thesequestions. And then we'll figure
out a new schedule that worksfor both of us. But you have to

(26:03):
be very clear on that. Ifsomeone needs more guidance,
either set up a schedule to giveit to them, or preferably set
them up with someone moreimportant or more experienced,
so that they can have guidanceand not report directly to you.
Because the more autonomy yougive people, the more the better
work they will do, the more theyown it, and they will put so

(26:25):
much more thought into it. Ifpeople believe that your hands
are in it, it actually absolvesthem of some of the
responsibility of the outcome.
And so you will get betterresults if you stay out of it as
much as you can. Now,communication is a challenge for
just about everyone.
But as a leader, you have tocommunicate in so many different

(26:51):
ways. I had the privilege ofspeaking to a really amazing
leader not too long ago, and shesaid five times five ways she
said everything she wanted toget across five times. And she
said it in five different ways.
And that's one way of looking atit. But if you think about in
terms of doing it in person overemail, doing it one on one and
doing it to groups, talking toyour supervisors, talking to

(27:12):
your individuals, there's somany ways you can do this. If
you have a Facebook page, youryour social media, LinkedIn,
whatever you use, but yourmessage has to be consistent.
But you have to understand thatpeople learn in so many
different ways you have auditoryand visual learners, you have
people that are doing things ona different schedule that

(27:32):
process information differentlyat different times of the day.
And so the fact is, it's yourresponsibility to make sure your
message gets across. So you haveto find a way to do it. And make
sure it's consistent, not justdown, but across and up. Your
boss should know what you'redoing and why. And your boss
should know what message you'resending out to your your people.

(27:52):
And then your your colleagues,talk to your colleagues. It is
amazing how often yourcolleagues might be affected by
things that you're doing. Andyou don't realize it, you don't
have that visibility on everyaspect of their operations. Such
that you can be sure that thethings that you do are affecting
them. So tell everyone, andalong with this, and this is

(28:13):
something that blows my mind.
Don't hoard information.
Information is power. That'strue. But if you're a good team
player, if you are a transparentleader, hoarding information is
I just don't understand that Idon't understand keeping secrets
to get your to get ahead, Ican't see how that ends well for
people. If you've heard of astory where that ends, well,

(28:36):
please share it with me, just Ijust don't understand. So if you
have information, it's importantto someone, share it with them.
Now, obviously, there arecircumstances under which it's
not yours to share. You know,obviously, you have to use your
integrity and common sense aboutthis, but don't hoard
information for personal gain.
Now, if you want to make changesin your organization, timing is

(28:57):
everything. Most people willtell you, you know, 30 6090 days
kind of getting a chance to seethe lay of the land before you
make big changes. Obviously, ifit's impacting safety, or if
it's illegal, immoral,unethical, it's reasonable to
make that change. As soon as youfind out about it, that's
important. But if it's a processchange, you need to give real

(29:19):
thought as to why the change isnecessary and give your people a
chance to give their input.
There are times that people areemotionally attached to a
process that is not efficient.
If that's the case, then youhave to give them a chance to
get mentally prepared to takechange it. It's not to say you
can't change it, but you have todo it in a way that makes sense
for them. Because if you justroll in and start making big

(29:41):
changes, not only is it totallydisruptive, but it also shows a
huge lack of respect for all ofthe leaders that have been
trying to keep the operationrunning. And so if you want to
be effective, and keep all ofyour subordinate leaders on
board and on track, you have toshow them in respect of helping
them To be part of the changeand helping them to propose the

(30:02):
changes, you just can't roll in,like like a steamroller and just
make changes. You have to bevery clear also on why you want
to make the change the timeline,make sure the timeline is
reasonable for everyone. And thehow if you can give the How to
your team, rather than tellingthem the how that is really,
really important, because thereare things that you just don't

(30:22):
see at your level, even if youhave done this job. There are
still things you may not see.
Now, you may be an expert, andso you may have input that you
can share with them. But itshould be that should be input
that you share. As much as youdon't have to be directive, you
should not be directive. If itis not something that is
absolutely no kidding, a dealbreaker, let them do it, because
they will do a great job. Now,what are some pitfalls? First,

(30:45):
we talked a little bit aboutbeing a friend, it is really,
really hard to be in charge ofpeople and be their friend, it's
honestly, it's almost impossibleto do. There are people that can
do it. And certainly I've beenfriendly with people that were
in charge of me and that I wasin charge of. But it makes
things really difficult. If oneof you messes up, I'll tell you

(31:05):
what. And it's even morecomplicated if you rise from
within the organization. So ifyou were a co worker yesterday,
and now you're in charge, thatcan be really hard to assert
your authority. The mosteffective way that I have seen
is to just talk to them and say,Look, I respect you, but I'm in
charge now. And so I wouldreally appreciate your support
in trying to get everythingdone. And good people in

(31:26):
general, as long as you continueto treat them with respect, and
you don't act like you're betterthan them. Now, they're going to
respond to that, because yourbehavior is very much going to
dictate that there are going tobe some people that will
continue to try to takeadvantage and try to push the
envelope.
Again, I don't believe in makingan example of someone, or at
least not being unduly harshwith the punishment. But this is

(31:49):
one of those times where you mayfind that you have to make an
example if someone is determinedto push the envelope. But in
general, how you behave is goingto dictate how people respond to
you. The next pitfall is notbeing clear about your
expectations. And this goes withyour subordinates with what you
actually expected their jobs ofthe culture that you have the
discipline all of these things,you have to be very, very clear.

(32:12):
And I said it before, you can'tjust do it set an example, you
have to tell them what you'rethinking, you really do. If
people have to guess at yourmotives, all of their guesses
are colored by their ownperspectives. And when we
attribute intentions, weattribute good intentions to
ourselves, meaning we alwaysgive ourselves the benefit the
doubt. And we attribute badintentions to others. So if

(32:34):
people on your team have toguess what you're thinking, the
chances are actually pretty highthat they're not going to give
you the benefit of the doubt. Soyou need to try to be very clear
about your expectations. Next,you have to explain yourself.
And this is really hard forpeople sometimes because they're
like I'm in charge, I don't haveto explain myself, yes, you do,
you have to do it more now.
Because you need your boss tounderstand and you need your

(32:55):
subordinates to understand, youneed to tell people why you do
what you do. There may be timesyou can't like we have security
clearance and privacy issues.
And it's okay to say that thereare issues that I cannot tell
you because of this reason. Butyou still have to say that.
Next, you have to get your teamon board. Like I said before,

(33:18):
compliance is the only thing youcan expect from your
subordinates. So if you wantpeople to be engaged, and
dedicated to the team, youactually have to spend the time
cultivating that. And being adictator is not how you do it.
It might be easy in the shortterm, and you probably will have
people that respond to that. Butin general, your high performers
are not going to like that. Andif you do keep them around,

(33:41):
you're probably not going to gettheir best work. But it's really
possible that you'll lose them,they'll go somewhere else. So
take the time to get your teammembers on board and help create
a good team dynamic where it'sfun to come to work, because
that is always a better place tobe. Next, as a boss, do not take
credit for your team. In fact,even if you did most of the

(34:01):
work, you should not be takingcredit for your team. That's not
the role of the boss, the bossis to facilitate remove Garret
barriers, and get your teamresources. So if you did all
that, and they did a good job,then you need to give them all
the credit. That can be hardsometimes. But at the end of the
day, if you're in charge of theteam that does great. That still
reflects positively on you andthat should be enough. Now, if

(34:24):
you screw up, that is your jobto take the blame for that. So
cover for your team, don't throwthem under the bus because that
is not the right thing to do. Itwas your job to supervise them
and you failed. So you need tofix it. Next, being ruled by
emotion. Now this can be hard.
I'm a very emotional person, Iprocess things verbally. I am

(34:44):
someone that has visceralreactions to things. However, I
do not make emotional decisions.
So if you tell me something Idon't like I may react in a way
in a verbal you know verbalresponse that is quite dramatic,
but then I'm going to stop andactually make a logical

(35:06):
decision. Now when I went intocommand and was in charge of
people, I realized that thatvisceral reaction was not
something that I could do infront of everyone all the time.
So I did my best to do thatbehind closed doors as much as
possible. And to try to controlwho saw my true emotional
reactions to things. Now, I'mnot perfect, I definitely failed

(35:27):
at that. And there were timesthat actually showed a reaction
intentionally because I feltthat the reaction was necessary
to get my point across. But atthose times, that was not
emotion, that was a calculateddisplay, in order to convey a
particular leadership concept.
So that is a balance. And if youare not an emotional person, a
little jealous, yes, I actuallyhave to work at it every single

(35:50):
time. But you cannot be ruled byemotion. So if you are someone
like me, who shows emotion, whenyou think about things and
processes, things verbally has areaction to things you need to
try to work on, on how youconvey that you don't have to
change. But you might want togive some thought to who you
show that to. But you reallyshould work on not making
decisions emotionally. I willtell you, I was in a situation

(36:13):
where I did something that myboss didn't like. And his
reaction was incrediblyemotional.
And it was so much harder totake and harder to learn the
lesson because I felt that hisemotion guided his response. So
much more than than logic wouldhave. And so it was very hard to

(36:34):
separate any lessons that Icould learn from the actual
frustration and the feeling ofunfairness that his emotion
imparted. And so you don't wantto inspire that in your people,
you want your people to feellike they may not agree, but at
least they understand thatthere's logic behind the
decisions that you make. Sothat's something to consider.
Don't change yourself, beyourself. But it's absolutely

(36:56):
worthwhile to consider how youuse especially anger, but how
you use emotion to convey yourleadership style, and not be
ruled by it when you're incommand. So what are some ways
around some of these pitfalls?
The first one is just being opento criticism, invite feedback,
ask people what you think, askpeople what how you're doing,

(37:19):
ask everybody. And you can do itanonymously, you can open up a
survey monkey, you can send itto people, you can use little
slips of paper, but ask forfeedback. Now with people that
are, are under your command, asubordinate to you, that can be
really hard. So one thing that Ifound is really effective is to
give someone a specific task. Sosay, I'm having trouble, I found

(37:42):
that I'm talking over people inmeetings, because we know when
you're the commander when you'rein charge, if you start talking,
everyone else shuts up. Well,that's not helpful. So I might
go to someone and say, hey, I'venoticed that I'm having trouble
talking over people in meetings,will you please count how many
times I do that and notice it,and we can talk about it after.
And so now you haven't put themin a position to correct you

(38:04):
exactly, you've actually askedthem to do you a favor, that is
also productive, and helps themto give you feedback. And you've
shown that you're open to it.
And then when they give you thatfeedback, you say thank you,
sincerely. And that's all. Youdon't explain it, you don't
justify it, you just say thankyou, you don't get upset, even

(38:24):
if they say in an ugly way, youdon't get upset, you say thank
you. And now you've set aprecedent that you're open to
hearing this type of feedbackfrom the people around you. So
it's hard to do, I will tellyou, I've asked for feedback a
million times. And I don't getit nearly as often as I would
like some, sometimes I get it inways that are not quite as as
productive. But, but you can getit if you try, but you have to

(38:48):
be open for it. And you have tobe consistent with it, you can't
just ask once you have to askall the time. Next, it is
helpful to have a trusted agent.
And by that I mean someone inyour sphere that you can be 100%
honest with and ideally atsomeone in your team or familiar
with your team. But you don'twant to have more than one, you

(39:08):
want to have one, maybe two, Iguess. But you need to have
someone that you can becompletely honest with and get
their real feedback. Andhopefully, it's someone that has
a different perspective than youthat has access to different
information so that you canreally understand what's going
on. Along with that is havingpeople in the different sections
that you're over so that you canhave somebody that's giving you
the pulse of those variousareas. Because what people tell

(39:31):
you is not always the whole thewhole truth. There are some
people that will give you theunvarnished truth. But that's
honestly that's often going tobe colored by their own
perspective as well. So you wantto have some people that you can
trust, but you want to have oneperson that you can give exactly
what you're thinking exactlywhat you're thinking about doing
and get real, honest feedback inreturn. So that is it's hard to

(39:54):
cultivate. I would not recommendcreating that person or or
choosing that person within thefirst week or two, you really
need to see who you can actuallytrust because it may not be the
person that is in your deputyposition or your assistant
positions like that it may besomeone else. So you need
someone that you can trulytrust. So get to know the people
a little bit before you makethat decision. Next, you really

(40:16):
want to flex when you can,there's going to be times that
things do not go according toplan. And as much as you can,
you want to be flexible. If yougo into every situation,
understanding that there aremultiple possible outcomes, you
will never be surprised ordisappointed. If you go into a

(40:37):
meeting pitching somethingtotally expecting everyone to be
on board, you're going to bedisappointed more often than
not, I'll tell you that rightnow. But if you go in with your
primary course of action, acouple of backups, and then
truly open mind to what theymight come back with, then
everything that you come up withis going to be something you

(40:59):
expected, and therefore it's notgoing to hurt. What pain is not
painful. Surprise is painful. Sowhen something is taken away
from you, and you don't expectit that is painful, so prepare
yourself for every eventuality,and then be flexible and then
you won't ever, it won't everfreak you out.
Next, admit when you make amistake, and that's just not.

(41:23):
That's big mistakes. That'slittle mistakes. Be honest. Hey,
I messed that up. Thanks forcatching that. You know, be and
appreciate people, even ifsomeone tries to show you up,
don't worry about it, you earnedyour job. Just roll with it and
say thank you. Because you haveto be able to admit when you're
wrong, there are going to betimes you are wrong. I was wrong
several times there was lots oftimes that I was wrong. You have

(41:46):
to be able to go to someone andsay look, I thought it was this
I got more information. I waswrong. I'm sorry. Let's how are
we going to move past it. Butyou have to be able to admit
when you're wrong, and celebratewins. And this especially if
you're rebuilding a team, if youhave a team that's had some
issues, you may have to createsome small wins before you can
get to the big wins, butcelebrate them, be excited about

(42:09):
them. Now there are going to bepeople that roll their eyes or
like whatever. Okay, that's,that's fine. You know,
everyone's a little different.
That's okay, if they're notexcited to. But if you're not
truly all in on your team, whereyou're excited about every time
they win, then they're not goingto be either. I bought cowbell
from my entire Squadron, anda lot of people rolled the
r eyes and thought it was dum. But there were a few peopl

(42:31):
that rang that cowbell when Iwalked in the section. And as si
ly as that sounds, it just itotally made my day. And no
ne in that section wasn't smilig, they may have thought i
was super cheesy, but it stillade them laugh. And I'll
ake that I don't care if they'e laughing at me. If they'r
smiling, then they're gonna st back down and that smile is g
nna last for a few more minutesSo even if it was my expense,
I can live with that if they ifit made their day brighter for

(42:53):
little bit longer. And recogize that taking care of your
eople includes you. You cnnot work 16 hour days eve
y single day and expect to be efective for very long. If you
uild a schedule, that is unsustinable, then at some point you
will break. Either you will acually physically break or

(43:16):
entally break. Or you wil just do crappy job. And th
t's not any that's not helful for anyone doing a crappy
ob. So develop a schedule thasustainable so that you have ca
acity to surge. Every job hathose times. So you're g
ing to have to surge; there'snspection time, end of year cl
seout or whatever-- every jobhas that in some capacity. So wh

(43:37):
ther this is the job that you'e going to have for just a coup
e of years like we do, or you'rgoing to be in this job for f
ve or 10, you need to create aschedule and a way of doing
things where you get sleep, whre you get time for suppor
from your family and loved oes, where you get exercise b
cause exercise is reallymportant for not only workin
out the kinks, but also keepng your body moving in a more e

(43:59):
fective manner. And it helpsour sleep as well. And you ju
t need to create time to thinyou don't get better if all yo
do is grind, grind, grind, gind, grind, you have to spe
d some time actually making yourelf better. So take care of you
self as well. And then the finalthing is understand, it's not
oing to be what you expect. Andnever the things that you though

(44:24):
were going to be no big dealmay be totally Central. Somethi
g you never even thought ofight be the most important thing
that this job gives you. Somef the things that you thought
ere going to be absolutelymperative to executing d
ring your time with thisjob. You may never even get to.
There might be times that thingswere really, really important

(44:46):
to you and you were reallyexcited about it. You don't e
en get to talk about them. Ad there may be other things
hat would never ever have goten on your radar and they b
come You're people's most imprtant priority. So you have to b
flexible is not going to be wht you expect. Now, it's totall
reasonable to go into a posiion with ideas and projects and

(45:07):
things that you want to do greatand areas of that section you
ant to make better, that is a god thing to do. But you just nee
to build in some flexibility tounderstand that what
he organization actually needshas to be your priority, it ca
't be these preconceived notios that you come in with. So th
s week, I want you to think abut your current position. W

(45:28):
at three things could bebetter if you were in charg
? What would you change? Spendome time thinking about them a
d then think, from your currenposition is there anything yo
can do to make those thins better? If there is, get
tarted, That's been our discussin of being in charge on Leve
the Pursuit. Thanks for joiningand I hope you enjoyed the d

(45:54):
scussion. If you liked it, pleae give it a LIKE, SUBSCRIBE or s
are with a friend. If you didn'tplease comment with what I co
ld do better.
Next week, we'll hear fromLieutenant Nick Palczer on how
he went from being a firefighterto a nurse and what he's learned
about leading others from bothsides of those relationships.
Don't forget to spend some timethinking about things you can

(46:16):
make better. And then head overto www.levelethepursuit.com to
share your insights and yoursuccesses. I can't wait to learn
from your thoughts. Thanks againfor joining Level the Pursuit.
While, we can't choose where westart, we can choose our dreams
and how we pursue them.
Remember, success is a teamsport and there's room for all
of us to achieve our goals. Sobe a good leader. Be a good

(46:36):
follower, and Do Something Great