5 Tips For Growing Into Management And Leading A Successful Team

The arrival of International Women’s Day—which happens to be today—often inspires reflection on women’s collective progress over the previous year. This one has been arduous. With the undoing of Roe v. Wade, regressive policies on girls’ and women’s sports, and attacks on the rights of trans women, Gen-Z and Millennial girls and women have fewer rights than they did when they were born. It’s a tough pill to swallow.

And yet, this year has had its steps forward as well. Women dominated last year’s lists of both MacArthur “genius grant” winners as well as Guggenheim Fellows. And for the first time—after years of being stuck at the 8% mark—women made up over 10% of the top U.S. corporation CEOs. It’s noteworthy, and speaks to our sheer grit and resilience, that in spite of ramped up attacks on women’s healthcare and bodily autonomy along with the devastating toll the pandemic has taken on women’s careers (i.e., the she-cession), we’re still pushing forward and making progress, particularly in the workplace. There is no singular path to equity, but small steps forward add up, and the workplace can be a springboard for greater progress beyond it. Afterall, economic power is social power is political power.

The promotion pipeline is often discussed when it comes to women’s career advancement, and rightfully so. But what do you do once you finally get that promotion? How do you learn and grow as a first-time manager? How do you know how to best support your team when you’ve never led one before? These are questions I often hear from young mentees. Guiding new managers with little management experience is crucial for their long-term success and continued career advancement. This is particularly true for women, who are often judged more harshly and held to different standards than their male counterparts. So with that in mind, let’s get into five crucial tips for new managers.

Know your value.

Imposter syndrome, the confidence gap, however you want to characterize it, it’s not surprising that women leaders have to overcome a lot of doubt—both internal and external. Women face a lot more negative messaging throughout their lives and in the workplace, especially when it comes to taking charge: “don’t be too bossy,” “don’t be too difficult,” “don’t be too much,” whatever that could possibly even mean. But here’s the thing, when you’re a manager, you are the boss. It’s ok, good even, to own that. The first thing I tell young women managers is to know that they can do everything absolutely perfectly, and they will still get criticized; there is no attainable goldilocks zone here, there will always be someone saying you’re too much, too little, too loud, too quiet, too difficult, too compliant, and so on. The key is to know it’s coming from the get-go and tune it all out because it speaks nothing of your abilities. You are qualified for your position, you deserve to be where you are. Full stop. That is what you need to return to when the doubts start creeping in.

Girlbossing is not the answer.

It’s easy to take the above advice and swing way too far in the opposite direction. Being a strong leader isn’t about emulating toxic ideals of leadership. You don’t need to be the most commanding voice in the room to be taken seriously. In fact, that approach to leadership is counterproductive for team building and morale, undermines results, and often reflects deep-seated insecurity. Managers who instead embrace open communication, collaboration, empathy, and even vulnerability are more effective leaders. They’re often called “soft skills,” which has never felt like an appropriate description to me since they take a great deal of strength and work. Skills like these, including emotional intelligence, listening, problem-solving, and conflict resolution, are vital for managers. So hone them and use them! There’s a big difference between being a good boss and being an authoritarian. Your job as a manager is to lead your team to success. You do that by listening to your team, giving them the space needed to excel, and supporting their efforts, all while guiding them in the right direction.

Be yourself.

Folks love to say fake it until you make it, and in a certain sense—when meant to say that you should believe in your ability to do your job and grow into bigger roles—it can be useful advice. But the truth is, fake is the last thing you want to be as a leader. It’s not hard to see through and inspires neither trust nor confidence. It’s so much easier to lead and succeed as yourself, by leaning into your strengths, than by pretending to be someone else. Authenticity is an incredibly powerful tool. It can help you connect with your managees, forge stronger professional relationships, and foster the kind of trust and morale that builds exceptional teams.

Advocate for yourself and for your team.

One of the most important things about being a manager is honing the strength and confidence to advocate for both yourself and your team. This won’t always be easy. It requires embracing a little professional friction. Interrogate what your team needs to do their best work, and be ready to outline and fight for those needs. With straightforward and concise facts, demonstrate what’s needed and why and what the results and return will be to your higher-ups. This is a skill, like any other, that takes practice, but it’s critical for ensuring your team succeeds, and it serves to further strengthen their confidence in your leadership.

Lean on and learn from others.

Just because you’re now a manager, doesn’t mean you’ll suddenly have all the answers. You won’t. And that is perfectly normal and should not undermine your self-confidence. Instead, use those moments to learn and grow. Every gap in your knowledge is an opportunity to improve. Embodying that is how you become the best leader you can be. Build relationships with other managers, network both within and outside of your organization, and find your allies and mentors. Heaven knows, you will need them.