Five. from Flickr via Wylio

© 2010 chintermeyer, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio

Last week, I took a day off to celebrate. And by celebrate, I mean spend all day reading and avoiding housework. Not checking my work e-mail (which means only checking it twice), and trying to give myself permission to not check in on my team.

It was my first day off since moving into management.

Don’t worry, you haven’t missed the announcement. This is it. That’s because the first few weeks were hectic to say the least. The day before the big announcement of my promotion went out to my team, a team member gave their notice of a career change, so my first official day as a manager, I was in what-the-heck-do-we-do-now meetings all day long, figuring out how we’d cover the workload for the already short-staffed team – by Friday.

I probably wouldn’t say it was an ideal moment, but then again, in hindsight, maybe it was. There’s nothing quite like that kind of moment to bring you firmly into not just awareness of, but operation in reality.

If anything was ever an opportunity to learn by doing, I’m pretty sure this qualifies. So, now that I have a few minutes to rub together, I’ll share some of those insights with you. If you’re moving into management during a time of change in your organization, here are the lessons I’m learning:

1. Build relationships with peer leaders before you need them.

Dealing with change is difficult enough without the added stress of trying to handle it all alone. Lucky for me, I’m a part of several communities for emerging leaders, and the first one I tapped into when this challenge arose was my team of peer leaders at work. Because we’d spent time building good, working relationships in the midst of the change this year has brought to our company, instead of bogging down into sticky traps like territory, I was able to discover that a member of someone else’s team would be a great fit for mine, and we were able to find a solution that was really a win for everyone involved. My new team member is now able to flex even more of their skills and abilities, and we were able to make what could have been a progress-halting transition without missing a beat (or a deadline).

2. Make time for planning, brainstorming, and innovation.

Getting ahead of the curve on change relies on you thinking ahead of change before it happens. So, think about scenarios. The what-if scenarios and the please-no ones too. When you’re equipped with solutions and ideas, you’ll be ready to put them in place or advocate for them when the time comes. And it will come. If you’re not equipped with ideas, moving into management may also include a mourning period and feelings of incompetence.

With tight-to-impossible deadlines, we are bringing to bat several ideas we’ve been talking about for leaning up processes during the changeover period. And I feel energized, excited, and inspired to lead my team into a new way of work. Together.

3. Keep unscheduled time (for your team and yourself).

I know it’s true for me, and I have a sneaking suspicion it’s the case for many leaders, but I have a stack of deadlines, projects, and initiatives – work – that truly never gets smaller. Keeping up with my e-mail could be a part-time job. So, managing my calendar and keeping unscheduled time is a difficult to impossible task most weeks. But it’s critical. For two reasons. One is, you need time to think, process, filter, and decide. Personal time. Door closed, I’m-thinking-and-the-radio’s-on time. Focused, quiet time. But you also need another kind of time. The friendly, door open, yes-I-have-time-to-help-you kind of time. Other people time. What your team, peer leaders, and boss need from you. Because in addition to all the other work you do, people also need your time.

4. Contribute to a community outside the office.

So, my official title now, if you’re wondering, is Communications and Social Media Manager. It’s a new role combined with an existing one, and the journey that’s lead me to this exciting new time where I am leading and building a program for a billion-dollar, international company has been interesting and at times terrifying, and it ain’t over yet.

One thing that built my confidence and competence enormously over the past few years is contributing to a community outside of the office. In professional spaces that help me grow, flex, and explore the possibilities of working in PR, communication, marketing, new media.

One place that’s been vital is being a part of the Brazen Careerist community since it was no more than a crazy business dream of some of my first blogging pals. It’s a place where I can contribute, learn, lead, and grow. Today, that community is announcing exciting news and cool launch. They’ll be focusing even more on user tools and ways you can share ideas and get to know other young professionals across the globe.

I love this part of social media, the part where I’m more than a talking head. Where ideas and relationships shine. Where possibilities widen and potential is written, shimmering, across every page. It helps me grow and challenge myself as a thinker, as a professional, as a leader. It can help you too.

5. Give yourself a break.

This is the part I still struggle with feeling guilty just typing. I’m afraid I’m struggling against the pressure to be a workaholic. Well, I guess that depends on how you define work. Because sometimes, it seems like whether at the office or at home, a good (how much of my day am I not sleeping?) well, 90% of my waking hours, anyway, could be classified as some sort of work.

So taking Friday off last week, unplugging, and leaning on the strength of my team was a huge test for a new manager. It was important, not just because I needed a break, but I needed the confidence boost that my team was at a place where they could handle things without me. Where work would get done, deadlines completed. And guess what? It did.

So, Monday rolled around and with it I had a new wave of confidence, a new sense of possibility. Because if I’ve learned anything so far in the past few months, it’s that you don’t have to have a title to be a leader. 

But when you actually get one, it’s nice to watch yourself settle into those new shoes and keep moving.