Just a girl behind a screen, leading for the first time (Part 1)
LESSONS AND TIPS FOR A FIRST-TIME LEADER
Part one: About the girl
I started writing this on day 565 of lockdown and I am still figuring out how to lead a team while talking to a computer screen. I remember very clearly what my first work-from-home day looked like. Bundled behind a small desk, sitting on one of my dining room chairs, all excited for my very first virtual stand-up. A few weeks went by, and I was designing away, setting up lists, spreadsheets, Miro boards — you name it.
Fast forward to the end of 2020, and there I was applying for a role that scared the living daylights out of me. Which is normally a good indication to do it (even if every fiber in my body was telling me no). But I took the plunge, and I got appointed as Design Project Lead (holy crap!) my heart still pounds thinking about it to this day almost two years later.
In the year that has gone by I have learnt a bunch of things. Not only about leadership but about myself as well, and there are two very specific topics I would like to share with you:
- My experience of being a leader for the first time.
- A step-by-step guide that I hope will help you in your journey to becoming a leader.
I will also share a few tips and tricks, a coping mechanism or two, and some amazing books that have helped tremendously in my journey.
Ready to get stuck in?
Being a first-time leader
I’m not a typical iron fist, badass, don’t-take-no-for-an-answer, pushback leader. I know that’s a stereotypical way of looking at it, but being a leader has a certain expectation to it. I constantly said to my manager, “I am not the leader I think I should be” and his response to that phrase every time was, “but we don’t need another cookie cutter leader, we need a you”. Profound? Definitely.
The following are some lessons I have learned and experienced along the way. My hope is that these starting points will help you understand and navigate where you are now and get you ready for the next step
Feeling overwhelmed is okay
I remember my ‘official’ first day as a Design Project Lead. It was daunting and I was immediately greeted by a few very familiar imposter syndrome symptoms (this is all normal and part and parcel of the process). Questions like “Can I really do this?” kept coming to mind and a few others along those same lines. The simple answer I already knew, even if I didn’t fully believe it yet. The antidote to those thoughts and feelings is to remember that you weren’t placed in this role for no reason. You continuously showed up and started making your own path which means that you are ready to level up.
I believe that part of being a leader, even a new leader today, is about changing perceptions and creating new ways of leading. At the end of the day there are going to be times when it’s going to feel like you don’t know what you are doing, but take it one coffee at a time, and don’t get too hung up on being perfect.
Your everyday might feel a bit different
My days changed from completely focusing on designing screens and solving UI (User Interface) problems, to many meetings with stakeholders, solving even bigger problems, being asked about prioritisations, and my favourite question of all “When will design be finished?”.
Understanding how to juggle this new norm can be tough, and it may seem that, as a leader, you must be good at juggling it all. I do believe that up until this point you have been fostering a unique talent to divide and conquer but the truth is you are not alone in this role. Yes, your day looks a little different and you are feeling a little different, but this is the part where you bring in reinforcements. Your focus should now be on building a strong team that can support you when your plate gets too full, so that you are able to focus on the more strategic parts of leadership. This part requires a bit of inside intuition that I will dig deeper into in the next part.
Leading from within
Now that we have the initial first impressions of being a new leader out the way, here are a few quick tips to understand your immediate surroundings including yourself,
Understand who is who in the zoo.
When things start feeling a little chaotic and overwhelming one of your best tools is knowing who the people are in your in your immediate and extended teams. With every new team I set up a Stakeholder Map that outlines who I can pull closer when I have questions, risks to raise or in if I’m in need of some good old data (yes, data is important to everyone, even designers).
Do a little bit of self-research.
Now that you know your surroundings do a quick check-in with yourself in the form of a personality test. There are ample amounts of personality tests, but my go too is the 16 personalities test. Some of you might already know your type, but a lot can change in a year. This report also gives you some helpful insight on how you are at work, in relationships and where your energy lies (this is incredibly helpful for the next article in this series).
Create a go-to space for yourself.
Transitioning from a creator to a leader doesn’t happen overnight, and you landed yourself in leadership because you showed empathy and passion towards gearing a team in the right direction. A good place to start is on a blank canvas so if this means Miro, a whiteboard, Trello, or a good old piece of paper, start outlining the big picture of your team structure and what you would like your teams to work towards . I add all the projects my team is working on and add the project status, so I know in what phase we are in. This board or space can easily become the team’s “Headquarters” to bring the people and the processes together.
A quick reflection
How I think of my journey and hope to help you with yours, is like building a house. You need a solid foundation to start with, which includes.
- Understanding and acknowledging the space you are in. You are going to be faced with uncertainty and the transition is going to take some time but,
- Remember to create a space for yourself and potentially your team that becomes your guiding light when deadlines and stakeholders come knocking at your door.
- Lastly, remember the better you know you the better you can show up for yourself and your team every day. So go do that personality test while sipping on a hot cuppa something and get to know you.
In part two of this article series, I will dig deeper into some of the things I already touched on, and strive to help you put together some tools and coping mechanisms to get you through at least your first year of “Oh crap, I’m the leader in the room”. Also stay tuned for part three which is where I will give you a few good resources to guide you even further.
