When young people take on a leadership role for the first time there is much to learn, but they have to perform by delivering success in order to keep their job. For an organization of any size to put their faith in a young person and ask them to start leading a group shows trust. With that trust, however, has to come some support too. Without it, the most talented of individuals can struggle with the team they lead thereby delivering sub-optimal performance. Gone are the days of giving promising young people experience of leadership regardless of the consequences, they now have to earn their keep.
The support each young leader needs will differ from one to another but there are a number of aspects that ought to be considered. Some of these can be incorporated into a package tailored to individual needs.
Positive Role Models
We all have our own ideas of what is good and bad leadership. When a young person is put in a leadership position for the first time, their own life experiences will be far more restricted than those of a seasoned leader. They will need help in identifying suitable role models for how leadership fits within the organization. Don’t let them ‘work it out for themselves’ because the role models they might unconsciously select may not fit with the culture of the organization at all. All it takes is a brief conversation to start off the thinking.
Help
Anyone who starts a new role, at whatever stage of their career, needs some help to get things moving. This is especially so for young leaders who may be heading a group of people, many of who are older and more experienced than them. One way to achieve this is to ensure there is someone within that group that they can rely on for support, often an experienced colleague, but someone who can be trusted to be impartial with their advice.
Mentoring
Identifying a suitable mentor, someone either within the organization in a more senior position or perhaps within a professional body can be invaluable. Providing the mentor can empathize with the new young leader, having been in similar roles themselves, this can develop into a powerful and long-term relationship that is good for both parties and the organization itself.
Coaching
Akin to mentoring, providing a coach who is able to help the young leader on a one-to-one basis during their introduction to leadership will work as long as the coach is not seen as part of any wider performance management system. This is often why coaches are brought in from outside although there will always be an element of reporting back to senior managers and/or HR. The coaching relationship will need to concentrate on leadership and people management aspects and avoid being drawn into any specific business matters as this may interfere with any mentoring. While in theory there are distinct boundaries between mentoring and coaching, in practice this can be harder to achieve especially when coaches are brought in who have an understanding and experience of the business concerned.
Clear Sponsorship
It must be obvious to all concerned from the outset that the young leader has the overt support of their senior managers and others within the organization. If such senior people have faith in the individual it helps that person’s initial interactions with team members and peers. Praising achievements in public and in private is essential in building the confidence of the young leader and those around them. There is always an element of risk putting anyone into a new position and this is increased when that person is new to the role. Once the decision is made though, senior managers need to accept their responsibility in making it work and that includes accepting that things may not always go according to plan.
Everyone needs support when starting a new job whatever it is. For a young person to be but in a leadership position can be extremely stressful but it is a sign of trust on behalf on the organization. To help ensure the investment pays off it makes absolute sense to provide an appropriate package of support to ensure they swim and don’t sink.
Copyright © 2011 Paul Slater
Luis,
Thanks for your kind words of appreciation for the article. It’s so important for senior managers and leaders to get involved with younger leaders as it helps them start to appreciate the organizational culture that exists at at that level of the business, something they may not be aware of at more junior levels.
Kindest regards
Paul
Hello everyone,
This is absolutely a great article. Young leaders need to find the best strategy or approach based on their the organizational culture to lead team members. I’m a young leader within my organization and definitely your points of view are important and useful. Support is really important and very necessary for young leaders. Besides of developing leadership skills, upper management is a key factor and should be able to support and help young leaders. Thus, young leaders would be more able to become successful.
Thanks for this article.
Best,
Luis Lara
Noah,
First of all thank-you so much for your kind words about the article. I whole heatedly agree with your point about teaching young leaders about setting achievable goals and breaking them down into manageable steps. The sooner in life we all get used to doing this on a regular basis the more natural it becomes, even if some of us forget to do it on occasions.
Kindest regards
Paul
Paul,
This is an excellent article! As a student activities director for a small liberal arts college (and as a young leader myself), I work with dozens of young leaders. The advice you give here really is critical to their current success, and it will have a great impact on their future success. Positive mentors and sponsorship not only boosts their confidence, but if they are done properly they also help reinforce that we all need others to succeed!
If I could add one, teaching young leaders to set achievable goals, break them down into action steps, and helping them reach those goals is invaluable. It goes a long way in teaching them initiative, personal responsibility, team management, and expands their influence!
Thanks for the great post!
Noah