This is (very often) how things go:

We get promoted and are extremely excited. We make sure we let the family and friends know, update our LinkedIn profile (just to make sure everybody in the business gets notified) and change the title in our e-mail signature banner. Awesome, job done.

Then things flow as usual for a little while, no major change.

Until, one day, something happens. A crisis that needs to be handled (and you are, all of a sudden, the one who needs to lead the team through the crisis), or a couple of your team members are not satisfied with their current job descriptions and salaries and start complaining, or your boss wants you to work on the new projects or, even better – all of the above starts happening at the same time.

First, you try to pretend that you have everything under control. You start putting more hours into your day, fight for the salary increases of your team, take more work on (because you want to protect your fragile team members) and work on the deadlines expected by your boss.

Once again, for a while, it seems like you have it all under control.

Only you don’t and the calm and collected exterior is the complete opposite to your anxious and stressed-out interior.

And then the burn out comes and you realise that this is not the way to go about your leadership.

Excuse the grim picture and, of course, I am exaggerating a bit, but, in my over twenty years-long corporate career, I have seen this pattern happen over and over and over again. Including the beginning of my own leadership journey, which started many years ago.

If the above story resonates and you find yourself stuck, it will be my pleasure to support you on your journey of the first-time leader, my friend.

And maybe you are about to be promoted and want to avoid the above scenario by putting a plan in place. Even better.  

If you feel you would benefit from having a coach by your side, please reach out. You don’t need to walk this walk alone. It will be my pleasure to be your leadership coach.