Every employee has his or her own unique way of working. Their preferred styles can be influenced by everything from their personality type to their organizational skills and ideal working environment.
Making the transition from team member to manager can seem like a daunting career move. Many of the skills you’ve developed as an individual contributor may not serve you as well in a managerial role. Additionally, limited experience supervising others can make it difficult to even apply for a leadership role.
However, there are some strategic things you can do to set yourself up not only for a promotion but also for success as a leader in the future. Below, 15 Forbes Coaches Council members explain how to start moving from your current status of a solo contributor to a managerial role.
1. Showcase Your Transferable Skills
It’s about showcasing your transferable skills. Being a great leader does not mean having direct reports. It’s about articulating how you have led virtual teams to great results. Showcase how you coach, mentor, drive energy and lean into the tough conversations while staying vulnerable and being okay with not having all the answers. – Carol Brown, 109
2. Demonstrate Your Leadership Capabilities
Most first-time managers lack formal leadership experience. So while getting that promotion is possible, you must first demonstrate that you can be a leader. Confidently open up a dialogue with your manager about their expectations, what skills you need to possess and how you can create opportunities to demonstrate them. Don’t sit and wait. Taking action is the first step to showing you can be a leader. – Mari Carmen Pizarro, Whole Leadership Systems
3. Strategically Showcase Your Influence
Show that you can influence outcomes even as an individual contributor. Show that you can think strategically and know enough about areas outside of your own to make informed decisions. Retain both the specialist hat and the generalist hat. Being an individual contributor is an asset. Map the transferable skills to the manager’s role and highlight the relevant experiences. – Chuen Chuen Yeo, ACESENCE
4. Build Experience By Volunteering
Building experience as a leader and manager is tough when you’re not in that position at work. However, there are thousands of volunteer organizations that would love for someone to get involved in a management or leadership role. Volunteering is a great way to get experience in any area that you might not be able to try at work, and it’s easier to learn as a volunteer. – John Knotts,Crosscutter Enterprises
5. Ask To Lead A Meeting To Offer Expertise
As the founder of the J.C. Penney stores, James Cash Penney, stated, “The best teamwork comes from men who are working independently toward one goal in unison.” After you have mastered working independently, concentrate on communicating how you are leading an important element of reaching an overall goal for the group. Ask the boss if you can lead a meeting to discuss how the team can work more cohesively by offering your expertise. – Mika Hunter,Female Defender
6. Be Open To And Inclusive Of Diverse Ideas
Find opportunities to demonstrate that you can influence others to follow you. It is also important to demonstrate that you are open to diverse ideas and experiences by being inclusive and getting a wide range of people to contribute to your ideas. Position yourself to influence senior leaders by working on high-visibility, cross-functional projects where you can demonstrate your leadership skills. – Charles Dormer, APEX STP, LLC
7. Connect With Other Leaders In Your Company
Reach out to multiple leaders in the company whom you admire (including your manager, hopefully). Share your interest in becoming a manager. Ask about their experience and how they got their first manager role. Also, ask about projects you could help with to gain experience. Do your homework to prepare prior to those conversations. – Amit Raikar, ARC Performance Coaching
8. Bring Yourself Into The Spotlight
Take charge and lead wherever you can in your current position. Bring yourself into the spotlight. Solve problems, be solutions-oriented and bring people together. If you can prove that you can get followers (i.e., people who want to follow you and your projects because you inspire them), you are already a leader. Also, tell relevant people about your aspirations. – Pernille Hippe Brun,Momentu
9. Become A Go-To Expert On Your Team
There are leaders at all levels! Be one. Individual contributors can serve as team leaders who encourage others to deliver superior customer service, or as subject matter experts that team members turn to first to learn skills or improve performance. Managing is about both “what” and “how.” If you are good at your job, you’ve mastered the “what,” and if you are other-centered, you’ll master the “how.” – Rebecca Lea Ray, The Conference Board
10. Invest In Building Your Leadership Skills
Fund your own leadership learning. Moving from an individual contributor to a team manager is a huge step. You’ll need to become adept at skills such as delegating, performance management, coaching, conflict resolution and motivating others. So start learning the theory, methodologies and best practices in these areas. One of my clients did, and when he was promoted, he hit the road running. – Gabriella Goddard, Brainsparker Leadership Academy
11. Look At Your Accomplishments And Impact
As an individual contributor, it may appear that you don’t have skills or talents that align with a managerial role. However, you do. Review your career journey, your accomplishments and the impact that you have made along the way. You can transfer many of your talents as an individual contributor to serve your needs as a manager. – Sheila Carmichael, Transitions D2D, LLC
12. Offer To Run An Internal Initiative
Volunteer to run a team project or initiative where you can begin coordinating and collaborating with others. Facilitating committees, event planning teams or short-term task forces can provide you with experience and visibility to do more than contribute individually. Consider the competencies needed for management and start taking smaller opportunities that help you learn and hone your skills. – Susan Madsen, Jon M. Huntsman School of Business
13. Define What Success Looks Like To You
Begin by clarifying what success looks like. How is success measured? What does it take to achieve a promotion? Where can you contribute value that extends beyond directing a team? Where can you add value to the company? Answer these questions, and you are on the road to a promotion. – Kyle Elliott, MPA, CHES, CaffeinatedKyle.com
14. Go The Extra Mile In Your Role
Volunteer for special projects as a way to gain visibility and experience. Putting in extra effort on projects outside of your normal scope of work is an exceptional way to get the attention of the higher-ups. It also provides exposure to other departments. It’s an opportunity not only to build strong bonds across the organization but to also build your reputation. – Cheryl Czach, Cheryl Czach Coaching and Consulting, LLC
15. Show Rather Than Tell
Leadership is a behavior, not a title. The quickest and most effective way to get promoted is to show rather than tell, which means putting your hand up for tasks and projects, especially those outside of your job description. Do you want to be seen as a leader? Then, show that you have what it takes before anyone else tells you to. This is the essence of true leadership. – Petra Zink, impaCCCt
Have any tips you’d like to share? Let me know! I’d love to learn from you.
With love,
Mari Carmen
