13 concepts to understand before you lead a team:

 1. Everything starts with trust

Your team needs to know you are competent and have integrity. The easiest way to show them you have both is by doing what you say you will do. - Write down your commitments - Proactively manage expectations

2. Conflict is a Constant Hoping conflict will go away by ignoring it is like hoping weeds in your garden will go away when you ignore them. Your goal is not to hope conflict disappears because it won't. Your goal is to get better at managing it.

3. Seeds Depend on Soil You can create healthy soil in your organization by listening deeply to people at all levels. Understanding their goals and obstacles will ensure you can provide the support they need. Creating healthy soil will allow ideas to flourish.

4. Clarity is Speed Be ruthless about making sure all levels of your organization understand their priorities and Why their work matters. Great leaders keep the vision visible.

5. Focus on Strengths The things that are recognized get repeated. Make sure your team recognizes the value they bring. Your team will be more engaged and more likely to stay when they have a manager who focuses on their strengths.

6. Develop a Coaching Culture When you spend time developing your people, you save time fixing unnecessary problems. Plus: - More collaboration - Better performance Interested in creating a coaching culture?

7. Know Your Gaps You can’t be good at everything. Develop a partnership with people who complement your strengths. Side note: these are likely people you initially have a conflict with.

8. Invest in Yourself As you gain influence, working on yourself has a multiplying impact. Improving your leadership skills will allow you to be more effective in improving the lives around you. This is a big deal!

9. Be Urgent With Feedback Don't wait 10 days for a conversation that will take 10 minutes. Remember, the purpose of feedback is to help. Be direct with feedback because you are invested in the success of others.

10. Empower Decision Makers Make sure your team understands the big picture and give them guard rails to work within. When obstacles come up, you want them to be able to tell you why they made adjustments instead of coming to you for approval.

11. Make it Easy to Talk About Mistakes People are going to make mistakes. When this happens it's important for you to respond in a way that is aligned with your goals and values. Creating a culture where people hide mistakes is expensive.

12. Follow the 80/20 Rule You need to know what 20% of your actions lead to 80% of your results. Knowing this will make it much easier for you to say NO to the things not setting your team up for success.

13. Protect Your Refresh Time Know the things that keep you at your best, and don't let them become optional. When you fail to stay energized, your team will feel it first.

The most important lesson for leaders is Self-Awareness. Know when you are at your best. And know when you need to ask for help. Humility and growth are impossible without awareness. Thanks for all the love and new connections. I appreciate you.