I got promoted to a leadership position, now what?

First, congratulations! If you are reading this, it means that you are advancing your career and you have worked hard to get here. In fact, you are continuing to work hard. I know this because you are here, with an open-mind and ready to hear what else can you do to advance further and be a great leader. So let us get started on a few key points to help you take the next steps as a leader.

Define yourself as a leader. What does it mean to you to be a leader? What is the picture you have in mind when you close your eyes and think of a leader? What type of person do you see with your title? That's you! whoever came to mind, whether it was an image of yourself or not, it is the image that you unconsciously or consciously may see yourself as.

Is your behavior right now matching that image? and is it conducive to success in your work environment? If not, then how can you change your actions? Too many questions I know, but questions are important in helping us define who we are as people. When you are looking to define what type of leader you are and want to be, you must ask the right questions to generate the right answers.

Understand how you can benefit others from your current position. Think about the time when you were not a leader. When you were an entry-level or mid-level professional. I am sure you can think of a moment during those days when you wanted to change something in your workplace. The schedule?, the break room?, a process?. Do you remember now? Well, I am sure that your employees may have some things that they would like to change or upgrade at work too. Find out what that is and see if it is something that you can make happen for them.

Other ways that you can benefit your team is by:

• Party planning and having small celebrations' budget.

• Ergonomic equipment.

• Free training and certifications that will enhance their performance.

• An extra day off a year that they can chose.

• Grant promotions or recognitions if possible.

Many people apply to a leadership position with a vision of how they would like to help a team succeed. However, not every manager or supervisor is able to do as many changes as they would like to. Understand what is the scope of your title in relation to the company's goal. Understanding this will give you a realistic idea of how you can serve well as a leader and help the team succeed.

Have a game plan. Enjoy your new promotion. Take it all in and settled well under your new title. Give yourself enough time to embrace being a leader. At some point however, you must have a next step. If you don't, you risk becoming stagnant and possibly loosing motivation. A game plan will allow you to design a path that you enjoy and will allow you to make the most of your position. As Churchill (1906) said, "Where there is great power, there is great responsibility." Becoming a leader, allows you to help your team and employees in a way that others cannot, but this also means that you could very easily affect their experience and possibly hinder their career if you are not careful. You can avoid a negative outcome by drafting a plan with achievable and measurable goals that are sure to benefit your career and the careers of those you lead.

Keep your motivation. There is a distorted image of leadership going around. Many people believe that becoming "the boss" means that you get to do whatever you want and whenever you want to. As if by becoming the top decision maker will give you a great deal of freedom. That is incorrect, and you will find out when you reach leadership, that supervisors, managers, influencers and mid-level leaders are not blessed with free time and high pay. They are blessed with a high level of responsibilities that come with high pay. This level of busyness may be discouraging for some, because it is something you may not be used to or match your previous expectation. However, you have to get through busy schedules and projects in order to maintain the position and continue to move up the pyramid. At the top of the pyramid is where you could have others do the work for you and then you can finally have a lot of free time and high pay. So find your motivation and hold on to it. Even if you feel like what motivates you is unrealistic, it is okay, no one else but yourself have to approve of that which makes you want to do a better job and keeps you energetic.

Now you have a few key points to help you. Take a deep breath and take action while enjoying your new position as a leader. Once you decide what type of leader you want to be, you can then move into analyzing how best can you apply that within the company to benefit others. This will allow you to draft a game plan, where you can include measurable goals. As you accomplish each goal, you will feel motivated and inspired to do more. Maintain your motivation on and continue to lead your team to success.

For more tips and guidance on how to lead order a copy of "Not your Average Leader" book today!