For some of you, this may be your first time leading others formally or informally. For others, you may have led people before. Completing this course will help you improve your leadership skills in either case. If you have had leadership experiences before, we ask you to consider the words of Vice Admiral John Ryan, former President and CEO of the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)®, "Leadership is like a muscle. The more intelligently you train, the stronger you get." And just like all muscles, we need to train frequently and intelligently to keep strengthening our leadership skills.

The skills you had as an individual contributor will serve you well in your new role, but they will also need to be calibrated, adjusted, and taken to the next level. You may have been the subject matter expert in your field and mastered the technical components of your role. You may also have led others before and have dealt with some of these challenges. In any case, as a leader, these are key skills required for your growth and development, as well as that of your team. There are 2 critical skills that leaders need in order to be successful: communication and influence. At many organizations, this relates to your ability to engage stakeholders – both internal and external. You need to listen, empathize, ask questions, and demonstrate understanding to build and nurture ongoing relationships; and to give customers and colleagues an experience they will want to repeat. Your ability to provide and receive feedback, and to lead others in a manner that will motivate their hearts and minds, will allow you to influence outcomes and solutions.

As a leader, developing and maintaining relationships is key to your success. Remember these words often attributed to Theodore Roosevelt: “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” Think about how your relationships will change with your peers and your leaders. You now have a “seat at the table” with your leaders and must focus on building and sustaining a relationship foundation that will support the growth of your team. Relationships are a key part of your leadership muscle, and good leaders continuously build and nurture their relationships.

To make this flip happen, you must let go of some of the work that made you successful as an individual contributor or in your previous role. By doing so, you not only make room to learn and develop new skills, but you can also identify the specific development needs of your team and provide coaching and support. Letting go opens the door for you to engage your team and maintain an ongoing dialogue with them. Get to know your employees to understand their strengths and what drives them, then give them an opportunity to tackle a new challenge. Remember, their success is what’s going to make you successful now.

When we talk about flipping your focus, it’s about integrity, ethics, character, and accountability. It’s also about your values. Individual contributors may think about integrity and character as they relate to fulfilling promises and getting the job done. As leaders, it’s not just about completing a project, it’s also about how it gets done. The “how” is directly related to who you are as a leader. More so than ever, all eyes are on you. Your team and your leaders are always watching to see if you will do the right thing the right way, while respecting others and setting the right tone to accomplish the work. Research reveals that executive leaders measure integrity as the most important character strength.