Cultivating Quality Relationships through LMX

Welcome to the leadership paradox. Let’s start with a scenario. You joined your company many years ago, starting in a more junior role, where you proved your skill sets over and over. Maybe you were a born salesperson, maybe you were a master at client relations, maybe you were product focused, perhaps something else entirely. Regardless, with every task and every further year at the company, you demonstrated your value. As such, you were rewarded with a series of promotions. Eventually you found yourself in a management position, the leadership role you’d always wanted. Sounds great. All is well, right?

We’re all aware of the inherent dangers in taking risks. We’re generally less aware of the dangers in playing it safe. In a business context, that’s because there used to be some merit to playing it safe –– to having ambition but pacing oneself, choosing a slow, incremental trajectory over a fast, steep one. As Doug Sundheim, author of Taking Smart Risks: How Sharp Leaders Win When Stakes are High, writes in Harvard Business Review: “The dangers of playing it safe aren’t sudden, obvious, and dramatic. They don’t make headlines. They…are hidden, silent killers.” [1] Without risks we wouldn’t have put planes in the sky or man on the moon, nor have any of the everyday innovations we take for granted. But for each of history’s bold risk-takers, there were many more steady, risk-averse contemporaries sitting on the sidelines. And for a long time there was nothing wrong with that. As Steve Dennis, a strategic advisor and author of Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail, writes: “A heavy focus on business optimization and continuous improvement was eminently sensible. Until it wasn’t.” [2]

Stepping into a managerial role for the first time is both an exciting and challenging experience. The transition from being an employee to leading a team can be daunting, especially when your authority is questioned. New managers often struggle with balancing likability and respect, setting the right tone for leadership, and dealing with employees who may not take them seriously. As McKinsey senior partner Lareina Yee aptly puts it: “Respect and likability are not the same thing” –– but many new managers end up confusing the two [1]. So, how do you earn respect as a new manager?