Over the last eight months, our organization has shifted our approach to equipment service in a major way. While we have 500+ approved vendors to perform equipment service all over the country, it was time to build a team of Field Service Engineers to take our service experience to the next level. Quadrupling our Field Team in the last year has been so much fun. It has also been incredibly disorienting at times.
In the past, I had been accustomed to walking closely with each member of the team, knowing their hopes, dreams, fears, favorite TV shows, and Starbucks’ order. This season has required me to take on a new, unfamiliar level of leadership.
Here’s what I’m learning through leading a much larger team:
1. Set the GPS and let the team create
Know what you care about and why it is essential. Let the team catch a glimpse of the future you are dreaming up and give them the keys to shape it into reality.
2. Put managers and leads in place that you trust
It doesn’t mean they know everything, but we must trust that their intentions are good. It might seem obvious, but when you are in a stretch season, it is easy to say, “I’m too swamped to find another person to fill this space, let alone train them.”
3. Lean on your leaders
Let them help you, and most importantly, encourage them to challenge and encourage their team members. The time spent investing in team leaders and managers is priceless.
4. Manage insecurities
I’m learning to face head-on that I don’t know as many of the day-to-day details as I once did. It’s HARD!!! Knowledge is power! But as powerful as knowledge is, learning to leverage the knowledge of others is one of the critical fundamentals of leadership.
5. Check in often.
Context is crucial. While we may not be involved in EVERY situation, keeping a finger on the pulse is incredibly important to support and grow.
As you think about your leadership and team over the most recent season, which one of the five above stands out as most important to hone in on? Whether it’s setting the vision, establishing more leaders, trusting them with more, managing insecurities, or checking in more often, there’s no better day to start than TODAY.
Cheers to intentionally growing while your team grows intentionally!!
