The Management Tip of the Day from Harvard Business Review

October 7, 2015 3 Mistakes to Avoid When Taking Over a Team Taking over as the leader of a team is daunting. Your team members are used to how their previous leader liked to do things, and adjusting their habits can be a challenge. But it’s important to avoid three common mistakes that new leaders make when trying to ease the transition: Being a friend rather than a leader. Investing too much energy in befriending the team can confuse the power relationship. Most teams want clear, confident leadership. Expressing frustration with the quality of the team. What team members are good at is a reflection of what the previous leader expected of them. If your expectations are different, you need to help the team make that shift. Attempting to force trust too quickly. Until team members have had time to see how you handle uncomfortable topics too much candor will do more harm than good. Let trust build over time. Adapted from “Pitfalls to Avoid When You Inherit a Team,” by Liane Davey.

BEST SELLERS HBR's 10 Must Reads: The Essentials | HBR's 10 Must Reads Ebook Boxed Set | HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations Ebook + Video Case Study | HBR Guide to Better Business Writing | HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done

FEATURED PRODUCT Getting Beyond Better: How Social Entrepreneurship Works HBR Press Book Who drives transformation in society? How do they do it? In this compelling book, strategy guru Roger L. Martin and Skoll Foundation President and CEO Sally R. Osberg describe how social entrepreneurs target systems that exist in a stable but unjust equilibrium and transform them into entirely new, superior, and sustainable equilibria. These leaders—disrupters, visionaries, or changemakers—develop, build, and scale their solutions in ways that bring about the truly revolutionary change. Getting Beyond Better presents a bold new framework for understanding how successful social entrepreneurs go about producing transformative change. Martin and Osberg offer rich examples and share lessons and tools invaluable to anyone who aspires to drive positive change, whatever the context. Buy Now

FEATURED PRODUCT Financial Intelligence Collection Special Offer Many managers can’t read a balance sheet, wouldn’t recognize a liquidity ratio, and don’t know how to calculate return on investment. This specially priced collection gives managers mastery of the financial basics they need to plan, budget, forecast, and control resources with confidence. Buy Now

ADVERTISEMENT

HBR.ORG | THE MAGAZINE | TOPICS | BOOKS | CASES | STORE | SUBSCRIBE TO HBR UNSUBSCRIBE | NEWSLETTERS PRIVACY POLICY | CONTACT Copyright © 2015 Harvard Business School Publishing, an affiliate of Harvard Business School. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing 60 Harvard Way Boston, MA 02163 CUSTOMER SERVICE: 800-988-0886 (US/Canada) 1-617-783-7500 (outside the U.S. and Canada)