Suddenly a boss - How do I properly manage my employees?
Growth is a great thing. But when business is doing well, a lot can change too. In the past, everything was a “one-man/woman show.” But what happens when the team grows? How do I become the boss I want to be? How do I lead my employees properly, and which leadership style suits my business best—and, above all, me? In conversation with our podcast team, leadership and business coach Anke-Nina Ullrich shares valuable tips for this new role.
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Isabell: Hello, dear listeners, and a warm welcome to our new podcast episode for our sellers and, of course, for everyone who wants to become one. I’m delighted you’re joining us again. And I’m just as happy that my esteemed podcast colleagues David and Tino are with me again today.
David: Yes, hello Isabell, and hello dear listeners, in today’s episode we’d like to dive with you into a very exciting topic for all those who have recently experienced growth and changes in their business. Or maybe are just about to. Because where maybe your best friend used to help pack parcels when you first started on eBay, you may now have permanent employees sitting there.
Tino: And that naturally raises new questions for our sellers: How do I actually lead employees properly? What does “properly” even mean? And shouldn’t the leadership style above all fit me as a person? That’s exactly what we’re talking about today with Anke-Nina Ullrich, coach for the professional and personal development of executives and managing directors. Hello!
Anke: Hello everyone, and hello dear listeners, I’m happy to be here today and thank you very much for the invitation.
Isabell: Hi Anke, from my side too. We’re also very happy that you’re with us today and that we get to meet you. As already mentioned, together we’ll be talking about the big topic of employee leadership. Before we get into that, would you like to tell us a bit about yourself and your career path? And was there perhaps a key moment that led you to decide to become a coach?
Anke: So there wasn’t a single key moment that made me want to become a coach. I didn’t wake up one morning and suddenly say, okay, I’m going to coach executives soon, but rather it was a gradual process. I actually also have a very technical background that I first trained in, and then at some point I stumbled across further training as a business coach. And while I was doing that, I simply realized that it really suited me and how much joy it gives me to help people move forward in their professional careers.
Isabell: If we look at sellers and merchants on our marketplace, we naturally have a wide range of different company sizes. We have very small companies, but also very large ones. How does employee leadership differ there?
Anke: The number of employees you lead doesn’t automatically become larger just because you’re in a big company. So if you are the CEO of a company with, for example, 57 employees, you don’t lead 57 employees, but only a portion of them. And then you also have other executives. And in a big company, the more departments you have, the more parallel dynamics there are. It’s different, for example, in a startup with ten people, where you simply know more about one another.
Isabell: But of course it can also happen that the path from startup to a 750-person company goes incredibly fast. And that the business models then grow rapidly and change quickly. What challenges does that pose for entrepreneurs?
Anke: One challenge would be, for example, the coordination of the company. Suddenly you have a greater variety of products, perhaps a warehouse, a larger one, logistics—everything becomes a bit bigger in scale. Also, if more work comes in and more orders come in, you constantly need new employees. That means you have to conduct job interviews, train people, and of course show good judgment. Because in a job interview everyone tries to present their best side, and then you have to figure out: Is this person a good fit in everyday life, both for my company philosophy and for my team? Another point is of course personal development, especially when you suddenly become a leader or even a managing director. How do you deal with the new role? How do you want to lead? How much freedom do you want to give your employees, how much should they be involved in processes? And another point is setbacks. That’s a topic that’s talked about far too rarely. Even as a growing company, not everything always goes smoothly and there are setbacks. But that’s okay too. We see many success stories around us, but I promise you that even there are moments of failure and doubt. And dealing with that is also a challenge you will definitely face.
David: How is it then when I’m basically thinking about really founding a company? Or I notice my activities, for example on eBay in sales, are increasing and I’m about to start a company. Do I need to be clear in advance that, okay, this is the kind of boss I want to be for my employees? Or can I just start and then see how it goes? From my experience, for example, I was in a company, I was the fifth employee, including the managing director, and a year later we were 35, and basically all the processes were missing or things weren’t running optimally. So how is it? Do I need to know everything beforehand? Do I need to have a big plan, or can you develop that along the way too?
Anke: Knowing in advance how to lead is actually impossible. Leadership is a process that develops through experience. However, if you have no leadership experience at all so far, it’s already a good first step to engage with it. One example would be to look at how you were led by your previous bosses in the past. What did you like about it, and what rubbed you the wrong way? Because that’s also very important. Maybe you still don’t know exactly what you want and how exactly you want to lead. But maybe you do know “definitely not like that, under any circumstances.” And then you can gradually work your way toward it. Models that help with understanding and categorizing also help. For example, there is the model of leadership styles by Kurt Lewin, who first classically distinguished between three leadership styles: the dominant one. So I act more as a decision-maker, control my employees, and do not involve them in the process. Then the cooperative one. People talk more with one another, agree on goals together, employees monitor themselves and are also involved in the processes. And the laissez-faire style. That means employees act completely autonomously and the leader does not intervene in the processes, but also gives neither praise nor criticism.
David: And how do I deal with it when I realize that my employees’ needs are different from the ones that come with my leadership style? For example, if I say I definitely don’t want to be the dominant one, but rather cooperative or laissez-faire, but somehow that doesn’t really work with some employees.
Anke: That’s because everyone has all leadership styles, just to different degrees. So there is simply no right or wrong. This model has since been expanded to include the situational leadership style, because it was also recognized that there is no black and white. In different situations, you respond differently to various situations and different employees with a different style each time. Then it’s quite simple: some employees simply need more instructions from you and also need more contact and exchange with you. And some prefer to be on their own during working hours and simply deliver the results to you. And depending on how your employees approach you, your leadership style can simply change too.
Tino: Anke, at first that sounds to me like you’re standing in front of a huge mountain. Are there any golden rules or do’s and don’ts that one can use as a guide for successful employee leadership? And if so, what are they?
Anke: Leadership is incredibly multifaceted and is also something that can’t be generalized. So think back to the moment when you sat alone in the car for the first time after passing your driving test and the driving instructor couldn’t step in next to you anymore if something happened. That feels unfamiliar at first, and when you get in the car today, you don’t think about it at all anymore, not even in that moment. What helps is acquiring a certain basic knowledge. So there are no golden rules, but there is the tip to look at models. A lot is coming at you right now. Your business is building up, you have new employees to lead, and that can lead to being overwhelmed. And what happens when we feel overwhelmed? We experience too many things that we can’t organize. And with models, it’s about understanding one’s environment and one’s behavior and then acting in a situation-appropriate and success-oriented way. In my coaching, for example, I always only have the coachee, the person being coached, sitting there. And while we work together, nothing actively changes in the existing situation outside this room. But what does change is the coachee’s perspective on their situation, and they gain structure and security, and as a result they change their behavior.
Isabell: Anke, you just said that self-reflection and engaging with it is super helpful in order to classify yourself, so to speak, and is the first step in working on situations. Is there one or another model, or a category of models, that you could pass on to our sellers?
Anke: There are different types of models you can look at. On the one hand, it’s about the personality you can develop. Looking at classic leadership models, but also the Riemann-Thomann model, for example, where you can classify yourself again. And how do I act or how do I react to my world? There are also team models, and the more employees you have, the more dynamics there are. So look at roles within teams, look at team dynamics, and also at the phases teams might be in. Another good aspect is, hopefully not something that happens to you, but something that can happen, dealing with conflicts. What do I do in conflict-heavy situations, because conflicts can very quickly develop their own momentum?
Tino: Let’s make a small leap now to our eBay sellers. Namely, when I think about it, especially in the early days of a company, it may at first be run by family and friends who help out. Then at some point the company grows and maybe new employees join whom you may not have that personal bond with. How do I then lead my employees professionally, especially in relation to family members and friends and then basically family outsiders or outsiders?
Isabell: Perhaps first take a look at the whole thing from a bird’s-eye view. So who are the protagonists? And look at the dynamics between them? Because if you imagine you are a company and mainly have family members, and then an external person joins, in general that external person knows that too. And what expectations do they have when they join your company? And what expectations do family members have of this new person joining? Communicate a lot and create transparency among yourselves. What also helps is involving your family members, friends, and employees in processes. For example, if your mother used to help you pack parcels in the past, just ask her whether she could help choose a successor and even train them, because then she can gradually step back at a pace she feels comfortable with. Look at the processes themselves, and even if you’re probably thinking right now, “Where am I supposed to find the time for that, when I already have so much going on with my business?” It will pay off not only to take stock, but then of course as a next step to look at how what already exists can also be optimized.
Isabell: Anke, how much time do I need to plan in to do justice to good leadership?
Anke: Unfortunately, there is no rule of thumb. If you spend 15 minutes a week dealing with leadership, you become the perfect leader. Sadly, that doesn’t exist. So let’s look at it the other way around. When outside pressure grows, meaning the situation isn’t going optimally, employees become dissatisfied, or sales don’t meet the target, then suddenly you make time. When outside pressure is there. By then at the latest, you’ll deal with it. Maybe you’ll manage to do it earlier too. The bad news first: you are never finished. So maybe at first it still feels unfamiliar to lead in this new role. But that will come. What’s important is to regularly question yourself and your actions, then exchange ideas with other people about it, perhaps even with professional support, and to admit mistakes to yourself. After all, you’re still right at the beginning of your leadership journey.
Isabell: I found Tino’s example very relatable just now, because it’s often the case that companies basically grow in a small circle and then external people join. Ideally, how do I build a team that feels comfortable under my leadership and in my company?
Anke: I’d simply turn the question around: why do you want to build a team that feels comfortable? On the one hand, to create motivated employees, to increase sales and productivity. And of course, on the other hand, to develop a good working atmosphere. I’m a big fan of actively involving employees in processes, because your employees thereby get a sense of appreciation and self-determination. Which, by the way, is great for motivation. And during the development process, the sense of team also grows, because you work something out together and then implement it together. As an employee, I’m also more likely to stand behind processes that I have actively helped shape and remain motivated to carry them out over a longer period of time than if someone tells me exactly what I should and shouldn’t do.
David: Then let’s wrap up. And here you have the option: what would you like to give our listeners, our sellers, for their role as leaders?
Anke: There is no perfect leader. And even if you are just taking the first steps on this exciting path and then realize that not everything is running optimally, it is already a big first step to recognize that something isn’t running optimally and then resolve to do it better or differently next time. And then you are already a good deal further than before. Think of New Year’s resolutions—you make a promise to yourself too. And many of us drop them well before the end of January. And why is that? Because the change happens much too quickly and becomes too big. So better to take small steps. And that is the most important thing: be gentle with yourself if things don’t go perfectly. Be patient with yourself. Change takes time.
Tino: Yes, thank you so much, Anke, for telling us a bit about employee leadership in general, how do I become a good leader then? I think a lot of this has to do with communication too. Otherwise, you’re also available as a coach, and I’m sure people can always come back to you for that. We do have one question for you at the very end, though. Namely: What was the last thing you bought on eBay?
Anke: What did I last buy on eBay? Oh, that’s very boring. It was chrome-plated furniture handles for an office cabinet, because I didn’t like the ones that came with it.
David: I find it fascinating that this is also about customization again, so making it fit for yourself and then finding it on eBay. At this point, many thanks, Anke, for your time, for your super interesting insights and tips on how you can grow into a leadership role and what you can orient yourself by. And now, the usual closing words from me. We’re always very happy to receive your feedback on our podcast. Feel free to write to us in the community about your experiences, perhaps also your own experiences in growth, in leadership, or your questions about it. We’ll be happy to try to answer them. And of course we’re also very happy if you leave us a subscription or a like if you can, just as you’re listening right now. Thank you again, Anke, for being here today, for sharing your knowledge with us, and Isabel, Tino, for your support in the podcast, and goodbye until next time.
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1 comment
offroadmarkt_de
·3 years ago...this "asterisk" and "colon" language... I'm not really sure..