My dad led an organization of over 300,000 employees.

When I took on my biggest marketing & events team to date (35 employees) I asked him how the *heck* he did it. Here's what he said and what helped me every day. 🧵

Remember you're leading all the employees under you, but you're not *managing* them all. You're managing your direct reports, which should be 5-7 individuals max. Focus on them.

When you interact with the employees you don't manage directly, get to know them as people first, that'll be the most valuable information in leading them. Remembering everything you learn about them is hard, but doing so will make you a superhero.

If you're not going to empower the managers under you, why do you have them? If you see room for improvement, let the manager know and let them make the change on their teams and come to you with questions/concerns. This will save you SO much time.

If you're the smartest person in any room - you're doing it wrong. As a leader, your job is bringing together the best people to get the job done - your skillset is identifying those people, not being one of them.

There are so many things about moving into a management or leadership role that, on paper, are simple when, in reality, are really freaking hard.

Here’s a short list of simple things that are really hard to do well.

1. Define and measure what good performance looks like.

There are best practices and there are times to throw out the rules. Establishing those fences takes time and a lot of energy.

2. Teach others what you know.

Teaching is very different than showing. “Do this” is not an effective mode of teaching. Teaching includes providing space to practice new skills without recourse.

3. Knowing when to provide space and when to step in when an individual or team is struggling.

The learning process and sponsoring others requires both. It can be such a grey area and is very much dependent on the individual you’re working with.

4. Sharing enough of the bigger picture while ensuring you don’t share too much.

Providing context is great. Using your team as your therapy session is not so great.