How did you transition from being an individual contributor to being a leader?

<p>When an organization sees what have been able to do as an individual contributor, they might decide to move you up into a leadership role.</p> <p> </p> <p>That can be exciting but it can also come with great challenges — you’re now faced with a completely different perspective, from the day-to-day details of an individual contributor to the bird’s eye view of leadership.</p> <p> </p> <p>You find yourself managing people who used to be your co-workers. You have to guide a team rather than just do your day-to-day work.</p> <p> </p> <p>Does one set of skills translate into another? Does a great individual contributor necessarily make a good leader? And how can an individual contributor prepare themselves for leadership?</p> <p> </p> <p>My guests on this edition of Quick Hits have all experienced great success as both individual contributors and leaders. It was my pleasure to get to pick their brains.</p> <p> </p> <p>Jim Tam, the principal client director for Korn Ferry’s digital group, said that “You don’t have to have the title to be a leader…It comes naturally to some people and some people need to go to class and coaching and read tons of books in order to be a leader.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Stewart Wiggins, fractional COO at Induna Advisors, offered advice on the best action a leader can take in the first days of their new role: “Don’t say or do anything for 60 days. Just observe. It’s okay to be a leader and watch. It’s okay to be a leader and ask questions.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Gary Fredericks, CEO of On Point Partners, built on that advice: “It’s not that you don’t do anything. It’s that you don’t make any changes or decisions until you’ve had a chance to hear what everybody working there has to say.”</p> <p> </p> <p>I hope this conversation will be helpful to those of you just starting out as leaders.</p> <p> </p> <p>Do you have a question about transitioning to being a leader or a suggestion about how you did it? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.</p> <p> </p> <p>Connect with the panelists: Jim Tam: https: