A Good Leader: Setting the Stage for the Next Generation

With my new role in management, I want to ensure that I am properly leading my team to success. I have held a management position in the past within retail but a management position in public health is not the same.

I learned very quickly that you need to approach conversations and everyone differently. I decided to start reading more on skills that an effective leader should possess to motivate their team and have success in the workplace. I would like to share with you 3 skills I feel that I possess within my role.

Number 1: Lead with empathy

I focus much of my energy in being an empathetic leader with both clients and my team. Being someone who has been living with HIV for almost 9 years, I am able to not only relate with some of my clients but also provide support and structure on how to move forward with their diagnosis.

I also understand that there may be times when my team must come in late or leave early to go to a doctor's visit. I remember in the past feeling pressured to have to ask my manager to come in late due to getting my labs done or getting a check-up every 3 to 6 months.

As a leader, I do not want my team to feel uncomfortable coming to me letting me know that they are taking care of their health.

Number 2: The open door policy

I would also like to think that I have an open line of communication with my team.

In my past experiences, I have felt very alone when it comes to understanding my role within my job and there was not much training or structure. Once I moved into management, I did not want current team or any future team member to feel that way.

Each Monday I schedule an hour-long team meeting where the team and I check in with how they are feeling, how their weekend went, and what to look forward to in the current week. I also set 1-on-1 check ins with my team each month to discuss development opportunities and to gauge how they are feeling and what I can do to better support them.

Number 3: Recognizing potential

The last skill I focus on is recognizing potential in my team. What I mean by this is that each team member is in their role for a reason, and how can we use that to further grow our site. I take the time to get to know each team member and learn their strengths and areas that they can improve on. Whenever I notice someone on the team constantly going above and beyond, I make sure that it does not go unnoticed.

Just last week, someone that I supervise moved into management. I want to continue working with my team and understand what they are passionate about. One example is someone on my team is a gamer and I challenged him to create a game night at our organization.

Now each week LGBTQ youth come to our site to play video games and board games and are able to be referred to HIV testing, PrEP navigation, and mental health services.

Assisting in everyone's success

With my new role I want to further develop not only my own leadership skills, but the skillset of my team who will be the future leaders of our organization.