Oz Rashid

You have to remember every leader has failed at some point in their career, and that's ok. Failure is just success in progress, and a chance to improve so you can come back even stronger than before.

Leadership isn't always easy, and if you're not comfortable with handling conflict, you're going to struggle to be a good manager. Reinforce the vision and culture narrative in every company-wide meeting, in every one-on-one, and be willing to hold people accountable if they go off track. Remind your team you're working together for that shared vision, and you've got to support each other to get there.

An interview is just as much of an interview for the employer as it is for the candidate, so always be prepared with examples of how you lead your team and showcase how you work, what's meaningful to you, and what plans you have for the future. Providing examples will build that trust with your potential new hire.

To build a strong company culture, you need your team to be able to trust you. Because when there's an environment of trust, your team feels comfortable to share their ideas as they know they're not going to be shut down. They know they're going to be listened to and supported. And those who feel trusted in the workplace actually enjoy going to work, and as a result, they produce their best work.

Lead with empathy when giving feedback because you don't have to be ruthless to be a good leader. Having empathy allows you to put yourself in the other person's shoes to understand how they'll feel. Make sure the feedback is constructive and let them know they are supported in those next steps because there's nothing worse than giving feedback without any guidance and then leaving them in the dark about it.

My advice is to speak to your team to understand how they're feeling and ensure they feel supported, as change can be a lot for some people. It's about creating that environment of trust so they know they can come to you about anything they're worried about, and you will be there to help them through.