Are you on the corporate ladder leading others?
Are you on the corporate ladder leading others?
IAs you climb the corporate ladder, there comes a time when the next rung involves managing and leading people. You might start to manage 1 person or you might be getting promoted and managing 1000 people, but regardless of the number, managing and leading others is a privilege.
What does management and leadership mean? Vineet Nayar’s article in the Harvard Business Review states:
Management consists of controlling a group or a set of entities to accomplish a goal. Leadership refers to an individual’s ability to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward organizational success. Influence and inspiration separate leaders from managers, not power and control.
Based on the above, do you want to be a manager or a leader?
Being a leader has its challenges because you have to hold yourself to a high standard of behaviour and deal with challenging situations and show respect to people (even if it is not being afforded to you).
No one is perfect, we are going to make mistakes as leaders. Theory is all good and well, but nothing beats the experience in leading people - remember, every single person is different!
Here are my three tidbits when it comes to being a better leader.
1. Leadership Aptitude and Skill Development
Becoming a manager and leader requires a unique combination of leadership aptitude and want for developing and guiding others. Even if not everyone initially exhibits the attributes of a manager and leader (it takes time!), skill development can play a role in improving your leadership. Look for opportunities to go on a leadership course to develop your skills or seek a coach to help you with your leadership.
2. Create a sense of belonging
As a manager and leader you need to care for your people and make them feel seen. Creating a sense of belonging, is the first rung to climb once you are a manager and leader. One thing I like to do, is phone up a new team member when they first join regardless of how junior someone is. It is a simple gesture to show them they are seen and also a way to start to build a feedback loop into your team.
3. Develop your people so they can grow
As leaders, facilitating the growth of your team members is paramount. One powerful approach is to share leadership responsibility within your team; true leadership thrives on collaboration with others, especially when solving wicked problems. Moreover, providing feedback to your team members both specific praise and criticism is essential. However, it's also a two way street, your team should feel empowered to give feedback to you. If you are looking a framework to provide feedback, check out Kim Scott’s book, Radical Candor or website https://www.radicalcandor.com/
Thought Provoking Quotes on this week’s topic
Clay Christensen
If done well, management is the noblest of professions.
Tom Peters
Great leaders don't create followers, they create more leaders.