How do you become a good leader as opposed to simply being a manager or supervisor?
Education is a good place to begin. The desire to be a good leader is also very important. Perhaps the greatest attribute a person should have to be a leader is the willingness to put their people and team’s goals ahead of their own. Additionally, the self-awareness that they will make mistakes and the knowledge they can learn from those mistakes will set people destined to be leaders apart from those who will always just be managers. You can learn from anyone; these are a few of the mistakes and lessons I have learned.
The wall of shame … As a manager, I believed in openness and transparency and applied that belief to posting our individual performances. Very publicly, I listed the performances of our top people, middle people, and bottom people. Instead of motivating, I created resentment and feelings of shame for those people I wanted to motivate. A leader would have posted the top people and created an action plan to encourage and help those people to achieve similar results.
Reacting before thinking … Leaders and Managers are human; they have emotions, fears, egos, and they make mistakes. Managers will often react quickly and decisively without following this mantra – What are the facts – What are the alternatives – and What is the best decision I can make in the time that I have? Leaders apply that mantra to every situation; they can be decisive and can react quickly, but there is always a thought of consequences behind every action.
Not trusting … In one of my first jobs as a Manager, I perpetuated many of the common pre-existing processes organizations use – the “Read and initial” collection of systems and processes. A seemingly useful what for a manager to know everyone has read and understand changes to systems and processes. The danger comes when a manager assumes their people have read, initialed, and UNDERSTOOD what they have read. A leader would, instead, discuss the changes in a meeting and invite feedback and questions, only posting the document for everyone to use as a reference.
Being the smartest person … Many managers and many owners I have met have a strong need to be the smartest person in the room. The result is that the organization will only progress to the limits of that person’s skills. A leader purposely looks for and listens to people who are better and smarter than they are. A leader will work hard to develop people and encourage collaboration and feedback – they do not want to be the most valuable person in their organization; they want to develop their people to fulfill that role as circumstances dictate and the organization grows.
Building people … How many times have you shared a story only to have someone else follow your story with one that is better? Managers will often be guilty of this, often without realizing they have done it. Leaders listen to the stories their people tell, ask questions, and resist the urge to tell their stories unless asked; they never steal the spotlight from their people.
You get more of what you look for … Many managers subscribe to the adage of “Manage by walking around,” and use this technique to identify problems and situations to fix. Leaders also spend time walking around, looking, and asking questions; however, their goal is to catch their people doing things right. They will make a point of congratulating publicly, and should they see something needing correcting, they will do so privately.
Using “fear” as a tool … I have seen many organizations where the manager or owner rules with an “iron fist,” and they honestly believe this gets the results they want. Leaders try to avoid fear as a tool because they know success comes from building people, building skills, building collaboration, and collectively achieving their goals.
Dominating Meetings … Managers often believe they should be the focal point of meetings, sharing information, and controlling the narrative. Leaders can still influence and direct the narrative; however, often they speak the least in meetings, encouraging and relying on their people to contribute ideas and suggestions to help the team achieve its goals.
Not listening … So convinced they must direct everything, many managers are guilty of cutting people off, ignoring their suggestions and feedback, and often only hearing what supports their view. Leaders allow their people to finish speaking, actively want, and encourage good feedback and bad, and are prepared to let their people tell them they are wrong in their approach.
Having an open-door policy that isn’t … Many managers will tell their people, “Their door is always open,” but it isn’t. Leaders make themselves available to answer their people’s questions anytime, even if they are busy.
Going first at company events … Many managers enjoy the perks of their position and authority, and often this manifests itself at company functions. These people will sit together and expect to be served first. Leaders mix and sit with their people, often the newest and least experienced, to help make them feel they are an important part of the team. Additionally, leaders often are the last served … on purpose, after everyone else has been taken care of.
Building People – Micromanaging …As a manager, I was guilty of this. I justified my actions by telling myself I didn’t want the team to fail. The reality was I didn’t trust my people to do their jobs. As a leader, I reduced my constant checks, I didn’t have to control every task, and I allowed people to fail, to learn, and to support them to learn from their mistakes.
Dumb priorities … Managers can focus on unimportant things sometimes to the detriment of their people and teams, often prioritizing administrative goals over operational targets. Leaders never lose sight of the ultimate goals of their team and are more fluid in how their team accomplishes their targets.
Last-Minute Requests … Some managers focus too much on the task ahead of them and forget the importance of their people. They can be guilty of dropping tasks or requests on people at the last second without context or time to do it well. Asking people to stay late at the last minute is another example of failing to consider their people. Leaders do the opposite; their people are always first and foremost, and if something has to be done at the last minute, they will understand if their people cannot stay late. Ironically, by treating their people well, all the time, often when a last-minute request happens, a leader’s people will step up and help.
Avoiding Difficult things … Managers sometimes avoid difficult conversations or letting performance suffer, and/or fail to act when necessary to deal with poor performance, poor behavior, or interpersonal issues to “keep the peace.” Leaders understand that letting toxic behavior fester because you don’t want to deal with confrontation is harmful. Leaders don’t enjoy this part of their job, but they understand they get paid to lead.
Taking all the credit … How many times have you seen an owner or manager accept all the credit for an organization’s success without mentioning the contributions of their team? Leaders credit their people first and share the team’s accomplishments. Conversely, when things go poorly, a leader will often shelter their team and accept responsibility solely on themselves.
Double standards … Too few managers set the example they want for their people. Being late, taking long lunches, and not following the systems and processes they expect their people to follow are just a few of the double standards that can cripple an organization’s morale and performance. Leaders work with their people to set those standards and then consistently meet and exceed them.
Meeting behavior … I have seen managers and owners think so little of their people that they often bring other work to do while meetings are underway. Not only do they engage in this undermining behavior, but they will often interrupt, cutting people off in mid-sentence and essentially “taking over” the meeting. Leaders not only do not do these things, but they also keep their meetings on time, respecting the time and responsibilities their people have and need to accomplish. Leader’s meetings are always productive and always “move the needle” for their people.
Black and White … Too often, managers only focus on the outcome or only focus on the final result. Leaders know the score isn’t always what matters; leaders take a “long view” and concentrate on effort, growth, process, and build the fundamentals for success.
Conventional Wisdom … Many managers will stifle new ideas in favour of things that are proven from past experience. Leaders challenge everything and are constantly looking for new and better ways to accomplish their goals.
Building Culture … Leaders constantly push the envelope for their organizational culture, their onboarding procedures live and evolve, and they go out of their way to destroy silos. If this does not sound like you, you might be a manager. Leaders constantly work towards setting up their new and existing people with the tools, knowledge, or context they need to succeed.
Inconsistency and emotions … As a manager, it can be easy to forget to manage emotions and to be inconsistent. A leader recognizes the importance of composure under pressure and how their people will mirror their behaviors under pressure. Additionally, leaders understand their people value consistency.
Shit sandwiches or “You’re doing a good job, but …” As a manager, I was guilty of telling people they were doing a good job, and it would be even better if they did something different. This packaging of good and bad becomes predictable and demotivating. As a leader, I offer genuine praise period; any corrective feedback is a separate conversation.
Having your team’s back … As a manager, one of the ways to lose the respect of your team is to fail to advocate or stand up for them. Your people will make mistakes, and it is only a matter of time before they will need your support. Leaders recognize this and will go out of their way to defend or obtain what they need for success.
Transparency … There are times when I was not transparent as a manager, and I regret the times when I was guilty of this. As a leader now, I appreciate the importance of keeping people informed, as much as possible, and being open about decisions, changes, or strategy.
Promotions and transfers are a measure of success … I have known many managers who failed to develop their people out of fear they would be promoted and transferred. These managers didn’t want to lose their top performers but failed to appreciate the needs and hopes of their people. Leaders take the opposite approach; they know career development builds success, and having people promoted to other teams is a mark of success.
Respect is earned … Too many owners and managers believe respect comes with the title. Leaders know respect and trust are fragile and perishable; both must be earned each moment, every day, and every day. Trust, loyalty, and admiration are the byproducts of good leadership.
Perhaps after reading this, you may feel I have unfairly been harsh towards managers. Being a manager can be the first step towards becoming a good leader. Most poor managers are not malicious; they don’t mean to create toxic or ineffective environments. Poor managers can enter a downward spiral because of being overwhelmed, prolonged stress, fear of failure, being promoted without leadership experience, and a lack of training and education. Through self-awareness, constant and continuous education and reinvention, collaboration, trust, and their willingness to make and accept their mistakes, becoming a good leader is within everyone’s grasp.
Good luck,