Be a Great Leader, Not Just a Strong Manager

At a recent leadership development forum, I had an interesting discussion with the audience about the concept of leaders versus managers, and that we shouldn’t confuse the two. In fact – and my HR team loves me for this! – I’m trying to outlaw the term “manager” in our business.

To me, managers focus on ensuring “the train runs on time” – a somewhat administrative role that is both necessary and expected. Leadership is quite different. Leaders bring people together under a common mission…they evoke passion, commitment and teamwork…they serve as role models…they coach, mentor and motivate…they drive candor and accountability…and most importantly they continuously raise the bar and inspire their people to always reach for greater heights.

To build and grow a thriving organization with strong employee engagement, the organization needs leaders at all levels. When someone gets promoted to “manager,” they don’t instantly become a leader. A key distinction in my mind is that managers get promoted from the top down, while leaders are essentially chosen by the people based on who they are, how they conduct themselves, their passion for the mission, and their ability to rally and inspire people.

Leadership is both a responsibility and a privilege. It’s a responsibility to all the people on your team to give them your very best and help them grow and develop. It’s a responsibility to your organization to lead the right way and deliver excellence (if not excellence, why bother?). And it’s a responsibility to yourself to reach your full potential so that you can help others do the same.

But I must say, leadership is also a GREAT privilege. It’s not easy – not everyone is cut out for it and it often can be stressful and difficult – but I can tell you some of the most rewarding moments of my career have come when I’ve had the opportunity to lead teams through tough challenges and help solve difficult issues of great importance. To see a group of talented individuals pull together as a unified team, work incredibly hard, rally around shared goals (not individual ones), dig deep for ideas and solutions, leverage each other’s strengths, and turn a challenge into a powerful opportunity – that is incredibly rewarding.

I’m certainly still a work in progress on the leadership front. I’ve learned both from success and failure, and I enjoy passing those learnings down to other aspiring leaders. At the leadership development forum I mentioned earlier, I shared a few other observations about successful leadership at any level:

• Respect and Listen to All Employees: This may feel obvious, but anyone who has worked in an environment where the manager doesn’t respect his or her employees knows how quickly that environment can turn toxic. Leaders should care about their employees, listen and learn from them, operate in a spin-free zone, and let those employees know how important they are to the team’s mission.
• Be a Leader and a Team Player: I love Michael Jordan’s famous quote – “talent wins games, but intelligence and teamwork wins championships.” This applies to all walks of life. A cohesive team of people working together against a shared set of goals will achieve so much more than a group of individuals. As a leader, you need to get the right people on the team, have a common plan or purpose, and execute the heck out of it. The leader and team player roles are not mutually exclusive – in the long run, a leader will fail if he or she is unable to effectively execute as part of a larger team.
• Motivate, Develop and Mentor Your People: Another core requirement for all leaders – basically the reason why you take on the responsibility of leading people – is to help them grow and succeed. Your people are your most important asset. You need to hire the right people, challenge and develop them, engage and motivate them, and reward them. Most people want to be part of something bigger than themselves, and they want to make a real difference. Help the people on your team understand the larger purpose and how they contribute. And give them ongoing coaching (not just training!) to help them grow and prosper.
• Don’t Be Afaid to Take Risks: No one has ever achieved uncommon results by staying in their comfort zone their entire career. To maximize one’s potential, every professional needs to seek out and embrace opportunities that broaden their horizons and expand their knowledge and experiences. Take risks while applying excellence and discipline to your endeavors.
• Maintain a Strict Commitment to Excellence: My favorite one! The reality of life is that many things are beyond our control. However, there is one thing in the workplace that we can all control – our reputation for delivering excellence. If your name is associated with a project or deliverable, put forth every effort possible to ensure the end result is something you’re proud of. Always seek to reach your full potential. As a leader, this commitment should extend to your team. Despite the fact that I have never played football, I have learned so much from Coach Vince Lombardi. He has many famous quotes, and one of my favorites is: “The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence.”

Anyone who wants to be a leader ultimately needs to ask themselves this simple question – are people truly committed to following me because of how I conduct myself and not because of my title?

Take a moment to share your own personal leadership principles or thoughts on the difference between a “leader” and a “manager.”

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Views expressed are as of July 28, 2014. Unless otherwise noted, the opinions provided are those of the author and not necessarily those of Fidelity Investments.

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