I looked for a leader not a manager for my next boss, here’s how I did it.

“The manager does things right; the leader does the right things” - Warren Bennis

Before I talk about managers and leaders for this write-up. I want to walk you through my comparison of believers' and followers. ?

Believers’ vs Followers

Believers, they are the ones that follow through a belief system that is higher than being a follower. They balance the equation by bringing their morals in the equation, they believe in themselves, and rallies it to good causes; being an active participant with creativity, accountability, and proactivity in their tasks.

Followers, they follow through a set of principles and coded rules, they stick by the rule book and enjoys the stability of management and environment, they are in unison of thought, and productivity and understands the limitations and scope of their roles. There is nothing wrong with being a follower. It is simply the follower mentality in Believer environments or vice versa that leads to a culture misfit in organisations. To simply put it, an Artist will never paint in a room full of Lawyers.

A dissection of the Follower and Believer Mentality

Being a follower relies heavily in top-down decision making - you are only working orders and delivering commands from the ones above you. Being in a chain of command institutionalises order however it also breeds a follower environment where there is very little autonomy to owning your work. In example, when I first started working in the mining sector – my frustrations mainly were not being able to own up for my work. I was very much enclosed in a bubble where I was cocooned by management. Any improvements or progress have to follow a chain of command and all I can do was follow. I had no direct participation with how changes were rolled over and felt a victim of change.

I am not saying that one is better than the other, the mere difference is not an opposite relative to the other, it is not relative that leadership direction versus management styled organisations are better if not worse than the other. I have seen many people prosper in a bottom down directive when I was working in the mining sector, and it was mainly to place the correct controls in place for safety in a production orientated environment.

One time I was told by a colleague to nod “Yes Boss” and so I did, saying it meant that I was halfway close to following orders and saving a good working relationship rather than disagreeing with an entire institution of command.

The essence of my existence is in the creativity of my mind, I knew I enjoyed recruitment when I started seeing the value of adding my personal style in developing relationships with my candidates, clients, and my team. Outside the interpersonal value of my job, I also enjoy seeing people prosper in their jobs and reap the rewards they deserved. I like overcoming obstacles and creating new avenues to nourish the limited resources I have – human talent. ?

Now time for my retrospection this week.

“They bank on your strengths, expounds on what makes your character and will. They talk about your weaknesses as opportunities to improve and return more than one advice about learning approaches.”

In my last write-up, I have walked you through two of the negative experiences I’ve had in a job interview. This time, I would like to walk you in a positive experience and remind you that a job interview shouldn’t be scary.

When I started looking for another opportunity in recruitment, I knew that my experience was only enough to navigate systems, conduct interviews, source candidates through multiple channels and mobilise them for the client. What happens beyond that, I would not have a clue. I sat down in all my interviews with this thought in mind “I have a very limited skill set, I can navigate systems, but I am no expert to the process, I follow protocols, but I do not participate in writing or improving them, I am willed and determined to this industry and I believe I need a mentor that will want to work with my strengths and weaknesses”

I needed a mentor who will critique me and lend an ear when I need to voice my insight in how I approach things and will offer advice with good intention for my growth because my growth will be the business growth. You see, I am in a phase where I knew how to walk but how fast or slow or straight should I go to is my problem, and I knew a supportive team will be my guide to traverse into success. These terms were non-negotiable I told myself and I prepared myself for a long stretch of hunting.

I knew trust and guidance was the most important attribute that I was looking for a mentor, and to my joy, I’ve found an abundance of this trait with the Managing Director, Talent & Training Manager, Strategy & Growth Manager, Rec to Rec Recruiter, and CEO Founder that I’ve sat with during my job-hunt.

I looked for a leader not a manager for my next boss, here’s how I did it.

I looked deep within myself if I was a follower or a believer and why it mattered that I needed a leader.

I was honest with my weaknesses, and precisely knew what my strengths are and laid them in the table together to see how my next boss will best approach it.

My growth principles and key attributes I looked for a leader were non -negotiable, and prepared myself that it may take me longer to find it (was very surprised in the end how abundant those cardinal traits are in the Industry).