Leading Is Far More Than Doing

What is the difference between being a manager and being a leader? Can you be a leader without being a manager? To be a leader is to “do the right things” and to be a manager is “to do things right”.  Your organisation expects their managers to follow processes, for example, planning, designing, and creating tasks for your team so that they can deliver excellence. Being a leader means that you need to understand, empathise and motivate your team towards goals to which you are all committed. It means to fully understand peoples’ point of view and being flexible enough to consider their views when making any decision. However, being a leader does not just mean you lead people. Being a leader also entails a mindset that challenges current thinking and current processes and procedures. Leading also means continually educating yourself in both your business and personal life.  Being a thought leader is just as important as being a leader of people.  In essence, a leader is someone that has a strategic role, ensuring that the ship is in the right ocean and guiding it towards the correct port.

Some companies and organisations have exemplary Human Resource processes and procedures that they follow when they appoint a new manager whether that is internally or externally. However, the focus is often related to the organisation’s operations, whereas the first objective should be to look at the core values of the organisation. What does the organisation stand for, what is the organisation trying to achieve? 

I have seen many organisations that have well thought out Mission Statements that were developed, or agreed by well-meaning Board members. The Mission Statement indicates the company’s values and their commitment to those values. When I ask, “how many people have contributed to the Mission Statement?” I am not surprised when I hear that only a few people were involved. Often decisions regarding Mission Statements are part of a marketing exercise. The value of Mission Statements is something that is to be viewed by suppliers and potential customers; it will give them a clear indication of what your company values. However, a Mission Statement is far more than that.  As a leader, it is vital to understand both your company's and your Mission Statements. These are the core values that you hold dear. Every action you take should be with the Mission Statements in mind. Therefore, you need to understand who you are and what your company stands for before you can begin the journey to being a respected leader.

Often when we accept a managerial or leadership role, we focus on the technical aspects of the job. The technical understanding of your position is fundamental to your success, but there are other skills that you will need to gain respect and demonstrate to your team that you are their leader.

The definition of Leadership is “The action of leading a group of people or an organisation or the ability to do this”. While this may sound obvious many people ask, “What does Leadership really mean?”

Most people will take on a leadership role sometime in their working lives whether it is leading an organisation, a department, a team, a project or organising an event. Often, we are given a role with more responsibility if we have demonstrated that we are good at our present job. That approach leads to the "Peter Principle".  Promotion often invokes the Peter Principle, which means career progression stops when you find a role that is beyond your capabilities. As an example, somebody who is excellent at coding is then asked to run a small project, which means that their programming experience is still relevant which results in a successful project. The next stage is to be asked to run a more significant project and again the programming experience and running a small project is relevant. Then you are asked to run a large team at which point the programming experience is mostly irrelevant. Instead, man management is the primary role, and this is where Peters Principle can come into effect. Have you the skills to be a good man manager? A good leader will recognise that they have some weaknesses and will put a plan together to mitigate the risks that they have identified. However, all too often we are left to struggle through. 

In the definition of Leadership, there is one small word which needs some clarification. That word is "ability". The leader should have the ability to lead a team or organisation. However, what does ability mean? There are skills that leaders need that are just as important as the technical aspect of the role, some of which are:

1.      Understanding Who You Are – Without knowing who you are, how you react to situations, what your management style is, and how people perceive you it is challenging to lead others successfully.

2.      Coaching and Mentoring – How do you manage people? Do you have one method for everyone in your team or do you have a plan for each person? How do you help your team to progress?

3.      Goal Setting – Do you set Goals for yourself and your team? How do you monitor the Goals?

4.      Decision Making – Have you considered how your thought process work? How do you make decisions?

5.      Communication – How you communicate with people is vital, but speaking only accounts for around 40% of how we communicate; approximately 10% is the words that we use, and 30% is in the tone and inclination. So are you aware of how you communicate with the other 60%? 

6.      Active Listening – Have you thought of your response before the person you are speaking to has finished their point? Do you practice your listening skills? 

7.      Powerful Questions – Who, What, Why, When, open and closed questions. The way you question situations can have a fundamental effect on how you are perceived.

8.      Words We Use – The words we use and how and when we use them are critical. How do you greet your team, your customers or your potential customers? How do you start meetings?

9.      Mindfulness – Are you too busy to focus on the things that are important to you, the team, and your business or organisation? Do you take time to understand the people, issues and circumstances that you have to deal with each day?

10.  Stress – Stress can be good for you and your team, but too much pressure can break your team. How do you cope with stress? How does your organisation deal with stress?

11.  At Play – It is essential that you have time off otherwise you will be far less effective.  If you want to be more productive resting and doing something you enjoy outside of the work environment is vital. How do you relax?

12.  Learning and Education – What time do you put aside for your education? Great leaders are always looking for an opportunity to learn.

As you can see becoming a leader is much more than doing your job well. You may well be the best person for the technical aspects of your role, but if you want to gain respect as a leader, you will need to start to look at yourself far more in-depth than you have done in the past. Are you ready for that challenge?