have you ever accepted your manager as your Leader?
let me start by asking, have you ever told someone that, I am really proud of my manager today?
or I hate my manager the most?
where do you belong?
I am sure you must have experienced both these situations
In my 15+ years of working experience, I have come across many Team Leaders, new and experienced Managers - but very few Leaders whom I am proud of and called them as my leader
An exceptional leader is one who is always approachable, takes their work seriously, humble and honest, action oriented and always focused on people and organizational development
I am sure you must have experienced/noticed some of the above traits with your manager or being yourself as one....
In my experience, managers go through a set of beautiful and painful incidents which converts them into Leaders...
People subordination, getting things done on time are some of the common problems for new managers - it's easy to say set expectation and bring everybody on the same page but without PATIENCE and constant COMMUNICATION it is impossible. (especially COVID19 has taught us how to lead during these difficult times)
This is where holding regular One 2 One meeting and Skip level meetings will help you - take them out for a coffee, buy them lunch (be vigilant you must do these for everyone in your team not just with some of them, do understand and follow the culture if you are leading teams from different countries)
As a new manager growing within the system along with the peers is a very challenging task and it needs a lot of dedication and patience, I was lucky to take over large teams and experienced enormous challenges which I had to solve every single day.
I wanted to make it a better place for everyone to live, work and play. Respecting the people around without hurting their Ego was important to me (especially if they are more experienced than you). Of course some who doesn't understand your honesty tend to leave but you need to let them go with respect if that's what they need but as their leader you need to be honest and provide the clarity they deserve
Reading and watching leadership related videos and blogs of John Maxwell, took me to another world and understand the basics of leadership and why people react this way. Journey with John C. Maxwell.
Do follow your industry leaders on LinkedIn this is one of the best way to improve and explore yourself.
I would like to share you a very simple scenario which you must have definitely gone through:
lets say you have an urgent inquiry and need your managers help, have they ever told you, look I am very busy lets connect later or did they solve your problem immediately and then returned back to their own work?
How did you feel when you had to return back with no answer or solution, on the other hand getting your issue sorted with a clarity
more than the problem you had, the way it was addressed makes you feel comfortable and makes you do a better job isn't it ?
I had recognized very early in my career that, if one of your team member comes to you for help, solve their problem first as a priority, they come to you because they couldn't solve it. Nothing is more important than solving their problems
Some of the traits to look in a leader:
Has a Vision, thinks strategically, Innovating and action oriented
Involves people and shares ideas
Approachable and listens
Challenges you and brings the best out of you by giving you the skills you need for tomorrow
Here are some quick differences between Managers and Leaders
(above snapshot from Essential Leadership Skills for Project Managers)
To conclude:
Selecting your manager is not in your hands but accepting them as a leader is...
if you want to lead yourself and your team to success, people must first accept you as their leader.....
Its a daily task, learn new skills, treat them with respect, they will recognize you one day!
Did you ever accept your manager as your leader? leave your comments below
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