How to Evolve From a Manager to a Leader
Episode 259 | Author: Michelle King
My first experience with a manager who lacked leadership skills was in my late twenties. I was working for a software education company and my youngest daughter came down with a fever the day of an important expert level course I designed and was scheduled to deliver. I called my manager to let her know that I was unable to come to work that day and asked her to reschedule the class. Her tone and response made it clear that she was angry and disappointed. For two days I cared for my sick child and prepared myself for what I imagined would be a difficult conversation when I returned to work.
My fears and anxiety that had filled my mind and kept me awake were reinforced upon my return to work where I was met with hostility. My manager, who was only concerned with my cancelling a highly anticipated class, brought me into her office to chastise me for my decision to choose my child’s welfare over my work. I was accused of not being committed to my job, not caring about the inconvenience I caused, and asked if I really wanted the job because it “sure didn’t seem like it”. After a tense and volatile conversation where I informed her that my job would never take precedence over my child, she wrote me up for insubordination. I left that job a few months later and never looked back.
This moment was pivotal for me. As the highest rated instructor in the region, my value to her was only in whether I delivered what she demanded, when she demanded it. She demonstrated no capacity to lead me through a challenge, appreciate what I had accomplished, or treat me with respect and dignity. I could clearly see the difference between someone who managed people as though they were a means of production and someone who leads people by building relationships of trust and respect.
The experience of being devalued by my manager, despite the years of value I had added to the organization lit a fire within me to study organizational leadership and to pursue roles where I could employ methods that evolved the role of managing people to a role focused on leading people. My biggest revelation in this pursuit was realizing that managers focus on tasks and outcomes and leaders focus on providing the structure and environment that allow their teams to manage the tasks and outcomes.
“The Zappos CEO uses the analogy of the mayor of a city to discuss the role of leaders, saying, the mayor doesn’t tell its residents what to do or where to live. Instead, provides certain infrastructure that a city must provide, such as the grid: water, power, and sewage and basic laws that a city enforces. And for the most part, what happens when a city grows and innovates is a result of the self-organization that happens with a city’s residents, businesses, and other organizations” (De Smet, 2018).
As a leader within my organization, I have found that great leaders are leaders who resist “the temptation to lead as a chess master, controlling each move of the organization”, and instead “give way to an approach as gardener, enabling rather than directing” (McChrystal, et al., 2015). They create teams that are innovative, creative, demonstrate self-management, collaboration, and high levels of autonomy.
This paradigm shift from manager to leader requires a shift in focus from task and metrics to focusing efforts on empowering, investing, being open, listening, veracity, and empathy. By employing these methods, teams can operate successfully with high levels of productivity and psychological safety.
Empowering
Leaders create an environment where people can grow stronger and more confident, increasing personal control and autonomy.
How to Empower
Leaders who empower agree on clear expectations with their team. Every person understands what is expected of them, when and how it should be delivered. The values, mission and vision of the team is understood by each person and they can articulate how their work connects to the team’s goals. Decisions are made collaboratively between manager/individual and each person can contribute equally to the team ideas and approach
Investing
Leaders invest in their teams. Personal development and growth are given equal priority to the work products of individuals.
How to Invest
Leaders invest time in knowing and understanding their team as individuals and regularly work with them on their career plan. They seek opportunity on behalf of their team by guiding their personal growth and development. Great leaders invest in their own personal growth to increase their skills in key leadership areas such as emotional intelligence.
Being Open-minded
Being open-minded allows leaders to see things from a different perspective or how things can be applied in new and novel ways.
How to be Open-minded
Leaders who are open-minded do not need to be the most knowledgeable person in the room. They rely on the expertise of their team to provide ideas, insights, feedback and solutions that reinforce psychological safety and promote innovation. They allow for experimentation and see “failures” as opportunities for learning.
Listening
Listening to your team member without interruption, focused on their concerns, with an attitude of curiosity and kindness.
How to Listen
"Leaders who don't listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing to say." –Andy Stanley
Leaders who employ active listening techniques build trusting relationship with their team. When a team member comes with a concern or question, a leader who listens does not attempt to solve the problem for the person, but rather hears the persons concerns fully and then responds with questions to help the individual assert their own ability to resolve the issue.
Veracity
One of the most important aspects of leadership is veracity. Being transparent, open and truthful is the key to strong leadership.
How to use Veracity
Leaders who don’t “sugar coat” information for their team are more trustworthy. Being able to share changes and new challenges with the team with honesty will lead to more productive and innovative solutions. Demonstrating honesty by admitting mistakes or acknowledging how you are personally growing reinforces the importance of honesty within the team.
Empathy
The ability to connect with someone’s personal suffering and understand how they may be feeling.
How to be Empathetic
Leaders who demonstrate empathy create an environment of psychological safety on their team. Psychological safety is the primary factor that drives highly productive teams. When a team member is struggling, good leaders acknowledge their pain, listen to how they’re feeling, offer gratitude for the person being willing to share, show interest in their concern, encourage them and offer support.
Using the E.V.O.L.V.E methodology, managers can build a plan for personal development that creates opportunity for themselves and their team. By demonstrating traits associated with high-level leaders, your team will become more productive, successful and engaged. Managers who level up to leaders are better prepared for new challenges, continual organizational change and greater responsibility.
Years later I ran into my former manager in a restaurant. She looked surprised and happy to see me. I wasn’t sure how to respond given how we had parted. She requested to have lunch with me, and I obliged. As we sat together in a noisy restaurant, she eagerly explained how happy she was to see me because she had been wanting to apologize. She acknowledged her lack of leadership experience and lamented her position as an authoritarian manager. We had both moved forward in our careers, finding a path that lead us to evolving from managers to leaders.
References:
De Smet, A. (2018, February 27). Paradigm shift for leaders. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/the-organization- blog/paradigm-shift-for-leaders
McChrystal, S. A., Collins, T., Silverman, D., & Fussell, C. (2015). Team of teams: new rules of engagement for a complex world. Portfolio Penguin.