Becoming a manager is easy. For the most part, you transition into management by someone giving you the title. It’s something you earned.
Be proud of that. It’s an honor to be recognized for the hard work you do. However, don’t think this makes you a leader.
Leaders are more than managers. They inspire. They share vision. They encourage.
Are you willing to move from manager to leader?
Image by Anil Jadhav
I hope so, as that’s what I want to share with you today. Moving from manager to leader requires you to take a few steps out of your comfort zone. It may even scare your socks off.
That’s okay though. Great leaders still have fears and doubts. They just don’t let all of the fears and doubts keep them from leading.
Transitioning From Manager To Leader
You’ve made it this far. Great! I knew you wanted to go further than just managing your team. You want to be able to lead a team effectively.
For this, we’ve got to transition from the manager mindset to the leader mindset.
Now, changing our thinking can be tough. It requires some paradigm shifts and it requires you to work hard.
To show you how to transition from a manager to a leader, I want to show you how they think differently. Once you see the examples, you’ll be able to see how you can apply them to your situation.
Managers assume the worst, leaders assume the best: Managers are on the lookout for what’s going wrong. They know something bad is happening and it’s their job to find it. They’re looking for the weak link.
Leaders know they should assume the best, so they’re on the lookout for what’s going right. They search it out, find it, and bring it to the attention of others.
Using this method, leaders are able to show positive examples of what needs to be done without excessive criticism.
Managers take credit, leaders give credit: Nothing sticks out to me more in my time working in retail than the managers who would take the credit for the work done by the sales staff. They would get the credit, the rewards, the bonuses. All the while, the sales team got zilch. These managers took all of the credit.
Great leaders know that you can’t take all of the credit. You’ve got to spread the credit to your team. They’re the ones busting their butts to make customers happy, to bring in sales, and to help keep the company afloat.
Get ready to spread the credit around. Not only will your team be thankful, they’ll also be willing to work harder as they’re getting recognized for everything they’re doing.
Managers place blame, leaders take blame: With any team there will be issues that arise. Goals won’t be met, errors will be made, and things will fall apart.
When this happens to managers, they look for someone or something to blame. There has to be someone that can take the fall, they think. And then they stick it on someone doing their job.
If this happens to a leader, they realize they’re the one in charge. They’re the one that should fall on their sword and take the blame. Great leaders are willing to step forth and take the blame. The buck stops with a leader.
Do you see what leaders do that managers don’t? People are able to move from the manager mindset to the leader mindset when they’re able to change their thinking from self to others.
Leaders are willing to put others before themselves. They know they’re raising up a great team and they’re responsible for the results. They also know that the team is the one producing the results and deserves the credit.
It’s time we shift to the mentality of a leader. Are you ready?
Question: What others ways can you move from a manager to a leader mindset? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.