A few days ago, a team leader from a well-known company came to me and asked, "I've read all the books on leadership, tried a few ideas, and I think I'm leading the team well. How can I know if I've transitioned from a manager to a leader?"
I had an answer for him, but I didn't give it to him on the spot. Instead, I looked up and researched more books and gave him a summarized answer a week later. Here's a summary of that answer:
People Who Do What Needs to Be Done and People Who Create New Tasks
Team leaders can be broadly classified into two types: those who do what needs to be done and those who create new tasks to do.
The first type of team leader is like a member of the executive team. They meticulously perform the given tasks, take care of things that the executives can't, and report on progress regularly. To the team members, it seems like the team leader could easily become an executive. However, they often slip up in the executive promotion evaluation. Why is that?
The other type of team leader creates new tasks to do. They know their given tasks so well that it's hard to fathom the depth of their knowledge, but they may not take care of every small detail like the first type of team leader. They delegate such tasks to team members and often clash with executives because they push for new initiatives or sometimes suggest directions opposite to what the executives think. To the team members, it seems uncertain whether the team leader will fail the executive evaluation. However, executives don't always look unfavorably at this type of team leader. This team leader often gets the executive badge.
The biggest difference between these two types of team leaders is “creating value”. The second type of team leader tries to create value, even if they might fail. The first type can only maintain existing value. Creating value is challenging. You need to gather various information to see the world, analyze it to forecast profitability, develop action plans if it's deemed viable, and even create justifications to persuade the management. An existing business can be maintained by just performing above average. But, earning an “executive” badge requires improving existing business problems, adding new elements, or pioneering new categories. “Creating value” is the mission given to executives.
Create value! If you're too afraid of failure, you can't earn an executive position.
Network Within Similar Jobs and Beyond
There are gatherings of people doing similar jobs in the same industry in any company. For example, the HR team usually has offline meetings about every three months. It's probably similar in other areas. However, that's usually the extent of it. I know a woman who, in just three years, was promoted from a corporate department head to a director, and three years later, was scouted as an executive for a global IT company. I was internally surprised at her rapid promotion. One day, I asked her how she achieved such rapid advancement. She said that she consistently attended various meetings that were helpful for her work, but also regularly went to off-topic meetings to learn new things. One of the members of these meetings recognized her abilities and recruited her as an executive for a global IT company. Though she directly benefited from her network, having a network in areas unrelated to her work gave her a broad perspective on phenomena. Listening to different perspectives can make you think, “Ah, I never thought of it that way”. It also helps maintain a mindset that's always eager to learn.
Expand your network beyond your work! You can gain new knowledge that you were previously unaware of.
Leading People vs. Managing Work
Management involves controlling a group or series of entities to achieve a goal. Leadership is the ability to influence and motivate others and contribute to the success of an organization. Influence and inspiration, not power and control, differentiate a leader from a manager.
M.K. Gandhi inspired millions in India to fight for their rights and stood shoulder to shoulder with them until India achieved independence in 1947. His vision became everyone's dream and an unstoppable force toward India's independence. The world needs leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, who can think beyond problems, have a vision, and inspire people to turn challenges into opportunities.
When I personally coach team leaders, I urge them to suggest rather than command their team members and to talk about the vision or goals of the task. Of course, it's challenging. For example, saying, “Please make 50 copies of this report. There's a training session for our partner company representatives today,” versus, “Could you please make 50 copies of this report? It's an important document to persuade our partners about our direction. I need to prepare for the training, so I'd like A to take care of this. Also, please plan where and how to distribute it and take charge of that.” And then, entrusting A with distributing the documents at the training session. This is leading people. Even in small tasks, it's important to include the reason why it needs to be done, which can greatly motivate people if it involves the company's vision.
Always explain the “why” to your team members! It helps them find inspiration in their work.
A few days ago, a team leader from a well-known company came to me and asked, "I've read all the books on leadership, tried a few ideas, and I think I'm leading the team well. How can I know if I've transitioned from a manager to a leader?"
I had an answer for him, but I didn't give it to him on the spot. Instead, I looked up and researched more books and gave him a summarized answer a week later. Here's a summary of that answer:
People Who Do What Needs to Be Done and People Who Create New Tasks
Team leaders can be broadly classified into two types: those who do what needs to be done and those who create new tasks to do.
The first type of team leader is like a member of the executive team. They meticulously perform the given tasks, take care of things that the executives can't, and report on progress regularly. To the team members, it seems like the team leader could easily become an executive. However, they often slip up in the executive promotion evaluation. Why is that?
The other type of team leader creates new tasks to do. They know their given tasks so well that it's hard to fathom the depth of their knowledge, but they may not take care of every small detail like the first type of team leader. They delegate such tasks to team members and often clash with executives because they push for new initiatives or sometimes suggest directions opposite to what the executives think. To the team members, it seems uncertain whether the team leader will fail the executive evaluation. However, executives don't always look unfavorably at this type of team leader. This team leader often gets the executive badge.
The biggest difference between these two types of team leaders is “creating value”. The second type of team leader tries to create value, even if they might fail. The first type can only maintain existing value. Creating value is challenging. You need to gather various information to see the world, analyze it to forecast profitability, develop action plans if it's deemed viable, and even create justifications to persuade the management. An existing business can be maintained by just performing above average. But, earning an “executive” badge requires improving existing business problems, adding new elements, or pioneering new categories. “Creating value” is the mission given to executives.
Network Within Similar Jobs and Beyond
There are gatherings of people doing similar jobs in the same industry in any company. For example, the HR team usually has offline meetings about every three months. It's probably similar in other areas. However, that's usually the extent of it. I know a woman who, in just three years, was promoted from a corporate department head to a director, and three years later, was scouted as an executive for a global IT company. I was internally surprised at her rapid promotion. One day, I asked her how she achieved such rapid advancement. She said that she consistently attended various meetings that were helpful for her work, but also regularly went to off-topic meetings to learn new things. One of the members of these meetings recognized her abilities and recruited her as an executive for a global IT company. Though she directly benefited from her network, having a network in areas unrelated to her work gave her a broad perspective on phenomena. Listening to different perspectives can make you think, “Ah, I never thought of it that way”. It also helps maintain a mindset that's always eager to learn.
Leading People vs. Managing Work
Management involves controlling a group or series of entities to achieve a goal. Leadership is the ability to influence and motivate others and contribute to the success of an organization. Influence and inspiration, not power and control, differentiate a leader from a manager.
M.K. Gandhi inspired millions in India to fight for their rights and stood shoulder to shoulder with them until India achieved independence in 1947. His vision became everyone's dream and an unstoppable force toward India's independence. The world needs leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, who can think beyond problems, have a vision, and inspire people to turn challenges into opportunities.
When I personally coach team leaders, I urge them to suggest rather than command their team members and to talk about the vision or goals of the task. Of course, it's challenging. For example, saying, “Please make 50 copies of this report. There's a training session for our partner company representatives today,” versus, “Could you please make 50 copies of this report? It's an important document to persuade our partners about our direction. I need to prepare for the training, so I'd like A to take care of this. Also, please plan where and how to distribute it and take charge of that.” And then, entrusting A with distributing the documents at the training session. This is leading people. Even in small tasks, it's important to include the reason why it needs to be done, which can greatly motivate people if it involves the company's vision.