Leadership in Management

Why Leadership is key to Success

Management is a vital part for a successful business. Without proper management, there will be a lack of planning, organizing, and coordinating tasks and resources to achieve a goal. If you’re a manager, you should have a clear vision and plan to achieve the company’s mission.

As a manager, you also have the important task of relaying this information to your workforce. That’s where leadership becomes crucial and is a quality that should not be overlooked.

Importance of Leadership Qualities

A great leader understands and believes in the mission and will motivate others to help achieve that goal. You can have a high level of intelligence about the company and their goals but if you lack the proper leadership skills to get everyone on board, it could have a detrimental effect.

Leadership is an important quality to have at every level of a company, but it’s vital for a manager. A great plan means nothing without execution. If you can’t motivate, lead, and inspire your team to execute, the company as a whole will not be successful.

Step up and Lead by Example

One way a manager could become a leader is to simply lead by example. The workforce will respect and respond positively to you if they see you’re working hard and going above and beyond your responsibilities to help other members of the team.

There are times where a challenging task arises that is necessary but difficult. Managers should look at this as an opportunity to step up and lead. When your employees see you working side by side with them to help accomplish a daunting task, it builds great morale throughout the workforce. It also shows them that their manager won’t ask them to do anything they’re not willing to do themselves.

Developing Leaders is a Priority

One of the goals for a manager is to develop leaders who can step up and take the reins. When there is a trusted team leader that management can lean on, that provides an opportunity for growth throughout the entire company. Managers can now focus their attention on planning the company’s next move while having the confidence that the current plan in place will be followed through and executed by their subordinates.

Having leadership throughout the company will also help with any transition period when there is a promotion handed out or when an unexpected departure occurs. Losing a key team member can create stress and uncertainty throughout the company if there isn’t a qualified candidate who can step up and fill that role.

Do Not Micromanage

Too many managers struggle with micromanaging for many reasons, it could be due to their lack of confidence and insecurities or they feel their way is the only way. Regardless of the reason, this could cause a lot of friction throughout the company. Micromanaging is not leading. In fact, it’s the exact opposite, if you don’t allow for your subordinates to step up and lead, you will be taking away valuable experience from your employee.

Management can not make every single decision throughout the company. They need to allow their team to step up and showcase their ability. Having team members who feel they are contributing to the overall success of the company and implementing their own thoughts and ideas will be more likely to stay motivated and pass that message to the junior workforce.

When to Lead and When to Manage

There’s a time to lead and a time to manage. Manage when you are planning, organizing, and assigning. Lead when you are communicating, motivating, and executing. You should always take the lessons you learn from both sides and apply them to grow as a manager and leader.

When you put in the time and have a great plan in place and fully understand what it’s going to take to be successful, that should help you communicate the task to your team and answer any questions they may have. It is also crucial to take the time to listen to their comments and concerns and be open minded to their ideas. Most times, there is more than one way to achieve an objective. Remember, it’s important to allow your team to lead and input their ideas to help contribute to the company’s success.

You can then turn around and use what you learned from your team and be able to come up with a better way to accomplish the next goal. A good manager and leader should always be looking for ways to plan and execute more efficiently. By allowing all your team members to have a voice and share their thoughts, the company will likely have motivated leaders throughout every level of the business contributing to the overall mission.