Manager to Leader – Making the Leap

“Let it go, let it go…” – I know, sorry, you’ll have that stuck in your head for the rest of the day!

One of the biggest hurdles that new leaders have to get over is letting go of their managerial duties.   As a manager you are in the thick of it and most managers quite enjoy being on the front line.  They enjoy making operational decisions, dealing with employee issues and making sure everything ticks along nicely.

As a leader however, you have to step away from these duties and think more strategically.  It’s tempting to want to jump back in and get your hands dirty but your team won’t thank you for continually holding their hands or micromanaging them.  You have to let the managers manage.  Are you making the leap?  Here are a few tips from us to help with the transition:

• Get a mentor. Someone who has been there.  Someone whose knowledge and experience you can tap into (and whose shoulder you can cry on if you need to!)
• Trust your management team. Delegate to them and empower them.  Build solid relationships based on mutual trust and respect.
• Don’t micromanage your managers – just let them get on with it.
• Get your managers involved in the decision making process. Be open to ideas and really listen to what they have to say.
• Create strong communication channels with your team – be open, transparent and honest.
• Lead by example and model the behaviours you expect to see in others.
• Look at the bigger picture and think carefully about how you can translate it in to ‘every day speak’ for those around you.
• From now on, all eyes are on you so make sure you live and breathe your company vision and values.

Book Recommendation 

One of our favourite books that we would recommend  is Turn the Ship Around! by David Marquet.  A fantastic book for all leaders new and old.  It will help you to create a team where everyone displays leadership traits.