From Management to Leadership
I’ve had the privilege over the last few years of working with some fabulous women who were living the transition from management to leadership. I say “living the transition” rather than “moving” because it’s much more of a process than a singular event. It’s a paradigm shift that happens over time.
Here are a few of its elements:
1. You laser-sharpen what you say and write. In E.B. White’s words: “When you say something, make sure you have said it. The chances of your having said it are only fair.” More succinct communication is often the result of :
a) better grasp of the bigger picture, fuller understanding of exactly what to communicate and why
b) greater courage and power to speak the truth and stand behind it
c) less time/tolerance for fuzziness.
2. You replace your old M/O of “I have to do it all myself” with the understanding that you have to have more help. Doing it all yourself is not a model for leadership; it’s a model for burnout.
3. You delegate day-to-day management in order to regularly take yourself to 80,000 feet to see the big picture. This is particularly true if you are coming from an operations function. You can’t re-think strategic mission at the same time as worrying about whether there will be enough chairs in the room for the Big Meeting (and wondering who’s on that?).
4. You start contributing at a higher, stronger, more strategic level because you stop wasting time feeling “less than,” second guessing yourself, and feeling like you have to justify your seat at the table. You ARE at the table. You start knowing you belong there.
5. You ask for what you need, knowing that what supports you also supports others and the work you are all doing.
6. You stop tolerating bad behavior; you redress it.
7. You get more help.
8. You start trusting our own questions. You get them answered, either by finding them out or by convening the conversations that will create them.
9. You become willing to see yourself as a more powerful person. It just stops being a big deal. You grow into it.
What have I left out?
