There’s a big difference between managers and leaders. While managers give instruction, demand results, and have little or no relationship with their subordinates, leaders are the opposite. They are influencers who lead by example. When you work with a leader, they strive to make you a better version of yourself. They establish good relationships and always be at the forefront in the execution of every task. So, in this article, you will learn about the 5 things managers can do to become better leaders.
In today’s fast-paced business environment, every manager needs to carry the executive presence of a leader. Otherwise, they may not be able to instill commanding confidence in their team.
You need to adopt the mindset of a leader and prepare yourself for the opportunity ahead. If you fail to assume a leadership mindset and invest in your personal growth, your relevance in your organization will diminish gradually.
So, here are some of the things managers can do to become leaders;
#1. Stop Micromanaging Your Subordinate
Micromanaging people is a wrong leadership style. It makes the people working with you lose their self-confidence.
Giving your employees autonomy to carry out their tasks is one of the things managers can do to become leaders.
I know you would want to monitor what your employees are doing to deliver outstanding results.
But you must learn to trust your subordinates whenever you assign tasks to them. Allow them to think creatively and participate actively in the organization.
Even if they make mistakes, correct them with love and show them what they could have done differently.
When you give your employees autonomy, they can think freely and develop great ideas that will improve performance.
So, if you want to become a leader, start by giving your subordinates the autonomy to carry out assigned tasks. It will motivate them to contribute more towards the growth of the organization.
Read Also: 7 Habits of a Highly Effective CEO
#2. Improve Your Communication Skills
Communication is one of the most essential skills every leader must possess. And improving your communication skills is among the things managers can do to become excellent leaders.
Think about some of the most successful business leaders in the world and tell me what they all have in common. They are excellent communicators.
These leaders understand the art of crafting the right message for the right person in the right way. So, if you want to upgrade from being a manager to a leader, you must master the art of communication.
You must learn how to speak in the right tone and ensure that your message consistently impacts your audience.
Remember, being an excellent communicator is not all about talking. It also involves listening keenly to whatever your audience has to say. After all, leadership is not a one-person show.
And your ability to carefully consider everybody’s perspective when making major business decisions makes you a great leader.
Read Also: 5 Habits that Make You a Lousy Leader
#3. Provide Timely Feedback
Do you know why providing timely feedback is one of the things managers can do to become leaders?
Giving your subordinates regular feedback about their personal and organization’s performance helps them understand what’s working and what isn’t working.
So, you have to provide constructive criticism to everybody working with you consistently. It will help them to become better versions of themselves.
Try to review performance regularly. Don’t make feedback an annual review; it could leave a lot of loopholes in the system.
However, regular feedback closes loopholes and improves your employees’ and the company’s performance.
#4. Embrace Diversity
Embracing diversity is one of the things managers can do to become leaders. Think about the 5 most popular and best performing American companies – Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google (FAANG).
Do you know what makes them outstanding? It’s because these brands are managed by leaders who embrace diversity.
Your team should comprise people from different backgrounds, races, and gender. It should be people with diverse ideas who come together to achieve a common goal.
In a nutshell, you can only be considered a leader if you always embrace people regardless of societal and cultural factors.
When there’s diversity in the workplace, there will be different perspectives, more creativity, higher innovation, better decision making, more problem solving, higher employee engagement, and reduced employee turnover.
You can only become a great leader if you embrace and celebrate diversity.
#5. Make Self-reflection a Routine
Self-reflection is one of the most effective things managers can do to become leaders. As a manager, you need to reflect on every action you take and the decision you make.
Self-reflection helps you to have clarity of thought, be futuristic, and think positively. It makes you conscious of past mistakes and prevents you from repeating them.
Self-reflection also involves examining your current skill level, strengths, weaknesses, behavioral pattern, and how you want to influence other people.
It has to do with internally interrogating your values, goals, and ambitions. And this will help you to increase your self-knowledge, alignment, authenticity, learning, and growth.
Self-reflection makes you a better leader because it improves your leadership skills and helps you understand other people better.
Here are some areas for leadership self-reflection;
- Personal ambitions, passions, goals, and intentions.
- Your individual and organizational values
- Personality type
- Thinking styles
- Emotional intelligence
- Reflective learning, that is trying to figure out what to do and how to do it.
These are the 5 things managers can do to become leaders. Any manager who can implement some of these things has a better chance of becoming an influential leader.
