Leadership & Managers

Charismatic = Nelson Mandela, John F. Kennedy, Oprah Winfrey, and Steve Jobs

Autocratic = Adolf Hitler, Elon Musk, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Martha Stewart
 

Hands-Off = Richard Branson, Larry Page, and Warren Buffett
 

Transactional = Bill Gates, Vince Lombardi, and General Norman Schwarzkopf
 

Servant = Abraham Lincoln, Susan Wojcicki, Mother Teresa, and Mahatma Gandhi

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Along with consulting Google, you can find influencers, consultants, trainers, and just about anyone these days who has an opinion on Leadership. We reviewed the types of leadership and some examples of leaders and their styles.

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Bold Statement Warning - no one is born with leadership skills; it takes a lot of learning. A lot of trail and errors over time to develop the viewpoint of a leader and use those skills learned to be successful in the role. Just because someone rehearses a few lines, or repeats lines from another’s TikTok or Instagram post, is not enough to claim gain knowledge of what experience teaches you.

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Emotional Intelligence - to be a successful leader is about mastering emotional intelligence. Empathy and self-awareness; that allows for the ability to build relationships with trust. With emotional intelligence there is a high degree of active listening which results in excellent communication. In business and any industry, the organization must adapt to the environment and changes, which is why an effective leader seems to pivot flawlessly.  A leader who takes difficult decisions, based on analyzing facts, options and fully understands they own that choice. These leaders empower employees and teams to take ownership, understanding that everyone working for the same goals can get there, if everyone works together with the same sight.

 

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Types of Managers

 

Just like a leader is a blend of some or all these types. Most of us can name and remember more horrible managers, then great leadership is not shocking. Collectively many organizations do a poor job of training all first time leads, supervisors, shift supervisors, and managers. Even the largest franchises can only do so much, and they invest millions of dollars in their training programs.

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Many want to be a manager for the money and others think they can do a better job than their managers. Both thoughts are flawed. Yes, a manager gets higher pay. No, you don’t get instant respect. No, you don’t get a sudden Matrix-style download of how to do the role. For those who believe they can do a betting job than their manager, the success of that is low, unless you have training and experience.

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The Micromanager – this stifles creativity, is a dictator of tasks and procedures and wants to keep control for quality reasons and prevent critical mistakes on the higher the level tasks.

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The Coach or The Friend – this one bogs down production and output, because they are more concerned with misplaced development and helping the employee grow. Growing an employee who isn’t productive and out more than work is not development. Most employees signed up to work and were not expecting a sports team.

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The Dictator – this is the holdout of the ‘scream at you’ method or the traditional hierarchy path of the concept of ‘old fashion work ethic’, that believes in elders and seniority. It’s also a top-down approach in an organization. Found more in blue collar industries.

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The Pacesetter – this one set high standards and goals but does lead by example. Their team delver high quality and gains a higher skill set along the way. Mostly inspiring, but also a high burnout rate.

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The Book-Keeper – this one is tight with established protocol, policies, procedures, processes, and practices. There is no room for mistakes. This management style is required in government agencies, accounting, finance and any other industries where regulations are heavy.

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The Transformer – this on is embedded in the organization and committed to the innovation coming from leadership. Onboard for positive changes, helping employees and likes the challenges of their role.

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Managing human beings in a work setting is simply the most daunting thing you can do in life. It’s not equal to parenting, you didn’t create these humans, and you can’t speak to them and discipline them in the way you do your children. A manager must literally change their invisible hat once they walk on property and shelve the who they really are when they can return home.

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It doesn’t matter where on the spectrum of manager you fall, fast food shift leader to manager of a group of 80 employees. Work must be completed and employees are paid to do that work. Difficultly is the spectrum of emotions (happy, tired, angry, annoyed, etc.), beliefs (their role, the company culture, what they want you to be, etc.), and behaviors that come with employees and none of them are the same.

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Example: 30 years working, and in the manager’s role, still have never experienced easy. Over my career I have been blessed and grateful for the mentors I had, especially their advice when it came to managing others. I grew up watching my mom handle the role with ease, it was magical and I thought ‘I could do that’. I’m still learning, however over the years I moved from a manager style to a leadership style – and I have no expectation of a dream team.

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Managers vs. Leaders

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Let’s talk about it. We live in a world where we exchange words or titles to what conforms with the new ‘it’ term is or new ‘idea’ which is just a fancy way of saying we are taking an old term and definition and making it refreshed. As this lends it to new books on leadership or management, evolving and up learning is normal and necessary. Books and trainings need to be in different viewpoints and corresponding words that sit the reader or attendee to be understood. What works for me will not work for someone else.

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The core of a leader is versus a manager and how they operate doesn’t change. I’m a progressive old school in the way I provide information and/or explain it. That comes from years of adapting to different industries. You are either a leader or a manager; and in either of those styles you are either good or bad one. I’ve worked with serial horrible managers at the table. Even if you started out as a terrible manager, it is on the individual to be open to learn from that experience and build up your skills. I have seen terrible managers quit instead of attending training to improve skills. One went from $80k/year with benefits to $20/hour with no benefits and a family of four with a special needs child.

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Not everyone is able to handle the role, as stated before, it is daunting. On the topic of leaders’ vs managers, they are two completely different and based on the individual in the seat of who they would like to be. Finally, in some companies the role itself is defined as a manager, with those traits necessary if you are an auditor, oversee payments and cash counting, and similar.

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Don’t be afraid to broaden your perspective, skills, and learn from others whether you are new to managing employees or what to learn what to avoid. Here are a few recommendations:

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Books

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• The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work by Shawn Achor

• The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier

• Radical Candor by Kim Scott

• The First 90 days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter by Michael Watkins

• Get It In Writing by Ryan Styger

• Develop Your Leadership Skills by John Adair

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephan Covey

• Being the Boss: The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader by Linda Hill and Lineback

• Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALS Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Lief Babin