Levels of Leadership and why position leaders must gone?
Having less experience in working at corporate environments, throughout my entire life I deal with things at a more entrepreneurial level, rather than just fulfilling a position or just making a 1 to 5 clause job.
The difference is that as an entrepreneur you keep in mind the broader picture and solve things no matter if it is your job or not.
The difference is that as an entrepreneur you keep in mind the broader picture and solve things no matter if it is your job or not.
Surprisingly for me there is a big difference in the approach, when you deal with things like an owner, thinking how to get the thing you’re concentrating on from zero to one, rather than just fulfilling your part and kind of waiting for others to take care of their part, like “it is a job of Mr. Johnson, he should get it done, I don’t touch it”. There is nothing bad about it and most of the people are doing this throughout their whole working experience.
Being a true leader is not just about holding a formal job title, but it's about the influence and impact one has on others. To be an effective leader, it's important to support your staff, build strong teams, and empower people to grow and become leaders themselves. Moreover, leadership doesn’t start with the title, it starts with your ability to lead.
A top title usually makes your ego bigger and you become an important person. If you ask me for a recommendation of how to train the leadership skills then I would say that you better start by actively listening to your employees. When you ask how they are doing, really pay attention to their response, ask them (and implement) how you can help them to be more efficient, what they think about how they can be more productive and happier at their job. Try to gauge how they're feeling by observing their body language and be genuine in your interactions to build trust and understanding. This is particularly important to train these abilities and be open with your people. I mean, perhaps, those are very high level words, but this approach helps me to understand better what is needed right now, anticipate potential issues and be aligned with my team and the colleagues around us.
Have you ever had a manager who believed that simply having the title "manager" automatically made them a great leader? If you have, you know that such individuals are often the most ineffective leaders. They care more about their title and power concentration in their hands rather than about being an efficient leader. They are extremely worried about losing their title or their position.
Exceptional leaders understand that a position of authority is just one step on the path to becoming a great leader. There are some key points that will outline the five steps that anyone can take to become a leader who inspires others to follow willingly.
Embrace all the Levels of Leadership to Make a Lasting Impact as a True Leader.
If you've ever had the privilege of working under an outstanding boss, you know that an inspiring leader can make a significant difference. Visionary leaders possess the ability to navigate the ever-changing, dynamic business world.
A contemporary company is akin to a sailboat on a tempestuous sea. Like the captain, the leader must know how to navigate the stormy waters and chart a course to reach the destination. After all, anyone aboard can operate the steering wheel and sails, as long as there is a leader to set the proper course.
As a result, having a forward-thinking, visionary leader is critical and this is not only about the CEO or senior team in any organisation. However, it may surprise you to learn that such leaders are created, not born.
In general, if you think about it for a moment, you realise that basically anyone can be appointed to a leadership position. There are many possible reasons why it might happen, for instance because he / she knows someone or because the previous job place indicates an experience which a new employer is seeking for, but that alone does not grant them influence or authority over others. We have all worked with bosses who believe that their rank entitles them to do as they please, but leaders like that seldom inspire their team or achieve their goals.
Another important thing I learned through my own hard experience is being a great professional doesn’t mean you convert yourself into a great leader automatically. And vice versa, for being a great leader does not convert you into a great professional, you need to learn things yourself to understand the topic and people you’re leading. I personally do not believe in leaders who don't know the sphere, details and aspects of the area they take care of.
Ask yourself a simple question: will you buy an expensive product from a salesman who doesn’t know all the details of what he sells and doubts the functions and benefits? I think no, you wouldn’t, so I would deal with the leadership in a similar way.
Great leader must learn the topic and understand details about what he is leading with. Perhaps, it is something very basic for you, but I met several organisations where it is far from true. Position leaders are bottle-necks for the company as they want to make decisions only by themselves, do not communicate things properly and even can’t give a clear explanation of why we should do what we do.
From the other side, influential leaders know how to connect with the right people, develop a sound strategy, and take action.There are five distinct levels you must progress through to become an effective leader.
It's essential to understand that learning these leadership skills is akin to climbing a ladder: each rung must be mastered before ascending to the next level. Continue reading to discover how to climb the leadership ladder and become a truly inspiring leader.
Be More Than Your Position: Bring Your Personality and Values to Your Leadership Role to Inspire Others.
Have you ever worked for a boss who had a high-ranking position but lacked leadership skills and / or knowledge of the subject he leads a team? This type of leader is known as a positional leader and is at level one of the leadership ladder. They believe that their formal position gives them the power to command.
Unfortunately, positional leaders waste energy and fail to bring out the best in their team members. When formal position is the only thing that legitimises leadership, much time is spent defending authority. It's like a medieval ruler obsessed with accumulating an army and castles to bolster their power.
Furthermore, positional leaders struggle to provide a concrete direction to their employees. They may issue orders, but subordinates will only do what is specifically expected, and very little more. In many cases those orders will be vague or broad, difficult to understand the details and execute as expected because they are unclear. You as a leader must be specific and know what result or outcome you expect from your employees.
Key thing is that a leadership position should be viewed as a starting point rather than the end goal. It's an opportunity to develop a unique leadership style that aligns with your values and creates lasting influence.
Consider this: although you may have a designated position within the company, you must infuse it with your personality and values by implementing specific working practices. Ultimately, you can cultivate any leadership style that is effective and authentic to who you are.
The leaders must bring their own personality and values to the position to be truly effective.
To be an effective leader, you must gain people's trust and build positive relationships with them. As we've seen, leaders who focus solely on their position waste energy and fail to connect with their subordinates. Instead, you should shift your attention outward and value those around you.
Positive relationships benefit both parties by raising energy levels and creating an enjoyable workplace. Conversely, negative relationships can drain energy and lead to a negative outlook. So, how do you build positive relationships? By getting people's permission to lead them, which is the next step on the leadership ladder.
To achieve this, you must value the people around you and communicate with them positively. Aggressive communication can lead to a defensive response, while calm communication encourages openness and connection. When people trust and appreciate you, they implicitly give you permission to lead them.
How to gain such a permission?
I would like to mention two aspects: First one is a trust is particularly important during difficult situations, and leaders who value everyone on the team can strengthen those ties. For example, the U.S. Marines leave no one behind, regardless of rank. Officers waive their insignias of rank to signal that they are in this together, and this ethos plays a key role in the organisation's reputation. Read: What is being a position leader and how to gain trust for leading people.
And the second one by inspiring others, showing examples of how to and generating momentum. Even though change can be challenging, it's essential to set an example and create a positive wave of energy. Your attitude and behaviour will influence the performance of your team, so it's crucial to show enthusiasm and drive.
Developing your people is vital for the success of your company
True leaders act as mentors, focusing on transforming those around them and helping them grow. People development is therefore one of the most critical aspects of leadership, with transformative leaders dedicating 80% of their efforts to staff development and just 20% to personal productivity. Maybe 70% and 30%, but you notice the priorities.
Not only is personal development beneficial for the company, but it also fulfills a significant human need. By offering opportunities for growth, employees feel loyal to the company, reducing the likelihood of seeking opportunities elsewhere.
To achieve long-term success, finding the right balance between teaching and empowering employees to grow on their own is essential.
Creating a culture of leadership and developing future leaders is the ultimate goal of effective leadership. While becoming a successful leader is a lifelong journey, the true mark of a great leader is their ability to teach and empower others to become leaders as well.
Empowering others to become leaders and seeing them grow and follow in one's footsteps is immensely fulfilling, making it the ultimate source of personal satisfaction.
Being a true leader is not just about holding a formal job title, but it's about the influence and impact one has on others. To be an effective leader, it's important to support your staff, build strong teams, and empower people to grow and become leaders themselves. Moreover, leadership doesn’t start with the title, it starts with your ability to lead.
A top title usually makes your ego bigger and you become an important person. If you ask me for a recommendation of how to train the leadership skills then I would say that you better start by actively listening to your employees. When you ask how they are doing, really pay attention to their response, ask them (and implement) how you can help them to be more efficient, what they think about how they can be more productive and happier at their job. Try to gauge how they're feeling by observing their body language and be genuine in your interactions to build trust and understanding. This is particularly important to train these abilities and be open with your people. I mean, perhaps, those are very high level words, but this approach helps me to understand better what is needed right now, anticipate potential issues and be aligned with my team and the colleagues around us.
Have you ever had a manager who believed that simply having the title "manager" automatically made them a great leader? If you have, you know that such individuals are often the most ineffective leaders. They care more about their title and power concentration in their hands rather than about being an efficient leader. They are extremely worried about losing their title or their position.
Exceptional leaders understand that a position of authority is just one step on the path to becoming a great leader. There are some key points that will outline the five steps that anyone can take to become a leader who inspires others to follow willingly.
Embrace all the Levels of Leadership to Make a Lasting Impact as a True Leader.
If you've ever had the privilege of working under an outstanding boss, you know that an inspiring leader can make a significant difference. Visionary leaders possess the ability to navigate the ever-changing, dynamic business world.
A contemporary company is akin to a sailboat on a tempestuous sea. Like the captain, the leader must know how to navigate the stormy waters and chart a course to reach the destination. After all, anyone aboard can operate the steering wheel and sails, as long as there is a leader to set the proper course.
As a result, having a forward-thinking, visionary leader is critical and this is not only about the CEO or senior team in any organisation. However, it may surprise you to learn that such leaders are created, not born.
In general, if you think about it for a moment, you realise that basically anyone can be appointed to a leadership position. There are many possible reasons why it might happen, for instance because he / she knows someone or because the previous job place indicates an experience which a new employer is seeking for, but that alone does not grant them influence or authority over others. We have all worked with bosses who believe that their rank entitles them to do as they please, but leaders like that seldom inspire their team or achieve their goals.
Another important thing I learned through my own hard experience is being a great professional doesn’t mean you convert yourself into a great leader automatically. And vice versa, for being a great leader does not convert you into a great professional, you need to learn things yourself to understand the topic and people you’re leading. I personally do not believe in leaders who don't know the sphere, details and aspects of the area they take care of.
Ask yourself a simple question: will you buy an expensive product from a salesman who doesn’t know all the details of what he sells and doubts the functions and benefits? I think no, you wouldn’t, so I would deal with the leadership in a similar way.
Great leader must learn the topic and understand details about what he is leading with. Perhaps, it is something very basic for you, but I met several organisations where it is far from true. Position leaders are bottle-necks for the company as they want to make decisions only by themselves, do not communicate things properly and even can’t give a clear explanation of why we should do what we do.
From the other side, influential leaders know how to connect with the right people, develop a sound strategy, and take action.There are five distinct levels you must progress through to become an effective leader.
It's essential to understand that learning these leadership skills is akin to climbing a ladder: each rung must be mastered before ascending to the next level. Continue reading to discover how to climb the leadership ladder and become a truly inspiring leader.
Be More Than Your Position: Bring Your Personality and Values to Your Leadership Role to Inspire Others.
Have you ever worked for a boss who had a high-ranking position but lacked leadership skills and / or knowledge of the subject he leads a team? This type of leader is known as a positional leader and is at level one of the leadership ladder. They believe that their formal position gives them the power to command.
Unfortunately, positional leaders waste energy and fail to bring out the best in their team members. When formal position is the only thing that legitimises leadership, much time is spent defending authority. It's like a medieval ruler obsessed with accumulating an army and castles to bolster their power.
Furthermore, positional leaders struggle to provide a concrete direction to their employees. They may issue orders, but subordinates will only do what is specifically expected, and very little more. In many cases those orders will be vague or broad, difficult to understand the details and execute as expected because they are unclear. You as a leader must be specific and know what result or outcome you expect from your employees.
Key thing is that a leadership position should be viewed as a starting point rather than the end goal. It's an opportunity to develop a unique leadership style that aligns with your values and creates lasting influence.
Consider this: although you may have a designated position within the company, you must infuse it with your personality and values by implementing specific working practices. Ultimately, you can cultivate any leadership style that is effective and authentic to who you are.
The leaders must bring their own personality and values to the position to be truly effective.
To be an effective leader, you must gain people's trust and build positive relationships with them. As we've seen, leaders who focus solely on their position waste energy and fail to connect with their subordinates. Instead, you should shift your attention outward and value those around you.
Positive relationships benefit both parties by raising energy levels and creating an enjoyable workplace. Conversely, negative relationships can drain energy and lead to a negative outlook. So, how do you build positive relationships? By getting people's permission to lead them, which is the next step on the leadership ladder.
To achieve this, you must value the people around you and communicate with them positively. Aggressive communication can lead to a defensive response, while calm communication encourages openness and connection. When people trust and appreciate you, they implicitly give you permission to lead them.
How to gain such a permission?
I would like to mention two aspects: First one is a trust is particularly important during difficult situations, and leaders who value everyone on the team can strengthen those ties. For example, the U.S. Marines leave no one behind, regardless of rank. Officers waive their insignias of rank to signal that they are in this together, and this ethos plays a key role in the organisation's reputation. Read: What is being a position leader and how to gain trust for leading people.
And the second one by inspiring others, showing examples of how to and generating momentum. Even though change can be challenging, it's essential to set an example and create a positive wave of energy. Your attitude and behaviour will influence the performance of your team, so it's crucial to show enthusiasm and drive.
Developing your people is vital for the success of your company
True leaders act as mentors, focusing on transforming those around them and helping them grow. People development is therefore one of the most critical aspects of leadership, with transformative leaders dedicating 80% of their efforts to staff development and just 20% to personal productivity. Maybe 70% and 30%, but you notice the priorities.
Not only is personal development beneficial for the company, but it also fulfills a significant human need. By offering opportunities for growth, employees feel loyal to the company, reducing the likelihood of seeking opportunities elsewhere.
To achieve long-term success, finding the right balance between teaching and empowering employees to grow on their own is essential.
Creating a culture of leadership and developing future leaders is the ultimate goal of effective leadership. While becoming a successful leader is a lifelong journey, the true mark of a great leader is their ability to teach and empower others to become leaders as well.
Empowering others to become leaders and seeing them grow and follow in one's footsteps is immensely fulfilling, making it the ultimate source of personal satisfaction.