The not-so-secret formula to Leadership!

“Am I ‘just’ a manager or have I become a true leader to my people?”

It’s an age old question that many People Managers ask themselves, often in secret, often in self-doubt.

Let’s face it, being a leader is about more than just bossing people around and making all the decisions. It’s about inspiring and empowering others to be the best they can be.

I have a (totally non-scientific!) formula to connect the two!

Management + Coaching = Leadership

First, it takes traditional management skills, such as

setting and communicating clear goals

managing and allocating resources

tracking progress and performance

Then, mix and add coaching skills, such as

‘listening’ for someone’s styles, needs and adjust situationally

using active listening and inquiry, more than telling and directing

providing caring and direct feedback

inspiring self-motivation and self-owned accountability

Here’s an example:

Let’s say you’re a manager responsible for a team of salespeople.

You could approach your role in two ways:

Management-style leading:

Setting and adjusting regular sales quotas

Constantly monitoring their progress, pointing out missteps

Focusing communication on the work of selling, processes, etc.

Coaching-style leading:

Asking team members how they would use their strengths to achieve goals

Listening to concerns and offering support, taking them seriously

Focusing communication on the person, their styles, their challenges, etc.

My message is this: Both approaches can be effective in certain situations, but I believe that the combination of management and coaching is magical.

By bringing these skills together, leaders can not only achieve results, but also inspire and empower their team members to reach their full potential (and even have lots of fun along the way!).

All the best, Maik

p.s. I launch an exciting new course format from March, that consists of very digestible 2h per week for 12 weeks. Curious? It’s all new and I will share more soon!