Understanding the difference between the role of a manager and a leader is crucial to maximizing the potential of your people. A manager’s job is to plan, organize and coordinate. A leader’s job is to inspire and motivate. Leadership and management must go hand in hand. They are not the same thing. But they are necessarily linked and complementary.
So, what can organizations do to help good managers become better leaders?
A good place to start is by first helping the manager understand their core competencies and then help them understand how their leadership style is currently perceived by their boss, direct reports, peers, and other leaders within their organization. After all, leadership is the cornerstone of business. Without effective leadership, the entire organization will fail. In order to ensure that managers are held to the highest standard, they need to be aware of how they can improve their managerial styles.
Core Competencies
By assessing managers core competencies, companies can determine how well each manager fits in their specific role. Assessments like our PXT Select can reveal in-depth, objective insight into each manager’s thinking style, behavioral traits, occupational interests, and job fit within the organization. Certain behaviors or traits may incline one person to be a more effective manager over another and our assessment can identify those traits. Managers should also have the opportunity to review their individual assessment results to better understand the reasoning behind their actions and behaviors. This information can make managers better problem solvers and more effective at dealing with different personalities.
Perception
Every manager in your organization should be given the opportunity to learn about and understand how they are perceived by others. Multi-rater assessments such as our Genos EI (Emotional Intelligence) 360o or our CheckPoint (Universal Competencies) 360o can identify specific traits about each manager that are crucial to their leadership performance and development. Knowing what others thinks of their leadership styles can help managers understand areas that need improvement and, when necessary, appropriately adapt their management style. The results of either of these two multi-rater assessments can also be used to develop specific leadership skills and behavior that can improve a manager’s overall effectiveness.
Either of these core competency or perception assessments are cost effective investments for organizations seeking to improve their managers’ effectiveness. Either assessment will help organizations focus their management training or development investments, discover misaligned communication within teams, or improve issues that could inhibit productivity. By providing managers with the appropriate tools to learn about their behaviors and personalities, managers are then better able to adapt their skill sets to encompass a wider range of effective management capabilities. Continually coaching and developing managers ensures that organizations will continue to grow and flourish.
We have the tools, means, and experience to help you. Talk to us, we’d like nothing more than to help you and your organization.
By the way, you may also find the following article from McKinsey & Company interesting …
“The boss factor: Making the world a better place through workplace relationships”, CLICK HERE.