Challenging High-Potential Managers to Become Great Leaders
The key message of this book is that as you move into upper leadership levels, your technical skill, what you know, becomes less important - you are expected to be competent. What counts more is whom you know and, perhaps more important, who in turn knows and trusts you.
This book focuses on the mindset and skills required to manage and lead effectively, making the transition from primarily transactional, result-oriented management to combining this appropriately with strategic, process-based leadership ability.
Management vs Leadership
As high-potentials move up the corporate ladder, both skillsets are needed, ideally working in tandem as complementary ways of working, according to the context. Your leadership mindset defines the objectives; your management mindset ensures that those objectives are met.
One of the biggest dangers for those in a leadership role is to default back into a management mindset when under pressure. Worst of all is not even recognising the difference.
Four essential types of leadership conversation
The authors identify not just the need to engage in leadership conversations, but further classify these into four categories - conversations that:
- Build Relationships - mastering emotional intelligence, connecting with followers to align goals and fostering a culture of transparency and honesty
- Develop Others - driving long-term growth, mentoring and recognising people, leading talented managers and celebrating their successes
- Make Decisions - integrating facts, developing solid judgement, stimulating innovation and asking great questions that lead to alignment with strategy
- Take Action - developing vision, allocating resources and measuring performance, all while eliminating assumptions and drawing followers into unified action
"If your actions inspire others to dream more, to learn more, and to become more - you are a leader."John Quincy Adams