Great managers light a fire under people, great leaders light a fire within them

The key is for people to work hard because they want to do a good job for you, rather than because they fear you.

To me it is really important that I lead by example... I want to be treated fairly so I treat people fairly too. That's not to say that I give people an easy ride. I have high expectations of people that work for me and around me, but I have even higher expectations of myself!

I recently had a 17 year old come and work with me on work experience and he commented that we have a culture where people work hard because they don't want to let their teams and manager down rather than through fear. Which got me thinking... 

What makes a good manager / leader?

It's someone who:
Doesn't make it personal 
Makes decisions objectively
Is honest 
Is guided by internal moral standards
Has self awareness 
Demonstrates an understanding of own strengths and weaknesses
Is good at disclosing about them-self
Can help shape your ideas

And I'd say my favourite... A leader enables others to succeed.

 

Comments

  1. Rachel Taylor8 September 2015 at 22:25

    Great post Tara! Most resonant for me is that a great manager 'doesn't make it personal' something I'm working on!

    ReplyDelete
  2. ChrisS9 September 2015 at 07:52

    Definitely. The sole purpose of a leader (IMHO) if you boil it down is to create an environment where their people can be successful. Thats it. Nothing more, nothing less.

    ReplyDelete

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