How to help new executives transition from managing to leading

How prepared is your organization for the future?

I spoke to one recent client, we’ll call her Carrie, who is concerned about how to best position the company for future success. Some of their C-suite leaders are beginning to consider retirement, and Carrie wants to start preparing potential C-suite candidates now. She’s identified a number of internal people whose responsibilities she’d like to increase, but they’re all at different places in their leadership development. These candidates are great in their current roles, but leading a business unit or department isn’t the same as managing a team. Thankfully, Carrie is wise enough to know that these eventual executives needed support in learning these new skills, and she wants to start preparing them now so they can transition gradually into these C-suite roles. I recommended a leadership development program that provided a combination of functional skill-building sessions and one-on-one coaching to dive deep into the on-the-job application for Carrie’s people.

The transition to the C-suite is especially fresh in my mind as I prepare to teach the summer semester of my NYU course, The C-Suite Perspective. Becoming an executive leader requires a number of mental shifts, but understanding the difference between leadership and management is one of the toughest hurdles for most new executives to clear. Here’s where to start.

Managers vs. leaders

Organizations look to managers to support their objectives, and to meet them through their processes. They’ll be responsible for creating a team environment, setting performance standards and cultivating an effective culture that works for their people. Managers set team–wide goals, allocate the required resources, and supervise the work it takes to meet them. Those in management positions are charged with the all-important task of developing organizational talent, of making the right hires and providing them with the guidance they need to succeed. These practical duties are what keeps the organization running smoothly on a day-to-day basis.

Leadership is a more abstract concept, and it doesn’t fit into an organizational hierarchy in the same way. A manager is a title, a dedicated role with a set of responsibilities. While the best managers are leaders, they’re not synonymous. When it comes to the C-Suite, leaders use their vision to inspire others, helping them to understand the mission and its impact.

To borrow a definition from Simon Sinek, a leader’s job is “not about being in charge, it’s about taking care of those in our charge.”

It’s not about how the work gets done, it’s about engaging and supporting those doing the work. Great leaders are people-focused, ready to sacrifice for those under their watch, and committed to creating a psychologically-safe environment that demonstrates their care and loyalty to their people.  Leadership is an action.

These skills are like a muscle, and the more you work on them, the stronger they get. Just like any new workout, we all have to start somewhere.

Ask yourself: How am I taking care of those in my charge? Am I building my leadership muscles? How can I help aspiring leaders on my team to shift their mindset?

It’s not about you

In his fantastic TEDx Talk, Peter Anderton tells us that great leadership really comes down to just two rules. The first is that it’s not about you.

Because leadership comes with so many pressures, it can be easy to get in a hero mindset, where we feel as if we have to be able to solve every problem alone. But it’s not reasonable for one person to be solely responsible for something’s success, and doing so takes your team out of the equation. It’s not about “my,” it’s about “our.” Don’t be driven by your ego, pride, or your authority. Instead, shift your focus to others. Strive to inspire those who report to you, empowering them to do their best work. And your team shouldn’t be the only people on whom you concentrate your energy; keep in mind the people who you want your product or service to  attend to. When you are considering taking action, evaluate your motivation. Are you doing this for yourself, or for others?

Ask yourself: Am I seeing my own role in my organization’s success?

The second leadership rule: it’s only about you.

While great leaders focus their outer energy on others, their inner work is just as important. Who we are as a person dictates who we are as a leader, and personal development is an essential piece of the puzzle. Self-mastery is key to elevating your leadership capacity. In his talk, Anderton describes it as “being at the top end of who we really are.” When people follow a leader because they have to, the quality of their work is bound to suffer. The idea is for a team to want to follow someone because of who they are and what they represent.

Those aspiring to the C-suite must be just as well-versed in the “soft skills” as they are in the hard ones. Empathy, self-control, cooperation, respect, perspective, discipline, communication, and the ability to take responsibility are critical to great leadership. All these can be learned. New and aspiring leaders must make the same investment here as they would in any other part of their work.

Ask yourself: How can I support potential leaders in developing these components? Am I continuing to cultivate and work on my own skills?

Gary Vaynerchuk advises to “focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses,” solid advice that shares Carlos’ emphasis on leading with courage, not fear. I hope you feel as inspired as I do to lead with a mindset that promotes collaboration, diversity of thought, and—of course— courage.