Very simply put, management is about managing others, about exercising executive control over people.
Rasmus Hougaard & Jacqueline Carter
Leadership, on the other hand, is about seeing and hearing others, setting a direction, and then letting go of controlling what happens next.
4 ways to bring more humanity to your leadership…
1- Remember the Golden Rule… a desire to see others happy & a readiness to help it happen
2- Listen intently… not only will you become wiser, but you can genuinely help others
3- Ask yourself, how can I be of benefit?… reflect on how to create more human interactions focused on other’s growth & development
4- Stretch people to see their potential… a good leader values who we are today and challenges us to stretch & do better to realize more of our true potential.
Bonus Nuggets
Being human & making hard leadership decisions are not mutually exclusive; doing hard things is often the most human thing to do. 3 key ingredients = wisdom & compassion… when a leader demonstrates both wisdom & compassion, job satisfaction is 86% higher for an employee than an employee who does not …the sum is much greater than the parts.
“you must create a culture of compassion and empowerment that is accepting of diverse perspectives. This unlocks people’s creativity, productivity and happiness.” – Chris Toth, CEO, Varian
A good leader values who we are today but also challenges us to stretch ourselves and do better to realize more of our true potential.