Leading people differs significantly from the work of a regular employee. Many people believe that once they are promoted to a managerial position, they can continue doing more or less the same things as before. Perhaps they think they only need to delegate some work occasionally or organize a team meeting. In their view, the principles that guided them previously remain valid. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Which principles apply to regular employees and may even have helped you reach a managerial position, but have a negative impact once you become a manager?
This article is based on a piece published in Forbes.
„The more work you complete, the better employee you are.“
For regular employees, the best performer is usually the one who delivers the most results and simply gets the most work done. However, applying this same principle to a managerial role creates problems. A manager's responsibility is to organize the team and motivate employees to work independently. A manager who cannot delegate work and handles too many tasks personally is not an effective manager. Therefore, it is certainly not true that the more work a manager personally completes, the better the manager is.
„Hard skills are the most important factor at work.“
Technical knowledge is a key factor in the success of regular employees. For managers, technical skills still have their place, but soft skills such as work organization, communication, motivation, and strategic planning are generally far more important in leadership positions. Managers who rely too heavily on their hard skills and measure success primarily through them often neglect leadership itself.
„No mistakes should ever happen.“
For individual employees, the fewer mistakes they make, the better. However, this principle does not fully apply at the team level. If a team and its leadership maintain a strict aversion to any mistakes, the result is that the team remains stuck in the status quo, avoids trying new approaches, and loses opportunities for development.
„Work results matter most, workplace relationships are secondary.“
While a regular employee may work independently and pay little attention to colleagues, a manager cannot afford such an isolated approach. Developing strong workplace relationships and building mutual trust between managers and their subordinates are essential responsibilities of every team leader. These responsibilities must never be neglected.
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