Take Four Steps to Effective Management…or Rely on the Delusional Approach

To think that your organization and its leaders can move forward without developing new skill sets or behaviors is delusional.

Last week we discussed the four stages of a professional’s career. These stages are marked by specific skills and attitudes, and unless these are developed, your organization’s leaders will never move beyond management mediocrity.

Strong leaders need to develop excellence in four key areas. Here is a sampling of the skills that go into each area.*

1. Leading Yourself

• Empathy 
• Self-control
• Self-confidence 

 2. Leading the Team

• Developing others 
• Holding people accountable
• Mastering team member workflow 

 3. Managing the Work

• Driving for results 
• Initiative
• Problem solving 

 4. Managing Collaboratively

• Influencing others 
• Fostering teamwork
• Collecting and sharing credit

These skills no doubt differ slightly from organization to organization, and they are sometimes supplemented with skills like business development that are specific to a particular role.

How do your leaders shape up? Continue the conversation and let us know. 

*We often use assessments such as those from Hay Management Consultants on which this framework is based.