Is Leadership Really That Different?

We all agree that work differs across functions, industries, and even specific jobs. Yet, I can’t seem to get a universal agreement that leadership is different at each level. I mean, a front-line manager has to communicate with their team. An executive leader also has to communicate with their team. So, on the surface, communication skills may seem universal. Nothing could be further from the truth. While the foundational skills may be similar, they evolve and build upon one another. Maybe we’ll revisit this skills hierarchy in a future edition. For now, we’re going to focus on the biggest differentiator in leadership success: understanding the values of each leadership level.

An executive with the values of a front-line manager will get sucked into the weeds, spend too much time coaching, and fail to develop and execute a sound business strategy. Developing and executing the business strategy is their main goal—the work they should value. Leaders default to the values of their previous level far too often. In this edition of Perspectives on Leadership, I aim to make you think about leadership values and how they differ at each level.

Applying Leadership Values

Alright, time to dive into the leadership values by level:

As you can see, each leader has a specific focus based on the value they bring and the impact their role is intended to have on the organization. Let’s say you’re a Director. You can’t focus on building repeatable, consistent systems if your default work mode is coaching and on-the-job training. As a director, you have subordinate managers to handle coaching and training. Your job is to know what new skills need to be developed and how those new skills will contribute to the system being built.

The biggest leadership failures usually arise when someone gets Peter Principled, also known as being promoted to their level of incompetence. However, I don’t believe it’s always the leader's fault when this happens. Often, leaders are promoted without direction or insight into how their values should shift to align with their new role. Organizations need to clearly align leadership accountabilities with the organizational structure in place.

Leadership works when every level is focused on its specific area of value. I’ve found that leaders struggle with this because they lack awareness. If doing x got them promoted. What are they going to keep doing after their promotion? They’re going to keep doing x unless they understand the new expectations and values of the role. So, how can this information help you?

Reflection

I think we can all use the chart above to think about our own role. Here are some questions to think about:

• What level am I at? Do I value the leadership work expected at this level?

• Where do I want to go in my career? How can I start developing the skills and mindset associated with the new values in the position I aspire to attain?

• And the most important: how do I add value to the business?

It becomes immensely easier to add value once you understand how your role adds value to your organization. Companies don’t need managers to do front-line work. They need managers to enhance the output of their team. When you understand your role, you can begin to shape your use of time and develop the skills you need to succeed.

Resources

Here are some resources if you’re interested in learning more about this approach.

• The Leadership Pipeline by Ram Charan, Steven Drotter, and Jim Noel.

• Outbound Air by Tom Foster

• Reply directly to chat with me: this is my area of expertise!

Also, I’d love to hear what you think about the idea of new leadership values by level. Shoot a reply, and let’s chat about it!

See you next week, 

Rick