Many lecturers and experts have spoken about leadership and the importance of transformation from management to leadership style since leadership influences productivity, efficiency and authenticity.
For two decades, many kinds of research have been conducted on leadership. Also, a wide variety of different theoretical approaches were studied to explain the complexities of leadership. According to Bay (2019) leadership is a subject considered easy to speak about but hard to implement in practical life.
This article explores patterns of findings from interviewing many cross-sectional leaders in different lines of business such as consultancy, oil and gas, telecommunication, information security and supply chain sectors.
Also, the article highlights the importance of having: a long-term vision, values that promote justice, and adaptability in managing change as important characteristics to have a successful transition from being a manager to a real leader. It concludes with important recommendations on best practices in utilising resources.
The Transformation from Managers to Leaders
To start with, it is important to highlight that any organisation needs both: leaders and managers. In his research, Kotter (1990) mentioned the need for both; leaders drive the path and managers make them doable. As an individual gets higher on the career ladder, it is essential to transfer to a leadership approach.
In an organisation, technical skills are “most important at lower and middle levels of management” (Northouse, 2019, p. 102). Thus, managers can fit very well to handle those roles. At the same time, leaders will better fit in a high level of management as they “influence others and create visions for change” (Bennis & Nanus, 2007, p. 221).
There are three key common features that individuals have to consider during the transition from management to leadership.
The first is a long-term vision, the second is moral reasoning, and the third is adaptability in handling change.
These ideas emerged from my interviews conducted.
The long-term vision is what differentiates managers from leaders; managers set short-term timetables, agendas, and allocate resources, while leaders clarify the big picture and set strategies, according to Kotter (1990).
Leaders are the key enablers for the sustainability and long-term survival of companies. Leaders not only brainstorm possible opportunities, but they ensure the implementation of strategic plans.
Take a good example of a strategic planner and implementer: Steve Jobs, who turned Apple from a company that almost went bankrupt in 1997 to a company worth more than $1 trillion in 2018 (Nicas, 2018). This happened because he promoted innovative ideas of staff, then built a solid syringe accordingly.
On the other hand, history is full of examples of market leaders who didn’t see the opportunities ahead or act on them. Kodak, Sears and Motorola are just a few, as per Onderick Harvey (2022).
The second transformational behaviour is moral reasoning. Moral reasoning is the capacity to make ethical decisions that serve justice and the greater good of the group, organisation, or community, according to Northouse (2019). Since institutions around the globe suffer from crises of meaning and moral authority, leaders can serve a deeper and more enduring role in this field. They can be models and catalysts for values “like excellence, caring, justice and faith” (Bolman & Deal, 2021. p. 421).
Value-driven leaders demonstrate two types of behaviours. First, they are strong role models for the beliefs and values they want their followers to adopt.
For example, Gandhi advocated nonviolence and was an exemplary role model of civil disobedience. Second, they articulate ideological goals that have moral overtones.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream’’ speech is an example of this type of behaviour.
The third common characteristic of a leader rather than a manager is the willingness to make a change and own consequences related to it. “H.H” – a Team Leader in a consultancy firm – highlighted two important factors in change management. First is the importance of finding areas of improvement and creating the circumstances for implementing the change for better outcomes.
Second is the importance of feeling the pain because it enhances understanding of the problem and allows a hands-on experience to make an effective modification. All of the above shows the importance of having a mentor or a role model who inspires or guides a person in making an impact.
As leaders are expected to manage change, they need to manage different types of anxiety, as introduced by Schein (2017).
With that being said, change leaders must recognise that “The road to freedom is full of thorns and fire, yet happy is he who follows it!”
Pain is expected during change journeys and history is a solid lesson to be learned from.
First is Mayor Anthony Williams who was called a heartless hatched man when he wanted to improve public services and amend existing processes by introducing performance management systems (Scott, 2002).
Second is Dolores Huerta who was beaten until she developed major fractures because of her role in asking for farmworker rights. Labour rights were difficult to have those days (Bratt, 2017).
But victory will be noticed years after successful changes; the change effects of Mayor Anthony were noticed after a couple of years and president Obama awarded the Medal of Freedom to Dolores after many years of strife.
Criticism of Transformational Trend
In conclusion, companies are recommended to consider two points in utilising resources.
First, some talented staff who are potential leaders face challenges in delegating technical day-to-day- matters. This challenge constrains their transition to leadership roles; companies are encouraged to keep a budget for leadership courses for those staff as well as on-job training with senior leaders.
Second, companies should stay vigilant to the fact that some talented staff can perform better in managerial fields rather than leadership roles. This is because some talented staff have better capabilities as subject matter experts, which is a need of all companies.
It is recommended to balance the ratio between managers and leaders according to demand and need. Also, companies need to create systems that select talented employees based on matching skills to fill managerial and leadership positions. This will be a key enabler for sustainability and success.
(The writer is project controls team leader in PDO, a doctorate student in leadership at New York University and developing trainer at the Royal Academy of Management)
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