As a manager, you don’t realize how much of an impact you have on your team and their personal life, until you go to that first company BBQ and you meet your teams’ husbands, wives, kids and you realize how much they talk about you at home. It’s scary. You become a topic of conversation in their household. Whether it’s good or bad, the family knows exactly how your team member feels about you. What’s even worse, you don’t even realize how much of an impact you actually have on their entire live. Put boldly, your leadership role holds a lot of power. Team members will listen to you, because that’s what they get paid to do, unless you approach leadership differently.

Leaders, you impact 25% of your teams lives.

That's a quarter of your team members life. They spend more time with you than they do with their families, relatives and friends. Much of what you do and say as a leader impacts how your team member thinks, speaks, and works. What you say and do in front of your team, transcends into their homes and their personal lives. That’s the impact you have, but also the impression you leave.

It’s easy to forget how impressionable you are as a leader, when your focus is on sales, metrics, projects and the overall company goals. Your team looks up to you, every day. You are the role model. Your words, attitude, and actions leave a long lasting impression on your team. As a Leader, you have an amazing opportunity to make a strong, positive, impression on your team members. This is a great privilege and responsibility. Do not take it for granted. Instead, take your leadership opportunity to the next level.

Leadership is about, leading your team.

Establish the overall goals. Provide direction and guidance on what needs to be done in order to get there. Then get out of the way of your team. Let your team come up with the strategies. Allow them to brainstorm ideas around the approach. Give your team the opportunity to execute on the solutions they came up with.

Leadership is about navigating the chaos.

When it gets tough and no one has the energy to keep going, step in. Provide clarity. Regroup and help the team get back on track. Steer the team in a direction where they can focus. Uplift the team when they are drained. When there’s confusion, help the team break the goal down into smaller segments so it’s easier to manage.

Leadership is about building other leaders.

Being a leader is not only about leading. It’s also about building other leaders. In order to do this, you need to focus on the development of your team. Development is different for everyone. A development plan should be specific to the goals the team member wants to achieve in their career. You need to focus on building their skills, this will allow them to become more efficient in their current role. Doing this will allow you to build a team that can run the business efficiently. You can then identify team members who demonstrate leadership skills, allowing you to begin focusing on developing them as future leaders.

Leadership is about being a good human.

Forget about all the leadership styles you’ve read about. Start by being a good human. Treat your team with respect. Encourage a safe and collaborative work space. One where the team can share their ideas or challenge ideas presented without being scolded or embarrassed.

As a manager, your influence extends beyond the office; it permeates into the personal lives of your team members. Your words, actions, and attitude echo in their homes, shaping their thoughts and behaviors. Leadership isn't just about hitting targets; it's about being a role model, guiding through chaos, nurturing future leaders, and above all, embodying humanity by fostering respect and collaboration.

THE MANAGER TOOLKIT