Why is it so important for a manager to have effective leadership skills? For me, the answer is simple.
If all you ever wanted was for people to show up to work on time and do what is specified in the job description, you could manage them the same way you do anything else, like funds, tools, equipment, supplies, etc. You wouldn’t need people skills.
But what most managers In fact What we want is for team members to do their best work, both individually and in a coordinated effort.
People have talent. They have energy. They have the potential to be creative. They can be bold, patient, persistent, and many other things while facing difficult challenges.
The problem is that even if they are able to put in this kind of effort, they don’t have to. There is a certain level of performance, and they know what it is, that is specified in their job description. To keep their jobs, that’s what they have to do. When the boss tells them to do something, that’s what they have to do.
But this level of effort is what managers recognize as “business as usual.” Not the kind of high performance team members are capable of. What managers want most are things that cannot be specified or measured: courage, compassion, commitment, composure, optimism, decisiveness, and dozens of other aspects of performance. You can’t demand these things and you can’t hold people accountable for them.
To get what you really want in the workplace, you have to lead others. You have to make them the kind of people who do these things. You have to inspire them to do it. You have to support and encourage them. You need effective leadership skills. Eventually, when they know the leader, like the leader, respect the leader, and trust the leader, then they can choose to give that level of effort. And if they do, day after day, the work will be very satisfying. And, of course, it will be satisfactory for the manager.
Have you ever had a boss that you admired and trusted so much that you would do anything for him? Someone who gave him the responsibility, the authority, the freedom of action and the recognition that he felt he deserved? Did you love coming to work every day because you knew your boss believed in you? If so, you sought do the best you can for him, even though you knew you could only get it by doing what was required.
Or you may have had a “problem boss,” someone with poor social skills, who supervised you. Maybe this person was selfish or had questionable ethics. If so, then you know that you never felt the desire to do what you were capable of.
I have a background in services and, as a consultant, I have worked in a variety of bureaucratic settings, often realizing quickly what was going on. Often, it was not “high performance.” It was simply “showing up to work” and doing whatever employees could be held accountable for. I learned that there was not much leadership.
And that is why effective leadership skills are so important in an organization. It’s not rocket science, but it’s the real reason managers should make the effort to develop the people skills and personal strengths that will make them better leaders.