Management and Leadership.  

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Some people can think of these words as synonyms.  That couldn’t be farther than the truth. These words are worlds apart.

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Leadership is so much more than just managing people.  It's about growing people, and fostering a culture of growth.  We can all point out a bad manager that we have followed at one point or another.  And what is one quality they lacked?  You got it - empathy.  

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Whenever someone complains about their boss a common theme is “they just don’t get my point of view.” To be an empathetic leader is to be able to connect with your team on a fundamental level; know what is important to them, know what they hold close, and know what drives them. Connection fosters trust, trust builds loyalty, and loyalty creates empowered employees.

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A common misconception leaders make is to put themselves in their employees shoes, the real connection comes when you, as a leader, are able to relate with how they feel in their shoes not how you would feel in their shoes.  

Get comfortable with knowing yourself

Self awareness is key.  What kind of a leader are you?  Where are you at in developing your leadership skills? What triggers you?  Where do you fail your  team? Have an honest conversation with yourself.  

Work on you before you work on your team

How can you expect your team to be high performers if you aren’t functioning at your highest level? Manage your energy (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual).  Fill your cup up before you try to fill others.  Adopt a growth mindset, dedicate yourself to learning, and find a joy in giving and sharing lessons you’ve learned.

Be vulnerable

This is a hard one for most managers to wrap their heads around.  True leaders allow themselves to be vulnerable.  It takes courage to be vulnerable, but it also takes courage to be a true leader.  It’s ok to fail.  As long as you take your lesson with that failure and grow from it.  When teams see their leader fail and rise above it is inspiring.  It gives them courage to attempt things they may have thrown back on the leader.  This ownership  creates autonomous employees which create efficient teams that require less management because they have better leadership.

When leaders are vulnerable, they are more open and emotionally available to team members which creates more connection and improves the teams performance as a whole.

Tough managers may inspire through fear or intimidation.  Empathetic leaders inspire with authenticity, courage and humanity.

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If you know a leader that is struggling to connect with their team, share this with them.

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