The artistry of leadership: From manager to leader

It’s an age-old debate; What is leadership vs management? It’s seen its fair share of discussion and analysis and is a conversation that can feel a bit tired at times. So, before you roll your eyes and switch off, let me reassure you that I want to acknowledge the overfamiliar debate and offer a different spin. My spin is one that doesn’t see leadership and management as opposing forces but as complementary facets of your professional journey.

Your identity at work often comes down to one fundamental choice—your approach. It's this approach that determines whether you'll be seen as a leader or a manager. So, before I look at the world of leadership and management and what the difference is, let's begin by exploring how your approach shapes your professional identity.

Crafting Your Career Canvas

Think of your career as a blank canvas. It’s ready to absorb your unique brush strokes, colour choices, and patterns to define your professional identity. Your career canvas has the potential to become something quite extraordinary and it is shaped by your approach.

Your approach isn’t just about the tasks you complete; it’s holistic and includes your work philosophy, personal style, and the approach you take to tackle challenges. It's not just about what you do, but how you do it. Critically, your approach can play an important role in your journey from management to leadership for achieving peak performance.

Staying Inside the Lines

Now imagine you are handed a canvas with numbered sections, each linked to a specific colour. Your goal is clear. Stick to the provided formula and carefully fill in each area. This mirrors the manager's approach. It is an approach defined by structure, precision, and a commitment to making sure every piece fits seamlessly.

Like someone diligently colouring within the numbered sections, as a manager, you adhere to the plan, avoiding creative detours. Your approach revolves around structured processes, meeting deadlines, and following the established rules. It's all about staying inside the lines, making sure each piece fits perfectly into the whole.

These lessons gathered while you’ve been stating within the ‘safety lines’ may appear to lack creativity, but that is not the case. They are an invaluable resource when you are faced with a blank canvas of leadership. You’ve learned what colours work well, what you like and dislike and how different materials interact. All of this learning will inform your choices, guide your brushstrokes, and give you the confidence to create your masterpiece without the safety net of predefined boundaries. It will support your transition from management to leadership.

Embracing the Blank Canvas

Now, see yourself standing before that blank canvas. You have a palette of colours, an assortment of brushes, and an abundance of imagination. This is a leader’s approach. Here you start with a canvas full of potential but with no predefined routes. It's an adventure, a journey of exploration, where you get to discover where creativity and innovation can take you, using all those valuable lesson from your management journey. You’re open-minded, ready to explore different techniques and approaches to create a masterpiece.  Perhaps even combining approaches – using textiles as well as paint for example.

Like an artist facing that pristine canvas, you might find the unlimited possibilities both exciting and daunting. But that's the appeal of leadership—it thrives on the unexpected. As a leader, you embrace the messiness of creativity, take calculated risks, and experiment with various approaches to craft a unique and inspiring work of art.

Leadership, much like art, evolves over time. Your canvas may start with a single bold stroke, but it gradually takes shape through continuous effort and vision. Each new stroke may spark different ideas, causing you to reevaluate your approach and try something new. Your approach inspires those around you, and together, you create a work of art that reflects not just your unique style but the collaborative spirit of your team.

Enhancing Your Leadership Palette

Just as artists enhance their work by learning new skills and techniques, leaders need to continuously learn and evolve. To create complex masterpieces, leaders need a diverse range of skills, tools, and approaches. This means embracing fresh perspectives, exploring new strategies, and being open to learning from both successes and failures.

Learning drives your leadership journey forward. It's about acquiring new brushes, experimenting with different colours, exploring different mediums or methods and perfecting your craft. Continuous learning expands your leadership palette, enabling you to tackle more intricate and challenging projects on your career canvas.

Create your Unique Masterpiece

As you advance in your career, the journey to peak performance often involves transitioning from management to leadership. It’s important to remember your approach does not need to be rigid. There’s great power in your ability to adapt and choose the right approach for each situation. You can be the meticulous manager who ensures everything fits into place and the visionary leader who charts a course into unfamiliar waters.

Ultimately, it's about finding your unique blend of management and leadership and aligning it with your pursuit of success. Embrace your inner artist, whether you're meticulously managing or boldly leading. Your career is your canvas, and every day is an opportunity to create your unique masterpiece!