Creating leaders of the future through the power of contribution
Leaders of the Future
We talked in detail about creating change through people in our previous blog “From me to we: Creating Change through Contribution”. And that contribution is so much more than performance. A high performer consistently completes their tasks and objective on time, on budget and on spec but yet a high contributor goes the extra mile, they are proactive, spotting challenges before they become issues, they are forward thinkers, innovators and they spot opportunities and act upon them.
It is contribution that makes the difference.
The perception of leadership and management
Do you see a leader as a:
Hero
Problem solver
Expert
High achiever
Firefighter
Responder
Budget holder?
Or do you see a leader as a:
Thinker
Coach
Enabler
Facilitator
Empowerer
Decision maker
Environment setter?
The misconception of what makes a good manager is common. Have you ever promoted a high technical performer to become a team leader or manager and then wondered why they struggle to deliver and contribute in that role?
Changing people’s view of management
At the Treehouse we help change people’s view of management and thereafter their capability as a manager. From a manager as the Hero – the person who leaps into action to help the team solve problems and firefight – the one who is the expert and the highest achiever in the team. This is exacerbated by the media and film industry’s portrayal of people in charge who are like superman or wonder woman; saving the day; generally standing at the front and being the hero.
This way of operating is common in knowledge-based organisations, where the ‘currency’ is technical know-how and expertise. People are generally promoted to be the team manager or team leader because they are a great technical expert and deserve a promotion. Still, in reality, a management role is a cross-functional move – it needs a different set of skills to do the job well.
Without high-quality, tailored management development, the new first-line manager doesn’t understand the role; they don’t do the management aspects, instead, they act as the hero or simply add their pair of hands to that of the team, roll up their sleeves and help, and double down when there is an issue that requires technical expertise. The impact of this promotion is that the org has lost its best technical expert and gained a rubbish manager. They have turned a high contributor into a low one in an instant.
Lose-lose.
The Role of Servant Leader
Instead, there is a different, more helpful and accurate view of the management role – that of the manager as thinker, coach, enabler, decision maker, empowerer and environment setter.
Sometimes called Servant Leaders, this manager puts their team first; they set the direction then manage relationships, generate engagement, develop people, innovate and generate positive change. This manager leads from underneath; they are like a supporting mesh – scooping people up, pointing them in the right direction and getting the right balance of support and challenge to motivate and inspire each person to contribute fully and make a lasting difference towards the success of the business.
Creating an environment where ‘contribution’ supports new leaders
The first stage of any new job is to learn and absorb contribution for the business by taking it in from other people. This takes time and happens every time you enter a new role no matter your position.
The individual contribution of team members is the engine – the brain, hands and feet of the company. Their contribution will increase as their technical skills develop. The better team members are at their job, the greater the contribution.
Managers will contribute through other people and are distinctly different to leaders who set the strategic direction. They will also diminish their contribution every time they roll up their sleeves to add an extra pair of hands. They may think they are helping but often they are interfering and impeding the progress of the experts they manage.
It’s an extremely difficult concept for first-time managers and a different mindset. The transition from being an individual contributor to contributing through others is really hard if not given the right support. They risk becoming frustrated and de-motivated when their efforts are not successful.
Leaders are the internal entrepreneurs who set the strategic direction. They rely on their highly contributing managers. If managers do their job poorly, they create a situation where leaders need ‘manage down’. This leaves leaders distracted and diminishes their contribution - no one is doing their job well, the strategy suffers and the organisation's long-term sustainability becomes harder to achieve.
So how do we create our leaders of the future?
The change we ignite through contribution in a business is simply getting to a state where:
Leaders are Leading
Managers are Managing
Deputies are Developing
Team Members are Doing
And we do this through moving people through the relevant contribution curve through a contribution learning programme.
Team Members
Team members start their Contribution Curve at the learning stage, and through practise (lots and lots of it!), they have developed and honed their technical skills to reach the peak of their technical mastery at the accomplishing level.
While it would make sense that mastery of a skill should be at the top of their contribution curve, honing a skill can only develop a team so far. Collaboration is the next step to achieving success in a company. Working across an organisation, mentoring others and allowing them to step in and help too is more important than individual progression alone. At the very top of the team members' contribution curve is deputising where they are practising at being a manager and taking on greater leadership roles ready to feed into the manager's curve.
Managers, the leaders of the future
The bottom of their contribution curve is all about the task and your planning horizon is minutes hours days and as you progress to the top of their curve, more longer-term strategies are set concerning for months and years.
At the reacting level, there is reduced contribution from everyone because the managers are not doing the management role. They are fighting fires, responding to issues, acting as heroes (as mentioned earlier) and very much bogged down in the detail and thinking for the team.
A manager who’s in control has the right team at the right level with the right skills at the right time. They get results every time, a contented team who are consistently delivering customer satisfaction.
But we want more.
We want delighted customers. At the directing level, we get an empowered, agile, fulfilled team that contributes highly and you end up with happy customers and loyal suppliers. This is where your attention starts to drift from down into your team and across into your peers and you start contributing across a wider system.
Then at facilitating what you get is real, effective and efficient contribution. Much more than performance, you get innovation, you generate opportunity and you consistently delight the customer all of the time. With very high employee satisfaction, your team becomes magnetic with people queuing to join the department.
And finally, at leading, your attention is up and out into the wider market with long-term partnerships and sustainable revenue streams. You are thinking in months and years rather than hours, days and weeks. You are taking the strategic narrative from the business leaders and turning it into language and meaningful goals for your teams to act on.
This translation function joins up the team, so they are all pointed in the right direction and all understand what they are doing on a daily basis. It is also a translation function which runs in the opposite direction, taking the employee voice (from those at the coal face), and turning it into insights to inform the strategic direction.
The manager of the future is a conduit, cutting through organisational treacle to create seamless communication.
Treehouse Contribution Programme
Treehouse provide tailor-made programmes that recognise the culture and structure of the organisation and ensure that managers are coached in a way that will move them from being doers to thinkers and direction setters, and people who see the big picture and the contribution they must make.
You can find out more about out Contribution Programme here and how we use it to transform reacting managers into leaders.
Treehouse Contribution Programme
Treehouse provide tailor-made programmes that recognise the culture and structure of the organisation and ensure that managers are coached in a way that will move them from being doers to thinkers and direction setters, and people who see the big picture and the contribution they must make.
You can find out more about out Contribution Programme here and how we use it to transform reacting managers into leaders.