#DiverseLeadership

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In this episode, Dr. Almitra Berry tackles the vital subject of supporting and retaining teachers of color in educational institutions. Emphasizing equity and inclusion, she sheds light on the challenges they face and offers actionable strategies to confront them. Discover the power of collaboration, diverse leadership, and equitable policies. Dr. Berry's insights will empower you to make a meaningful difference in the world of education. Don't miss this impactful discussion! Watch video for more information.

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Excited to join a whole range of friends for the Northern Leadership Awards next month. Great to be shortlisted, unlikely to win, but I’ll be on the dancefloor at the Midland no matter what happens. #leadershipawards #manchesterbusiness #midlandhotel #manchesterhotel #thebusinessdesk #inclusiveleadership #mindfulleadership #consciousleadership #diverseleadership #blackbusinessleaders #autisticleaders https://www.instagram.com/p/CocGHolol73/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Skills you need to make the quantum leap from manager to leader

While your technical skills may get you a foot in the door, it’s likely that the way you deal with people will determine the success of your leadership. The way you respond to people; the way you’re are being when you’re with them, your communication skills, your emotional intelligence and a whole host of other personal attributes are how you can excel as a leader.

From the outside, moving from a management role to a leadership role might seem like a logical progression, a rebadging of your current role, with a few bells on - not much to see. However, leaders are a bit like ducks on water: at first glance it looks calm and serene but there’s a lot of activity under the water that isn’t obvious.

This can lead former managers or newly appointed leaders to continue to act like a manager in the boardroom, when they need to show up differently. As a manager moving into leadership, you may have excellent knowledge about your industry or sector and the processes in your organisation but there is a big gap to be crossed. Management roles tend to be more focused on implementing process and measuring efficiency and profitability in short or medium term. Whereas leaders focus on creating long-term value for organisations, their customers and their stakeholders. They demonstrate why the organisation does what it does, rather than a management view of what is done and the way in which it is done.

Leadership requires versatility across multiple areas of business and a range of skillsets, from risk management and corporate governance, to strategic planning and human resources.

The strongest leaders are continuously learning

Possibly the most important skills that a leader can grow are self-awareness and understanding of how others experience them as a leader - and the humility to change when that feedback is not so positive.

As a leader, you need the gravitas to inspire people and inspire confidence in those who are looking to you for leadership. If you can display and demonstrate morals, values and ethics then people will be more likely to listen to you. This requires you to know what your values are – what is important to you. If you can’t get this across to those you lead, if you espouse them and do not live them out your time as a leader may be cut short. People need to know they can trust you to be who you say you are - and you need their trust.

Clear communication and interpersonal skills are critical

If you’re a leader, you’re in the relationship business. Business is about relationships. Leadership is about relationships: you’re only a leader if people will follow you. Look behind you. Are they following?

Your EQ is as important as your IQ when you are a leader, if not more so

Leaders are required to display the confidence to not ‘know’ everything, to not have all the answers; but to understand their own strengths and the strengths of those around them; they need to be able to inspire confidence in those people. Your emotional intelligence is a key skill.

There’s no point in hiring people with great skills and not allowing them to be the best at what they do. Realising that you aren’t actually the best person in the room at everything should be liberating because, when a strategic leader understands their own and their people’s strengths and weaknesses, they are then in a position to support them properly and to achieve better results than they could ever have achieved on their own. It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. Good leaders set the vision and determine what needs to be achieved but they trust the people around them to make it happen.

Great leaders look in the mirror when things go wrong and out the window when things go right

US management guru Jim Collins pointed out that, when business decisions fail, instead of blaming people, leaders need to attempt to try to understand what actually happened and not to assign blame to individuals: “The best way to do that is for the CEO to be the one to look in the mirror and to say, ‘I shoulder all of the responsibility. In the end, I am to blame. Okay, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about what we can learn from this’. Great leaders listen. They ask questions. They want to know what you think.

Great leaders embrace diversity

Whether that’s our gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation or religion, great leadership recognises and appreciates what makes us different, on a personal and professional level.

A McKinsey study 'Diversity Matters' examined the financial results of 366 companies in North and Latin America and the UK, and found that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity were 15 per cent more likely to have stronger financial returns, and those in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity were 35 per cent more likely to outperform.

There’s a very clear link between diversity, innovation and creativity. Diversity brings fresh ideas and perspectives to organisations. Lack of diversity is a huge business risk when companies don’t reflect their customer base or understand the societies in which they operate. Lack of diversity is often a sign that leadership is seeking control rather than influence and that company values do not reflect the realities of the workplace, and where that is the case leaders will fail to inspire stakeholders, who will vote with their feet rather than follow you.

Take your leadership ambitions seriously

While your technical skills may get you a foot in the door, it’s likely that the way you deal with people will determine the success of your leadership. The way you respond to people; the way you’re are being when you’re with them; your communication skills; your emotional intelligence, and a whole host of other personal attributes are how you can excel as a leader. Everything is much easier when you work on these skills, yet they are unlikely to be the skills that you are offered training on – it tends to be assumed that you have these abilities. If you’re serious about leadership, make sure you have all the critical skills you need when you step into that role. Invest in yourself.

Caroline Stagg Working with CEOs & senior leaders to increase impact: developing leadership thinking for the results you really want. www.carolinestagg.co.uk