Do you doubt your leadership abilities?

While he is delighted to have received the recognition of his hard work that comes with a promotion he is also worried that he is not cut out to be a manager. 

If any of you met him you would instantly know he would be the most fantastic leader. Not only does he lead by example but he genuinely cares about the people around him.

The only thing missing from the magic formula was confidence. The only person who wasn't convinced by his ability was him! 

Initially he let the self-doubt take over, to the point that it was almost all consuming. He thought about rejecting the offer of promotion and just staying in his old role. He knew this would have been a decision he would quickly regret, so he started to research what makes a great manager. 

He came across this quote by Alexander den Heijer- “When I talk to managers, I get the feeling that they are important. When I talk to leaders, I get the feeling that I am important.” He then took a deep dive into articles explaining the differences between managers and leaders. This was a light bulb moment for him.

He realised he already had so much of what makes a good leader. He just didn’t ever want to be a manager. 

This article by Simplilearn defines the role of management as “ to control a group or group of individuals in order to achieve a specified objective”. It was the idea of controlling his team that made my friend feel so uncomfortable. He believes that a flexible, positive environment is the way to make people happy at work.

When people are happy at work they work better and stay with the company for longer. The definition of leadership aligned much more with what he wanted to be- “Leadership is the ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute to the organisation's success”. 

So, he went into his new job with one aim, to make his team feel important. And it is going great! The imposter syndrome and self-doubt haven’t disappeared completely quite yet but every day he believes just a little bit more that he can do this job well.

He told me it gets easier with practice. I think the best part of his new job is seeing his self-confidence grow as he gains experience and sees the difference he is making to his team’s confidence.

He already has other managers asking him for tips on getting a team motivated!

Being a good manager starts within oneself. It is much easier to have confidence in something if you know exactly what you believe in.

Once my friend figured out what kind of manager he wanted to be, he was better able to see himself as a leader. Taking the time to work out what being a leader meant to him, helped him realise he was already equipped with so many of the skills he needed. 

All leaders have different styles and different traits and that is what makes a workplace engaging and fun. How boring would life be if we were all the same!

If you need help to figure out what you value, the type of leader you aspire to be and how to gain the confidence to step up and be that leader please take a look at our leadership confidence course or contact us