Great managers are clear on their purpose and brand

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Being a manager is not for everyone. It is important to ask yourself why you want to be a manager and to work out what contribution you can make in this role. You may discover during this process that you’d prefer to be a specialist or expert and if this is what excites you; be true to yourself and don’t try to be something you are not.

Clarifying your purpose involves being clear on your aspirations, strengths, skills and values.

Clarify your aspirations

Spend time thinking about what you’d ultimately like to achieve as a manager – what personal and career goals will it help you realize? What contribution would you like to make? What would you like people to be saying about you as a manager in 2-3 years’ time? What would you like them to say at the end of your career?

Discover your strengths

These are underlying qualities that naturally energize you, not just skills you have learned or competencies you’re good at. What do you love to do that you could do everyday without getting bored? For example, some managers are energized by being strategic and creative while others are more organized and detail oriented.

Build out your skills

Skills are learned abilities and behaviours that enable you to perform a task really well. It is important to build as much skill as possible in areas of strength as these are the things that will give you an edge over others when the next promotion opportunity comes up. These areas where your strengths and skills overlap are what we call your “sweet spots”, they are areas where you have opportunity to make the greatest contribution and impact at work.

Stay true to your values

Your values are the beliefs and principles that are important to you and guide your decisions and actions. People have different values, for example, some are ambitious and driven while others prioritize friendship and harmony. Being clear about your values and staying true to them is important, as it ensures you come across as trustworthy and genuine to others. It also prevents inner conflict and stress that occurs when people are trying to fit in with a set of values that simply doesn’t suit them.

Clarify and communicate your brand

Once you’ve got clarity on these areas, think about how you can bring most value to the team and organization:
• Where will you play at your very best?
• What difference would you like to make?
• In what areas do you require help/support where you are weaker?

Communicate your brand to co-workers and others outside work to get feedback so you can refine and build on it. Communicating your brand and staying true to it in the way you act everyday will build trust and ensure people understand where you can make the most difference.



About the Author

James Brook
Founder and MD | Leadership Consultant | Organizational Psychologist

James is a leadership consultant, organizational psychologist and executive coach. He has over 25 years’ experience working with leaders, teams and organizations globally to optimize their performance, talent and future success. He specializes in positive leadership, thriving workplaces, collaboration and influencing, organizational change and transformation, accelerating innovation and coaching executives and leaders in innovative sectors including Tech, Digital, E-commerce and Life Sciences.

Before setting up Plexus Leadership, James held leadership roles in HR and Talent Management in the UK and abroad with companies such as NatWest, Yahoo! and Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals. After this, he founded and led several talent and leadership consulting and assessment businesses, including Strengthscope®, an online strengths assessment and development business serving a wide range of UK and global clients. James grew this venture into a global market leader before selling the business in 2018.

James has supported, advised and coached leaders and teams globally across diverse industries and geographies. Clients he has worked with include Allen & Overy, Commvault, Equinor, Facebook, GSK, Hilton, John Lewis, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, NHS, Oracle, Sainsbury’s, Swiss Re, Tesco, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, WSP and Yahoo!.

James has a Master’s in Organizational Psychology, an MBA, an Advanced Diploma in Executive Coaching and a Harvard Business qualification in Sustainable Business Strategy. He is a member of the Institute of Directors, the Association of Business Psychologists and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (FCIPD). He is currently undertaking a PhD in Organizational Psychology examining the start-up experiences of Tech and Digital entrepreneurs.

James is a regular contributor and speaker on leadership, coaching, innovative talent management and the future of work. His most recent book, Optimize Your Strengths, explores how leaders can create thriving workplaces by inspiring and supporting people to optimize their potential and teamwork to deliver breakthrough results.

Contact us now for an obligation free chat.


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