How to shift from Manager to Leader

by Steve Radcliffe on 26 October, 2009

Photo of Steve Radcliffe & Richard Baker - Boots Leadership

Steve Radcliffe & Richard Baker @ Boots

A few years ago, we designed a global leadership development programme for Unilever’s senior managers making the transition to a leadership position. In running the programme, I realised that there are a few fundamental shifts involved in getting out of an Operator/Manager Mode and into Leader Mode.

We developed the thinking further when we started our leadership programme in Boots and presented it in the FED framework. I was asked by the London Business School to write an article about our approach, read the London Business School Leadership Article.

In it I write about Harry. When I met Harry, he’d lost his way. He was a very capable player but had been knocked deep into a lifeless Operator/Manager Mode. During the programme, he came alive again and refound his engaging Leader Mode.

What a waste of human potential when we spend lots of time in our Operator/Manager Mode, particularly when we don’t want to be there but are not aware we are there!

How clear are you about how different you are in your Leader Mode?
What are the shifts in the article you could make more often?
Which shifts could you take on practising this week?

What's your comment or question?

Print it
TrackBack URL

Other ways to share

  • Share

{ 2 trackbacks }

The Marketing Society » Blog Archive » Leadership Central: step three
22 April, 2010 at 4:21 pm
The Marketing Society » Blog Archive » Leadership Central: step three
6 May, 2010 at 8:22 pm

{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }

Stephen King 28 October, 2009 at 10:06 pm

Hello Steve,
I could not miss an opportunity to speak about FED and other stuff, someone once said it gets better with age (whatever it is!).
Leadership is a subject on which almost everyone you meet has some kind of opinion on, I have read countless books, been on thousands of seminars, courses and retreats. Only when I met FED and Steve 4 years ago did it really fall into place, leadership gets better with practice (not age), so I think the it, is PRACTICE!

Life is full of frameworks and guidelines, FED is one of the most simple yet challenging frameworks which demands that you embrace and make your own, you can add loads more of your own stuff and even some of the theories, models and tools to make it your own and come to life, thats what makes it work!

Stephen

Leave a Comment

Only your chosen name and comment will appear

Previous post:

Next post: