29/02/2024 Marjut Alatalo Toimitusjohtaja, WayUp Oy.
Leadership can differ significantly depending on whether you're leading a team directly or managing managers who, in turn, lead teams or team leaders. Below, we highlight two perspectives where leadership varies notably depending on the target group.
Strategic Perspective
When leading managers, the ability to see the organization as a whole and ensure its effective functioning at all levels becomes essential. One of the key success factors in leading leadership is goal-setting. Once the strategy has been defined, the task is to ensure that people at every level understand the strategy and their own role in it. It’s also crucial to align the goals of business units, teams, and individuals so that they support the strategy rather than conflict with it.
The role of a manager who leads team leaders is often more strategic than that of a team leader, as they typically participate in broader organizational planning. This requires a deeper understanding of the responsibilities of other managers and the interdependencies between different functions. They are responsible for implementing decisions made by senior leadership and ensuring that, within their business unit, the goals of teams and individuals are aligned with the strategy and do not conflict with each other.
A team leader must understand the organization’s overall goals and strategy, and be able to translate them into guidance for the team’s daily operations. The team’s goals and performance indicators should ensure that activities are aligned with the strategy, not treated as separate tasks. Ultimately, the team leader is responsible for executing strategy-driven actions, setting concrete objectives, monitoring progress, and providing ongoing support and coaching.
Focus of Leadership
Leadership skills are essential at every level, regardless of role—but the focus areas and responsibilities differ depending on where one operates within the organization.
n leading other managers, decision-making tends to be more strategic and future-oriented than at other levels. Managing relationships and understanding the bigger picture are particularly critical in leadership of leadership. The focus must always be on what drives the success of the entire organization. For example, resourcing decisions should be viewed through the lens of profitability and long-term development—not just the performance of individual functions. These leaders set the tone for leadership across the whole organization, so their focus must also include people and their well-being. If middle management is struggling due to poor leadership, it's likely that the entire organization is suffering as well.
For managers who lead team leaders, the focus of leadership is on the effectiveness, goal orientation, smooth operation, and development of a specific function or business area. Their primary focus lies within a defined part of the organization. However, they must also understand how their area of responsibility connects to the broader organizational structure. That’s why leaders at this level need to collaborate not only within their own area but also across different parts of the organization. Expectations come from both above and below, making this role particularly demanding. For this reason, their primary leadership focus should be on self-leadership—so that they are able to lead others effectively.
A team leader’s focus is on team performance, efficiency, competence, ways of working, and the well-being of the team members. A common mistake is to assign overly ambitious individual performance targets to team leaders, leaving little to no time for actual leadership work. One example of this is a case where a team leader was responsible for the largest and most challenging (read: most time-consuming) clients. As a result, all their time went into client work, and there was no time left for the eight team members they were supposed to lead. A good rule of thumb for estimating the time needed for leadership is about 10% of working time per team member. Of course, every team and role is different, so finding a balanced split between leadership and expert work requires experimentation and reflection.
A Coaching Leadership Culture Supports Growth and Development
- A coaching-oriented leader supports their managers or team on the path of personal and professional growth. This includes offering encouragement, sparring, and providing tools for skill development through coaching, mentoring, or other developmental approaches.
- A coaching-oriented leader supports their managers or team on the path of personal and professional growth. This includes offering encouragement, sparring, and providing tools for skill development through coaching, mentoring, or other developmental approaches.
- A coaching-oriented leader both gives and asks for regular, constructive feedback. The focus of giving feedback is to reinforce strengths and support growth. The focus of asking for feedback is to gain valuable insight into one’s own performance and to lead by example.
- A coaching-oriented leader ensures that communication is clear, open, honest, and interactive. Engaging in dialogue and clarifying expectations helps prevent misunderstandings. When individuals have a clear understanding of what is expected of them, it increases their sense of purpose and helps them focus their efforts more effectively.
- A coaching-oriented leader is a good listener and a courageous question-asker. Listening demonstrates genuine interest in others’ ideas and concerns. Effective interaction builds trust and strengthens the organizational culture.
- When an organization goes through change, open and clear communication becomes especially important. A coaching-oriented leader helps others understand the background, goals, and impacts of the changes.
- A coaching-oriented leader also remembers to express gratitude. Everyone wants to feel seen and heard. Recognition and appreciation typically enhance job satisfaction and strengthen commitment.
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