I wrote a lot over the holidays, and I’m very close to finishing another book. It will explore what it means to serve your team. To maintain prior themes, I might call it “Staff Matters”
Leadership and management are terms that are often misunderstood. Some believe management is all about authority, giving orders, or maintaining an aura of control. But leadership is none of those things. The essence of great leadership lies in service to the team.
If you think that having a leadership role in management is about enjoying the perks of being in charge, think again. Leadership is about rolling up your sleeves, doing the hard work of understanding and empowering your team, and most importantly, providing each member of your team with the tools they need to succeed.
For too many, the opposite is true. They think management means they get to spend more time on the golf course and less time with their noses buried in Excel. However, by flipping the script and rethinking leadership, leaders can force managers to confront a reality that too many choose to ignore: instead of your staff working for you, you work for them.
When you recognize, accept, and embrace your true role, it’s not a demotion; it’s a promotion into real leadership.
Managers who get this right are leaders who inspire loyalty, foster innovation, and create workplaces where people thrive. Those who don’t do it well often wonder why their teams are disengaged or why turnover is high.
Why is this perspective so important? Because great employees aren’t looking for bosses who merely give orders, and winning organizations are built by teams of great staff. Passionate, skilled staff who are faced with a hierarchical top-down management system will leave to find new, exciting roles. In a marketplace that offers people mobility and freedom to follow their interests, why would anyone want to stay in unfulfilling jobs and toxic organizations, and a top-down hierarchy is as toxic as they come.
People want to work with leaders who listen, adapt, and genuinely support their personal and professional success. They want to feel recognized, heard, and appreciated—not as mere cogs in a machine, but as vital parts of a thriving team.
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