Are you leading or just managing? 3 Signals it’s time to shift
- meganjbrummel
- Aug 4
- 3 min read
As a leader, it can be easy to get sucked into focusing more on meeting goals, deadlines, and deliverables than how you are empowering your people to grow within their roles and together as a team. Putting more attention into what you’re doing rather than how you’re doing it.
But the problem here is...solely meeting deliverables is just a quick fix. Yes, you might get the quick win, but after time, just focusing on meeting deliverables becomes hard. It becomes hard because your team members start to feel disengaged, feedback is almost non-existent and isn’t valued when it’s given, there’s a lack of ownership or accountability on the team unless directly pressured (and even that only works for a time), or there’s no space or willingness for creativity, innovation, or personal growth.
What is much more sustainable and satisfying is spending time focusing on how you’re showing up for your people in a way that leads them rather than just manages them.
Here are three signs that you might be managing more than leading:
You feel like you are constantly putting out fires, responding to issues as they arise, and haven’t thought about the vision for the year since January (if at all!).
Your conversations with your people are 85-90% transactional, focused on progress and task completion rather than on an honest investment in their well-being and growth.
Outside of the one or two team meetings you’ve had this year to create cohesion, you haven’t continued the conversation since.
If any of the above resonates, it’s okay. Taking the class “How to lead your people rather than manage them” wasn’t an option in most of our educational experiences.
So here are some practices you can start taking on to shift into more of a leader than a manager:
Don’t get too caught up in what you’re doing. Take some time to remember why you’re doing what you’re doing. How does it connect to where you find meaning and purpose on a personal level? Re-center with your team and remind them of the why. Help them to consider how it connects to their personal meaning and purpose.
In a similar vein of not getting caught up in what you’re doing. Make it a routine practice to reflect on how you are doing what you’re doing. Are you showing up the way you want to show up? If not, what’s getting in the way?
If you’ve always viewed leadership as someone who has a certain title and can get things done efficiently, consider re-shaping your perspective on what it means to be a leader. Leadership is much more about empowering your people than completing the work or having a certain title. Practice focusing on your people more than on what you have to get done, starting by having conversations that focus on inquiring into who they are (their thoughts, feelings, past experiences, strengths, future ambitions, personal life details, etc.) in addition to their performance.
Create a culture of a growth mindset by normalizing feedback conversations. Have them casually, and often, so you aren’t reacting to ineffective behavior as much. Start by modeling vulnerability and go first- call out your own improvement areas and what you are doing/will do to address them (be sure to follow through!). Not only will this assist in building a culture of a growth mindset, but it will also build trust.
When you begin taking on these leadership practices, you’ll find your team is more engaged, there’s more honest conversation, more space for innovation and growth, and more ownership! And yes, meeting those goals, deadlines, and deliverables will become easier, too.
Want support in shifting into a leader who leads rather than just manages? I work with leaders like you who want to grow teams that are engaged, accountable, and aligned.
👉 Let’s start with a conversation. Book a free clarity session here.
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