Focus on Management & Leadership

Management, Supervisory and Leadership - © Performance Management Consultants

Growth Collective Resource Hub:  April 2025 Edition

Management & Leadership: Skills That Shape Teams and Drive Growth 

Why This Topic Matters

In today’s workplace, leadership and management are no longer tied to titles. Whether you’re supervising a team, managing complex projects, or shaping big-picture strategy, your ability to lead with clarity, empathy, and purpose directly impacts team performance and culture.

This guide is built to meet you where you are—and help you grow from there.

Who Is This For?

Use the links below to quickly go to the most relevant section

For First-Time Managers

You’ve done the work. Now you’re helping others do it well.

🧠 Shift in Mindset

From: “I do the work.”
To: “I create the conditions for great work to happen.”

🔑 Core Skills

  1. Setting clear expectations
  2. Delegating and holding people accountable (without micromanaging)
  3. Giving and receiving feedback
  4. Managing time, tasks, and priorities
  5. Navigating team dynamics and conflict

🔹 Quick Insight

“Your team doesn’t need you to have all the answers. They need you to ask better questions.”

📈 Micro-Tool: The CLEAR Feedback Model

Works for both praise and course correction—without defensiveness.

  • Context
  • Label
  • Effect
  • Alternative
  • Result

Works for both praise and course correction—without defensiveness.

💡 Reflection

What’s one conversation I’ve been avoiding that would help my team?

For Experienced Managers

You manage people, projects, and performance. You’re the center of alignment.

🧠 Shift in Mindset

From: “I keep things moving.”
To: “I align people and priorities for greater impact.”

🔑 Core Skills

  1. Coaching for growth
  2. Delegating with trust
  3. Leading through change and uncertainty
  4. Prioritizing strategically
  5. Sustaining motivation across diverse personalities

🔹 Quick Insight

“Great managers coach more than they direct. The best ones ask, ‘How can I help you succeed?'”

📈 Micro-Tool: Eisenhower Matrix

Urgent?Important?Action
YesYesDo it now
YesNoDelegate or automate
NoYesSchedule it
NoNoDrop it

💡 Reflection

What’s one thing I’m doing that someone else could (and should) own?

Note For “Managers” Without Direct Reports

Not all leadership involves people management. Many professionals carry the title “manager” while leading through expertise, influence, and execution—not direct reports.

If that sounds like you, the same leadership principles apply. You’re still shaping decisions, driving priorities, and influencing culture.

Focus your growth on areas like:

  • Leading through influence
  • Strategic communication
  • Cross-functional collaboration
  • Executive presence

A useful tool here is the Control vs. Influence vs. Concern framework:

SphereWhat Is IsWhat To Do
ControlWhat I can directly act onTake initiative
InfluenceWhat I can shape indirectlyBuild relationships, communicate
ConcernWhat affects me but I can’t controlLet go, observe, adapt

“Stress lives in the Concern zone. Leadership lives in the Control and Influence zones.”

You don’t need direct reports to lead—just clarity, confidence, and influence.

From Manager to Leader

You’re shaping culture, setting direction, and empowering others to lead.

🧠 Shift in Mindset

From: “I get things done through others.”
To: “I build belief, direction, and alignment that lasts.”

🔑 Core Skills

  1. Communicating vision and purpose
  2. Modeling values and setting tone
  3. Leading across systems and silos
  4. Navigating ambiguity with confidence
  5. Building leadership in others

🎯 Key Framework: Adaptive Leadership

Challenge TypeDescriptionResponse Needed
TechnicalKnown problem + clear solutionDelegate or manage
ConcernComplex problem + no clear solutionLearn, align, experiment, evolve

🔹 Quick Insight

“The higher you go, the more leadership becomes about questions, not answers.'”

📈 Micro-Tool: Leadership Pivot Audit

Ask yourself:

  • Am I solving problems, or building problem-solvers?
  • Am I leading through position, or credibility?
  • Am I spending time on what matters most?

💡 Reflection

Where do I need to stop managing—and start leading?

🌍 Final Thought

Leadership isn’t about a title. It’s about taking responsibility for creating something better and helping others do the same. No matter where you are on your journey, one decision, one conversation, or one shift in mindset can move everything forward.

Webinar: From Managing to Leading – Actionable Insights

📅 Friday, April 25, 2025
⏰ 12:30 – 1:00 PM EST

Join us for a quick, high-impact session on what it really takes to step up as a leader in today’s world.

This webinar will give you frameworks, fresh thinking, and practical takeaways you can apply right away.

For every registration, PMC increases its charitable contribution to BGC Ottawa.

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