The ‘Being’ of Leadership or … How to Stop Working So Hard
Why So Many Leaders Are Still Doing Instead of Leading
A conversation I have almost daily with leaders is about how they can stop working so hard.
What usually becomes clear is that these leaders haven’t fully stepped into their leadership role. They’re still managing rather than leading. Their focus is on what’s urgent and important, but this leaves little time for the deeper, strategic work that leadership requires.
Many find it almost impossible to move from the doing of managing teams to the being of leading them. It feels uncomfortable to stop delivering against tasks, because for most, being relied upon to deliver is what got them promoted in the first place.
Leadership Skills Start With Letting Go
The reason managers struggle to let go of the “doing” is that they often haven’t yet built confidence in their leadership skills. It feels risky to stop doing what’s familiar and step into unknown territory.
But developing those skills - the ability to step back, delegate, and empower others - is what ultimately defines the difference between managing and leading.
When we cling to delivery, we limit our own growth and the growth of those around us.
Developing Leadership Skills Through Perspective
A helpful structure for thinking about leadership comes from Ronald Heifetz and the principles of Adaptive Leadership.
One of his key ideas is that leaders must learn to adopt a meta view of their organisational challenges, something he calls “getting on the balcony.”
When you remove yourself from the “dance floor” of day-to-day operations, you start to see patterns emerge. From that higher perspective, your responses to challenges become more strategic and less reactive.
Developing this kind of perspective is a core leadership skill. It allows you to shift from firefighting to forward-thinking, from managing details to influencing direction.
From Managing to Leading: Building Confidence in Your Leadership Skills
To make the move from management to leadership, you have to let go of the things that make you feel safe, useful, and known.
True leadership means being known for the results of others. By stepping back you empower others to perform..
This requires:
Allowing others to fail and learn
Creating space for ownership and accountability
Providing “fire cover” when things go wrong
It’s a powerful shift and it builds resilience and trust, both in leaders and their teams.
Leadership Skills That Build Trust and Empowerment
As leaders start to think more strategically and long term, they’ll also need to gather support and manage expectations both upwards and downwards.
Try saying: “I’m trying this new way of leading, and I’d value your feedback.”
That openness builds trust and models the vulnerability required for authentic leadership.
It also takes humility to accept that others might have better ideas than you. The most effective leaders encourage those ideas, create the conditions for them to flourish, and recognise the collective success that follows.
The Mindset Shift Behind Great Leadership Skills
The real skill in leadership lies not in control, but in creating space.
It’s about adjusting your mindset to accept that others often hold the answers and your role is to build an environment that brings their knowledge to the table.
At Mojo Coaching and Leadership, we help senior leaders develop the leadership skills to do just that: to shift from managing tasks to enabling transformation.
Because when leaders stop working harder and start leading smarter, everyone benefits.
We offer one to one coaching, as well as leadership team coaching. You can also contact us if you’d like to discuss a bespoke coaching programme for your organisation.
You might also enjoy this blog where we talk about taking a ‘coach approach’ to leadership.