Be a PAL

A lot of us aspire to become leaders and that is great. However, too many people wrongly assume that a manager or supervisor is a leader, and that can't be further from the truth. There are many differences between Managers and Leaders, but these three stand out for me:

Managers are process-focussed while Leaders are people-focussed. One of my former managers - who's a leader indeed once told me "take care of your people and they'll take care of the work." I've found that to be true over and over again.

 Managers instruct while Leaders inspire - Leaders are visionary and inspire others to follow that vision while Managers are good at instructing people on what to do in order for the vision to be a reality. Managers work within a circle of power while Leaders operate with spheres of influence.

Being a manager is a career while leadership is a calling - the first time I read this it made sense and lined up with something I've always believed which is that the best way to get the best out of others (especially your reports) is to be a PAL (Passionate Authentic Leader). 

When you are a PAL, you care for people and want what is best for them. In other words, your compassion for people is your passion. That passion keeps you in check so you are authentic at all times - telling them the truth on what they do well and what they can do better  that authenticity breeds trust and makes you relatable. Being real and relatable attracts others to you and they want to follow you...