From Manager to Leader: Shifting Your Mindset for Greater Impact

The show designed to help you accelerate growth in your career, your business and your personal life. I am your host, Shaiyi Agbede, and I am the shortest distance between where you are and where you would like to be. But before we get started, make sure you subscribe so you never miss another episode. And if you like what you hear, please give us a rating and leave a review. Let's dive right in. A very good morning to Shaiyi Agbede. Yes, thank you very much. I'm excited to be here. Oh yeah, that's wonderful. And listeners, do not adjust your sense. It is not Friday. Exactly, because you are not with Hania. You are with Hania and you would blame. So a different set of people today, so it feels very strange. Can you call? I hope I can. So for those who don't often listen on a Friday, you are a leadership and leadership growth expert and learning and development specialist. That's a bit of a mouthful now with a Tazy Leadership Network. And you have advice, a very practical advice, a very grounded advice every Friday. And you haven't run out of it yet either. We've been doing that for quite a couple of weeks now and it's been very, very awesome. And yes, we intend to keep firing on. Yes, we're not running out of things to talk about. So where did all this leadership things start for you? Okay, so where did leadership start for me? Leadership started as a personal journey for me. So quite early in my career, I was plunged into leadership quite early. So I began to research how to be a better leader. How could I empower the people I was working with? How do I get the best out of them? So it was a personal journey for me. And as I've continued on that journey, the better I became as a leader and I began to help other people do this as well. And I decided, you know, I think I need to pitch my tent here and do this continuous. And that's how I've been ever since. I see, I call myself a knowledge junkie. So as soon as I learn something, I want to share that with everybody as well. So that's what I have been doing and that's where I'm at still still. So you're bringing a lot of people along with you. You provide a direction, you provide leadership for them. But you also outline how they can benefit by taking on a leadership role as well. That's the very important thing. You know, as a leader, one of the key things of a leader is the ability to take people from point A to point B. That's what it is that I do. I do that on my own as well and I'm trying to empower as many people as possible to take the same journey as well. And you know, oftentimes when we talk about leadership, people misunderstand, you know, the concept of leadership. And I've spoken to people that would say, oh, you know what, I'm not a leader because I don't have a position. And you know, position of leadership is one of the lowest forms of leadership as a matter of fact. So leadership is essentially influenced if it can actually help or influence someone to take a positive decision for someone to do something. At the end of the day, that is actually leadership and how do we get to do that? That's what I'm very passionate about. Okay, now that raises one of the biggest conflicts that exists in industry, basically. Because you have managers, they're put into these positions and they are supposed to be leaders of the group. People are a group of employees, but it doesn't always work out that way. Also, leadership and management are two separate things entirely, right? So there's a place for both of them. So management is key when you're trying to maintain the status quo, ensure that the day-to-day running of the organization is in place. That's where management is key, but leadership is key for charting the cost, the vision of the organization, where are we going to? So the leader, I try to look at it with this analogy, the leader is looking forward to ensure that we are on the right course and the manager is looking backwards to ensure that those that are on the journey are doing the right thing. It's just management is not some bolts job really. Leadership is visionary. Exactly, leadership is visionary, but I can say it. But management is also very vital as well, because while the leader is focused on charting the cost, the leadership needs to stay afloat, the show needs to stay afloat. Exactly, and that's where the managerial skills actually get to come in as well. That's logistical. Exactly. Because the other thing is, as I said, visionary or inspirational. And indeed, I'd be a great believer that leadership, that kind of leadership, doesn't always need to come from the top either, that you need to empower people at every level. To take pride, to look outside the box and think outside the box, and to use what the good Lord gave them. Exactly, I mean, so the leadership, I can say, you can't come from it. I'm an opinion that it's better to have a flat structure leadership model than a very tall hierarchy called structure, because everybody has the potential to lead. I can lead my bosses, I can lead my colleagues, I can lead my. So everybody has the capacity to lead. Once I can influence you to make a decision. So take, for example, you lead me today. You influence me to be here today. That's leadership, right? So if I can take. Now fairness, we were pushing an open door. So that's. Essentially, what we want to get to think about leadership from that perspective is basically influence. If I can help convince, influence someone, to take a position, a decision, hopefully a positive one, then that is leadership. And bringing that analogy then into the whole team element. Someone will appoint a member of a team as a captain, basically. So he's our heart, he's going to assume the role of leadership. In all situations associated with a particular game that they're going to play. He may or she may not have any real understanding of what true leadership is about. So are they doomed from the beginning? Well, so leadership is a skill. And just like skill of football, skill of music, it can be learned. Right? There's always these conversations about our leaders born or made. I believe every leader, you may have the raw talent, but it has to be developed. Now, when you talk about someone that has been appointed into leadership, you know, that different levels of leadership. And your boxer talks about the five levels of leadership. So the very first level of leadership is the positional leadership. Just like you rightly talked about, this person has been appointed as the head of the team. It's just a position. The only influence they have is because of that title. So what they have at that time is they have the title, but they don't have the influence. They don't have the permission of the people. Now, the next level of that, what that leader now needs to strive for is how do I go to the next level? The next level is where you get into the permissive level of leadership. Where the people that you're leading are not following instructions by a mere fact of the fact that you have a title, but because they have permitted you to lead them. Then from there, you graduate to what is called the production level. When naturally people follow you, people want to listen to what it is that you say, because they've seen the results that you have to generate. So that's the production level. Then the next level is the people development level. How do you now ensure that every member of your team is being productive at this place? You're not raising followers, you're raising all the leaders as well. How do you get to ensure that every member of your team is independent? They have that autonomy. They can be good decisions. And the whole system is not dependent on you. And then the last level is the pinnacle. That's when you are actually fulfilling the pinnacle of leadership. Many people, by experience, and from listening, many people fall at number four, because they feel threatened. Exactly. As opposed to empowered by people around them who can make decisions, use their initiative, use their brain, and that could show one up as being less, as opposed to being more. If you've encouraged people around you, you should probably have to take pride in that. And coast, honored, in fact, rather than feel threatened. And that your position might be threatened that one of these could replace you in a moment. So I think that's often the experience in business and in the corporate world that people struggle at number four. Definitely. A lot of people struggle at that. And like you rightly said, it's the ability not to be afraid to let go of the influence that they have, the authority that they have at that level. But your leadership is not going to be tested by the number of followers that you have, but by the number of leaders that you have with you. From those five levels that we talked about, level one is automatic. You don't necessarily need to do anything to get that. And level five, as well as automatic, you don't need to do anything where you get to do the work is to move between level two and level four. Now, when you get to level four and you do that effectively, level five comes automatically, right? Because people get to respect you for who it is that you are, for what it is that you have done. Now, at that level level four, you have to begin to think about a legacy, right? It goes beyond, well, if all the giftings and the capacities and everything it is that you have, is something that goes with you when you go down, then you have, you have, then you have wasted the capacity. So for you to be able to outlast yourself, you need to be able to develop other leaders that will carry on that journey even when you're not there. And the one point in all of that is you must be inspirational with your leadership. Oh, definitely. That's one very key thing about leadership. Now, there are defense types of leadership, also inspirational leadership is one of them. Explomational leadership is another one that different forms of leadership as well, but inspiration is very, very key. Because that's the difference between getting someone to do, that leadership is taking someone from point A to point B. Many times without them even knowing about it, they're just doing it wide because they are inspired, not because they are co-hosts to do it. And when you're not here talking on radio stations, presumably you spent a lot of your time working in the business arena, with companies, in corporates or whatever, issuing this transfer, putting this message out there, imparting all your wisdom and knowledge. Is it received as, is it always received as openly as you would like? So first of all, I have a 9 to 5 and I have a 5 to 9 for many people that I know. So my 9 to 5 is that I'm a primary school teacher. So like I said, I'm a knowledge junkie, so I share knowledge with a younger generation. And then my 5 to 9 is passionate about leadership and I teach leadership as much as possible. Is it always received in many cases? No, because oftentimes, especially those in leadership, they got their. They're jealous regarding their position. They got leadership by, you know, being very good at what it is that you do and you kind of grow into that position. But what happens is when you get into that position, the skills that got you into leadership and not the skills that will sustain you in leadership. So that's why you have a lot of challenges there because when you get there, you know, the higher you go up the ladder. The more you look steeper than it is, the higher you go up the ladder, the less technical skills that you need, and the more people's skills that you require. That's where leadership feels. So at that point, I mean, they feel what I've done so well and that's why I've been appointed the head of the organization. But very good. But right now, what you need to do, the skills you require to take you further than this, are not the skills that got you here. So it's not the technical ability that it's going to get you further. You don't need to understand the people mechanism. That's a great line of skills to get you there, won't keep you there. That's a great feeling. For sure. Anyway, getting back to the leadership conference, which is being held in June the 28th in Golden Bridge, explain all of that from Tensei Leadership Network point of view. Okay, so one thing I have observed, especially in Ireland, and even part of the world as well, is when you look at leadership for minoritized communities, right? Communities, ethnic minorities, gender minorities, you find very few of these people in leadership. Not because they don't have the capacity to get there, but there are several barriers, sometimes as systemic, sometimes I haven't served in post-barriers, right? And what I just feel is, how do we get to empire? I always ask four questions. The first question is, who is at the table? The metaphorical table of opportunity, table of leadership. Who is at the table? Who is not at the table? Why are they not at the table? But the most important question that I ask is, what can we do to get them to the table? And this is our own way of responding to that question. This is what it is, we can't do to get them to the table by getting people together in the room, having conversations, having things to talk about. How do you get to chart this journey from where you are, to where you're going to in your career, in your business, and in your personal life? That's what the whole conference is about, and that's how we started the conference in 2022, right here in the city of Scotland. So, who is this aimed at? Okay, so it's aimed at minoritized communities, so the ethnic minorities, gender minorities, so we're very passionate about supporting those that have been minoritized. They're not the minority, but they have been minoritized, right? How do we get to support and empower them to ensure that they have a seat at the table? Now, but they also may be the very people that have put themselves in that minoritized position. So sometimes, yes, it is, and sometimes, like I said, there may be systemic barriers, but sometimes their own personal barriers as well are keeping them stuck. So how do we help them to break free from such barriers, which is why the conference is having set up? And that's a very good point, in a sense, because some of the people are so entrenched that it's very, very difficult for them to escape out of that. You know, oftentimes it's very easy to push the blame on someone else or just a system or something, but I mean, you may not be able to control the system, but there's something that you have autonomy over. That is what you do about that. So oftentimes, instead of focusing on what everyone else is doing wrong, how about what you need to do to change that seat? That's the key. Look at yourself first before you take one step forward. In fact, that's leadership and that self-leadership, because you have no business thinking of leading others if you cannot lead yourself effectively. So your leadership is tested on yourself as lead yourself positively, lead yourself effectively, and then you can begin to think about leading others as well. You have a very interesting lineup of key contributors to the conference. Oh, yes, we do. So we're very particular about the quality of people who are being from all works of life, so we have people talking about careers, businesses, and personal life. And this particular edition of the conference as well, we're involving a number of people in public office as well. Yes, I have a lot of counsellors. Most counsellors do have a day job as well, you need to speak about your 9-5 and your 5-9 counsellors very much fall into that category. Oh, yes, yes. So that's what we're trying to do just so that we can create a legal system where these conversations happen. For some people that may be thinking of going into public office as well, and they're thinking of how do I do that? That's why we're bringing them in. And just people that would like to engage with those in public office as well, or people that would like to engage with those that have succeeded in setting parts of their careers, or people that have succeeded in businesses, how did you get there, what can be replicated in our own lives. Those are those things, just so we can create conversations and a few things that we hope to achieve with the conference's inspiration, which is very key. Just hearing other people's stories would inspire you, information as well. I mean, you're. If you can do what I can do, it's kind of thinking. Exactly. So, inspiration, information, impartation, there are certain things that you get just by staying at the same room with people that have achieved certain things. Like the concept of the auspices and diffusion, just by being in the same room with certain people that are setting things that you contact. Those are some of the things that we want to create, that we are creating an enabling environment for all these people to come together, for these conversations to happen, so that we can ignite the transformation of our hope into achieve. And some of the councillors that come from a broad spectrum politically. Oh, yes. Yes, across the board. Yes. I mean, across all sectors, at all political divides. There are two names on this list. I recognize Poonam Rani, who ran for this constituency before she moved to the South Side of the city. And J.K. Onwamari, who is currently the deputy mayor. Deputy mayor. And he's always been a part of the conference. We've had the. This is the fourth edition of the conference in Dublin. We started. Don't you want to ask you that question? Actually, this is number four. Yes, this is the fourth one in Dublin, what is held in Dublin. So, we started off in Dublin in 2022, but we held it in different locations around Ireland, the UK, and even in the US. So, we're in Houston last year with the conference and we've been in Dallas as well. Well, maybe you need to go to Washington. Well, we're hoping to. One of our visions with this conference is to be able to reach three million people in the next five years, directly or indirectly, with our conferences. So, we have a lot of other places that we hope to take the conferences to. So, it's the same, as you said, that the minoritised communities or leaders are potential leaders in minoritised communities. How many people can you cope with our case or for at the event? Well, for the Dublin conference, we can cater for 400 people. Last year, we had about 150 people at the in person. So, it's a hybrid conference, so we have people that join virtually as well. But last year, we had about 150 people in person. 400 would dictate very much where you can go, because that's a large gathering. 150 in person. In person. We're hoping to have at least 200 people in person at this year's edition. And how can people sign up? Because it's already, it's from late June, 28th of June, 28th of June at 11 a.m. How can people sign up and how are the signings going? Okay, so the conference is absolutely free, because we're trying to empower as many people as possible. Very important point. Yes, it's actually free, but it's a registration process. So, if you go onto the website, which is tasty.link/ilcdublin I'm going to say that slowly and say some of the things. So, that's tasty, T-A-Y-S-E-Y.link/ilc_dublin Okay, go onto that website and you indicate you apply for a ticket. Now, there's a process behind the scenes. You might even receive a call to find out some details from you. And if you go through the process, eventually you will get a complimentary ticket. A complimentary ticket to be a part of the conference. Has it been your experience over the four years that people come with a variety of expectations and needs to be met? Oh, yes, the divers expectations are always there. We always try to include as many things as possible. So, one of the things we had to include last year was in our previous conferences people had been talking about what we wanted to start businesses and stuff. How do we get to do it? So, last year we involved in local enterprise office as well. So, they also were with us as yet to share what the supports and all of that were available. So, yes, the needs are different and that's why we try to involve as many people as possible to ensure the success of the entire conference. Very good. Wish me lots of success and happy days ahead. And thank you very much for being part of Tuesday's D-15 today. Thank you very much. And that's a wrap for today's episode of Impact Nights. I hope you found our discussion insightful and inspiring. If you enjoyed today's show, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review. Your feedback helps us to reach more listeners like you. For more updates and exclusive content, follow me @ShayUpBeday on all social media platforms. Thanks again for tuning in. Remember, there's greatness on your inside and the world is waiting for you to birth and manifest your greatness. Go out there and be profitable. I'm Shay at Bibi and I'll see you next time on the Impact Nights.